Levet shoots 67 to grab Spanish Open lead

Golf Betting Lines

05/01/2009 - Girona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France's Thomas Levet shot a five-under 67 to take the second-round lead Friday at the Spanish Open.

Levet, who trailed overnight-leader Soren Hansen by a shot entering the round, collected six birdies against just one bogey to move two strokes in front of the Dane at 13-under-par 131.

Hansen followed his course-record 63 in the first round with a two-under 70 on Friday to slip into second place at 11-under 133. He double-bogeyed his last hole to fall out of a tie for the lead.

Defending champion Peter Lawrie of Ireland remained firmly in the mix with a six-under 66 that moved him into third place at 10-under 134.

Alejandro Canizares (69) and Chris Wood (70) are tied for fourth place at eight-under 136, while Thomas Bjorn (67) and Paul McGinley (67) lead a five- way tie at 137.

Levet was the first player to tee off at No. 1 on Friday. He began his charge with three birdies during a five-hole stretch ending at the seventh, but he bogeyed the ninth to give one of those shots back.

Battling Hansen for the lead for most of the day, Levet made three more birdies on the back nine -- at the 13th, 15th and 16th -- to take the clubhouse lead.

He almost holed his tee shot at the par-three 16th.

"I didn't hit the ball as well as yesterday, obviously. Yesterday was a very good day. But I hit some really, really nice shots," said Levet, who had a 64 on Thursday.

The four-time European Tour winner was especially pleased with one aspect of his game.

"I'm very pleased with my short game. And for me that's the most important part," said Levet. "When my short game is on, I'm always dangerous. My long game doesn't vary very much from day-to-day ... and is never going to be a huge difference."

Hansen, after starting his round on No. 10, struck a five-wood to 12 feet at the 12th to make an eagle. He birdied the 15th, then strung together seven straight pars before making his only bogey of the round at No. 5.

He birdied the sixth and seventh and reached the ninth hole (his last) tied with Levet at 13-under. But he made a double-bogey there to drop two strokes off the pace at PGA Golf Catalunya.

Like Levet, Hansen was eager to compare Friday's round to Thursday's.

"I played all right, but not the same sort of golf as yesterday," said the two-time European Tour winner. "I got it sort of going without hitting great shots, but then it crept back on me and I finished -- as they say -- in an ambulance."

The cut line fell at even-par 144 with 71 players moving on to the weekend.

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie missed the cut badly after posting a nine-over 81 in the second round. Montgomerie tied for the fourth- worst score in a field of 156 players, finishing at nine-over 153.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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