Goosen leads Mickelson, Leonard at Bridgestone

Golf Betting Lines

08/06/2010 - Akron, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Retief Goosen shot a four-under 66 Friday to take a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard after the second round of the Bridgestone Invitational.

Meanwhile, defending champion Tiger Woods continued his struggles at the event he's won seven times and looked likelier than ever to lose his No. 1 ranking.

Goosen finished 36 holes at Firestone Country Club with a seven-under 133, while Mickelson and Leonard both ended at six-under 134.

Mickelson scrambled for two closing pars to finish off an up-and-down 68 that left him tied with Leonard (66), but still on pace to snatch the No. 1 ranking from Woods.

First-round leader Bubba Watson (71) dropped into a tie for fourth place with Peter Hanson (66) and Bo Van Pelt (68) at five-under 135.

Much further back was Woods, who continued to have problems off the tee on the way to a 72 that dropped him to six-over 146 -- tied for 72nd place out of the 80 players remaining in the field.

Woods opened with a 74 on Thursday, his worst-ever score at Firestone, and has back-to-back rounds above par for the first time at any of the World Golf Championships events.

As historically bad as the 36 holes were for Woods, his struggles could have even more significance.

Woods has held the No. 1 ranking for 269 consecutive weeks dating back to June 12, 2005, when he wrested it back from Vijay Singh. But there's a good chance that streak could end this week.

Mickelson, currently ranked second, would become the new No. 1 with a victory regardless of how Woods finishes. He can take the top spot with a finish as low as fourth, a scenario that involves Woods ending outside the top 37.

The way it's going for Woods -- and Mickelson, for that matter -- either way looks plausible.

A winner in seven of his previous 10 Bridgestone starts, Woods knows there isn't a cut at this event. Although he might wish there was this year. He would at least have more time to work on his driving.

Woods hit only 3 of 14 fairways Friday, one day after he found only five on the way to his worst-ever score at this tournament.

Still, things didn't look so bad early on. Woods played the back nine first and made the turn at even-par after holing a nine-foot birdie putt at the 15th and struggling to a bogey from the rough at the 18th.

That was the first of three bogeys in a four-hole stretch, however, as Woods found a greenside bunker at No. 1 and chipped 10 feet past the hole at No. 3 on the way to dropping two more shots.

He finished the round birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey, never finding any positive momentum.

England's Lee Westwood could also have become No. 1 with a victory this week, but he withdrew after his second round because of a torn muscle in his right calf. Westwood, currently the world No. 3, said he would miss next week's PGA Championship.

MORE TO FOLLOW.

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