Betting Odds - Graffiti - Podcast

Indianapolis, IN - The Indianapolis Colts and standout defensive end Dwight Freeney agreed in principle on a lucrative long-term contract on Friday.

The deal is for six-years and $72 million with a $30 million signing bonus, Freeney’s agent Gary Wichard confirmed to the Indianapolis Star.

The Super Bowl Champion Colts placed the franchise tag on Freeney in February and the team had until Monday to work out a new contract.

The only player in club history with four consecutive double-digit sack seasons, Freeney is Indianapolis’ all-time sacks leader. He has 56 1/2 over his five-year career.

A first-round draft choice of the Colts in 2002 and three-time Pro Bowl selection, the Colts put the tag on Freeney on his 27th birthday.

St. Louis, MO - St. Louis Rams cornerback Fakhir Brown has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four games of the 2007 campaign for violating the NFL Substance Abuse Policy.

Brown’s suspension begins on Friday, August 31, and he is eligible to return to the active roster on October 1 following the team’s September 30 game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Grambling alum signed with the Rams as a free agent in 2006, and posted three interceptions and six passes defensed in 14 games. He started his career in San Diego in 1999 and played two seasons with the Chargers prior to a four- year stint with the Saints.

Brown is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.

BOOKMARK CRUSH SHOT SPORTS NFL LOCAL TEAM NEWS

Nashville, TN - Drunken-driving charges against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair were dropped when a related DUI charge against his brother-in-law, Jamie Cartwright, was reduced to reckless driving.

“I’m glad to put this behind me,” said McNair.

McNair was arrested May 9 in Nashville after allowing Cartwright to drive his vehicle while intoxicated. In the state of Tennessee, it is illegal for the owner of a vehicle to knowingly allow its operation by a driver under the influence of an intoxicant.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the 31-year-old Cartwright was driving McNair’s 2003 Dodge pickup truck at 45 mph in a 35 mph zone with McNair as a passenger.

Officer Harold Taylor pulled over Cartwright and McNair and detected an “obvious odor of alcohol” and also noticed that Cartwright’s eyes were “red and glassy.” Cartwright admitted to Taylor he drank at least two beers earlier in the evening. A field sobriety task was administered to Cartwright and the results indicated impairment as Cartwright was taken into custody for DUI. He was asked to undergo a breath alcohol test and he refused.

Since McNair was the owner of the truck and a passenger, he also was charged with DUI.

“I said before today that I thought I did the right thing that night, and the court process had to play out,” said McNair. “I’ve been getting ready for the start of training camp, and I’m ready to go. I’m looking forward to getting back on the field with my teammates and coaches. Right now, I’m going to take a little vacation with my family.”

“We’re glad to have this end,” said Ravens vice president of public relations Kevin Byrne. “As Steve has said, he tried to do the right thing that night. We’re looking forward to seeing Steve and his teammates for the start of camp at the end of the month.”

Toronto, Canada - United States midfielder Michael Bradley described the feeling as “unbelievable.”

Bradley scored in overtime Wednesday to rally the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team to a 2-1 victory over Uruguay in the FIFA World Cup. The contest went to overtime after the United States got an own goal in the 87th minute.

The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth time in team history and plays Austria on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. (ET). Austria advanced with a 2-1 win over Gambia on Wednesday.

“I think as a team you have to be able to win all types of games. (Wednesday) was a game where we just needed to roll up our sleeves and fight for each other and run for each other and leave everything out on the field,” said Bradley. “To be able to win a game like that where you go down 1-0, it’s not going your way, but then come back and get two late goals is an unbelievable feeling.”

Uruguay’s Luis Suarez scored in the 73rd minute, but the U.S. didn’t fold. Although the Americans needed the own goal, coach Thomas Rongen was proud of the team’s effort.

“We showed some great mentality to come from behind,” Rongen said. “This is the kind of game where you find out what your players are made of and how good a team you actually have. It was just a great battle over 120 minutes and a fantastic result.”

Bradley’s game-winner was in the 106th minute off a corner kick. U.S. captain Freddy Adu played the ball into the box and it was punched out by Uruguay’s goalie, but went to the United States’ Julian Valentin. He played the ball toward the goal and Bradley eventually got a shot off to score unassisted.

“Uruguay made it very, very hard for us to establish any kind of rhythm and we struggled quite frankly throughout the game,” Rongen said. “But great teams find ways to win and I think our will power, the willingness to sacrifice, the willingness to go where it hurts, which we did, to go down and come back and eventually win the game and hold on for dear life, showed me the quality of the team that only through games you find out.”

U.S. goalie Brian Perk, starting in place of Chris Seitz, played well in the win over Uruguay. He made seven saves but doesn’t expect to be in the goal when the U.S. plays Austria on Saturday.

“It would be nice, obviously, but I want Seitz to play. He’s the number one goalkeeper on this team,” Perk said. “I’m going to do everything I can to get him better. I hope he’ll be able to go, but it not, then I’ll be ready and try to do exactly I did (Wednesday). That’s all you can do.”

The United States is in the quarterfinals for the second time since the field expanded to 24 teams in 1997. Rongen was also the coach when the U.S. made the quarterfinals in 2003, losing in overtime to Argentina in the quarterfinals.

“No team can win a world championship,” Adu said after Wednesday’s victory, “without winning one of these ugly games.”

The United States has won three of its four games in the tournament, defeating Poland and Brazil and tying Korea Republic to win Group D.

The U.S. is the second highest scoring team in the World Cup with 11 goals in four games. Only Spain with 12 goals has scored more.

Adu, Jozy Altidore and Danny Szetela each have three goals for the U.S. Adu’s three were in a 6-1 win over Poland. Sal Zizzo leads the United States with three assists and Robbie Rogers is second on the team with two.

If the United States wins, it will play the winner of Saturday’s other match between Spain and the Czech Republic. The other quarterfinals are Sunday when Chile plays Nigeria and Argentina plays Mexico.

The semifinals are July 18-19 and the third-place match and championship are July 22.

BOOKMARK CRUSH SHOT SPORTS SOCCER ODDS & NEWS

Manchester, England - New manager Sven-Goran Eriksson made his first signing of the summer on Friday when he inked striker Rolando Bianchi.

The 24-year-old Italian joins City for an undisclosed fee from Serie A club Reggina, where he helped the team avoid relegation last season with 18 goals, good for fourth in the league.

“He scored nearly 20 goals last season in Serie A, which is a lot of goals in such a difficult league,” Eriksson told the club’s website. “He’s young, and I think it’s a very important signing because he should have a great future. He’s a good footballer as well as a good goal scorer, which is what we need.”

Bianchi’s goal-scoring prowess will be put to the test at City, as the club tied for the fewest goals in the Premiership last season with 29 in 38 games. This lack of scoring punch kept City in the bottom half of the standings for most of the season, and is easily the biggest area of need for the club.

Strikers Emile Mpenza and Darius Vassell showed signs of turning the corner last season, but were never able to consistently be scoring threats. Eriksson is hoping that Bianchi can step into the lineup up top and continue to find the back of the net at such a good rate, and that he can do so for years to come.

“He’s very hard working, very strong and he can score - if you can score nearly 20 goals in Serie A and you are not with one of the top clubs like Milan or Juve then you must be talented,” Eriksson said of Bianchi. “It’s a good record, and let’s hope he continues with it.”

By Don Agriss:

BOOKMARK CRUSH SHOT SPORTS TRACK LINKS

The name Native Diver was in prominent display last weekend in connection to Lava Man’s try at a third straight win in the Hollywood Gold Cup. Native Diver accomplished the feat from 1965 through 1967.

Forty years ago Native Diver was the dominant thoroughbred in California. Beginning with his four-year-old season he won such prominent stakes races as the Golden Gate, Inglewood and San Diego Handicaps. Add victories in the San Francisco Mile, Inglewood Handicap and another San Diego Handicap.

Learning about a racehorse that I never saw run live is a fascinating effort. The 1960’s was a transitional decade for racing. It was beginning to lose its popularity to football and basketball.

Native Diver was owned by Mr. & Mrs. L.K. Shapiro who also were his breeders. Buster Millerick was the trainer and was ridden, primarily, by Jerry Lambert. Bill Shoemaker was aboard Native Diver in winning the 1963 San Francisco Mile, four years before a second Mile win at Bay Meadows.

It was his six-year-old season that stands out as possibly his best. He won the won Hollywood Gold Cup for the first time followed by wins in the Los Angeles, San Carlos, San Diego, American, Albany and Palos Verdes Handicaps. In 1965 Native Diver won seven of 10 starts for $241,650.

Native Diver followed 1965 with four wins in 12 starts for $205,750 in 1966. He won the Hollywood Gold Cup for the second straight year followed by victories in the Inglewood, San Pasqual and San Bernardino Handicaps. Native Diver won a total of three Inglewood Handicaps.

His final racing season in 1967 produced $258,100 in earnings while winning six of 13 starts as an eight-year-old. Native Diver claimed his third straight Hollywood Gold Cup along with wins in the Los Angeles, San Carlos, Albany, Del Mar Handicaps and another San Francisco Mile.

The Eclipse Awards had not yet been introduced. the Daily Racing Form and the Thoroughbred Racing Association each awarded year-end honors.

Native Diver was denied seasonal championships by both groups. He became the first California-bred to earn $1 million dollars. His final earnings were $1,026,500 with 37 wins in 81 career starts.

Native Diver came down with a case of colic prior to the 1967 Bay Meadows Handicap and died from a twisted intestine. His remains were buried beneath a monument at Hollywood Park.

As a gelding Native Diver had no progeny. However, with Lava Man equaling his three straight Hollywood Gold Cup wins, Native Diver once again got a chance to come alive for a new crop of racing fans.

BOOKMARK CRUSH SHOT SPORTS TRACK LINKS

Stanton, DE - Eclipse Award winning trainer Todd Pletcher goes after his second straight win in Sunday’s 70th renewal of the $1 million Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park. Pletcher has entered two older females in an attempt to repeat last year’s victory with Fleet Indian.

Indian Vale is the 2-1 morning-line favorite from the Pletcher barn while Unbridled Belle is 12-1 in the program. The trainer has a total of two wins in the “DelCap”, having also won with Irving’s Baby in 2001.

Owned by Eugene Melnyk, Indian Vale will be ridden by award winning jockey John Velazquez from post six. The five-year-old mare has a lifetime record of seven wins in 10 starts for $648,601.

In three starts this year Indian Vale has won the Next Move and Fleur de Lis Handicaps with a fourth place finish in the Louisville Handicap.

Unbridled Belle is owned by Team Valor and will start from post four with Ramon Dominguez in the saddle. Dominguez won this race in 2001. Last month the four-year-old filly was second at Delaware Park in the Obeah Handicap to Peak Maria’s Way.

Peak Maria’s Way is 8-1 in the morning-line for trainer Michael Gorham and owners Old Church Farm and John Murphy. The four-year-old will be ridden by Joe Rocco from the inside post.

Along with her victory in the Obeah Handicap she won an allowance race here in May. In her career Peak Maria’s Way has earned $296,804 with seven wins in 17 starts.

“She obviously has done well here at Delaware,” said Gorham, “and another obvious big edge is you do not have to ship for the race. She is coming into this race really good. All this year she has really been training well and she has done everything we asked her to do.”

The 3-1 second choice is Asi Siempre and rider Edgar Prado. The five-year-old will break from post three for owner Martin Schwartz and trainer Patrick Biancone.

Completing the nine horse field for the Delaware Handicap in post position order are Lila Page, Ice Cool Kitty, Promenade Girl, Daytime Promise and Take a Check. Take a Check, third in last year’s “DelCap”, is the top returning runner from 2006.

The Delaware Handicap will be televised on ESPN2.

Delaware Park also announced the creation of a “Wall of Fame” at the track. The first class is comprised of former Horse of the Year Kelso, Hall of Fame trainer Henry Clark, Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker, Christiana Stable and William Dupont, Jr.

By Lyle Fitzsimmons

Is it just me, or is Roy Jones Jr. getting a mite desperate?

The former undisputed pound-for-pound champion - whose mere presence on a card was once enough to provide instant credibility - has tangibly fallen off the map when it comes to drawing interest in his latest comeback.

Perhaps knowing that a former great playing out the string on pay-per-view wasn’t sufficient to compete with an attractive tripleheader on “regular” cable, Jones and his team really pulled out the stops to create a buzz this week.

“Furious Tony ‘The Tyger’ Hanshaw says he will destroy ‘Rude’ Roy Jones Saturday night,” the press release headline read, amid the requisite capital letters and bold type. “Hanshaw promises to knock Jones out.”

And the catalyst for all this venom, you ask?

Why it’s Jones himself, of course.

Though as a promoter, he makes a pretty good basketball player.

Seems the ex-light heavyweight and heavyweight kingpin - inactive since a lopsided defeat of Prince Badi Ajamu ended his three-fight skid last summer - irked the Hanshaw team by barring the visiting Ohioan and his handlers from using fight-week training facilities at the IP Casino Resort Spa.

The snub, apparently enforced by piece-toting security guards at the hotel, forced Hanshaw and Co. to endure back-and-forth rides through heavy Mississippi traffic - some 40 minutes each way, according to the scathing release - to work out at the Gulfport Boxing Gym.

It’s the stuff that hate is made of.

“I had so much respect for this guy and it has all gone out the window,” Hanshaw said. “This is just a chicken-spit tactic designed to get in my head. Don’t worry about my head, Roy Jones, you need to worry about my fists because I am going to whip that ass like Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson did.”

Ummm…thanks Roy, but is this really the best you could come up with?

And somewhere, Don King is laughing.

Regardless of whether he beats Hanshaw - and the guess here is that he will, by another lopsided decision - here’s hoping Jones will leave the promotion to the professionals for future fights and spend his free time recapturing the air-tight defense and all-around athleticism that so shockingly failed him against Tarver and Johnson.

If a rumored match with fellow comebacker Felix Trinidad actually happens this January, he’ll need every bit of it.

Funny, though - as weak as it was, it’s easy to see why Jones felt he needed a promotional boost.

HBO will go live from coast to coast against his $29.95 show on Saturday, featuring a pair of welterweight bouts from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City before jumping three time zones left for another 147-pound encounter in Carson, Calif.

Kermit Cintron will make the first defense of his newly-won IBF belt in the show’s 9 p.m. opener, taking on Argentine veteran Walter Matthysse. Now 27 and working under the watchful eyes of Emanuel Steward, Cintron is unbeaten in three bouts since a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time collapse against Antonio Margarito in April 2005.

Roy Jones Jr. will be fighting Furious Tony ‘The Tyger’ Hanshaw The seashore main event spotlights cockroach-resilient Jersey hero Arturo Gatti, who’ll face first-season Contender alum Alfonso Gomez in a 10-rounder while trying to halt a two-stoppage-losses-in-three-bouts skid. With a win, the 35-year-old Gatti will likely secure a date with second-generation phenom Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. later this year.

Ironically, he’ll have trilogy foe Micky Ward in his corner against Gomez.

The card’s potential gem comes in the third fight, when WBO champ Margarito tries for successful defense No. 8 against 6-foot-1 freak of nature Paul Williams, who’ll enter with a pristine 32-0 record and 24 knockouts. Margarito, now 34-4 with 24 KOs, hasn’t lost a fight at welterweight since 1996.

The two first met in a sparring session some three years ago, though accounts of the get-together vary greatly by source. Williams claims Margarito’s handlers put an end to the clash after three punishing rounds, while the Mexican champion insists it was a battered Williams and his people who refused to stay for a fourth.

“I think you are going to see little different things from me,” said Margarito, a 29-year-old native of Tijuana. “We are going to develop a real good strategy for his style and you will see me coming out of this fight with a victory.”

FitzHitz says: Cintron in 8, Gatti in 5, Margarito in 10.

I’ve made a few observations since becoming a full-time Floridian seven weeks ago.

First, the weather freakin’ rocks.

It rains a little nearly every day, but for the other 23 hours it’s every bit of paradise.

Second, the scenery is great.

Whether it’s Shamu swimming in Orlando, the sun setting at Mallory Square or summer school students - or at least half of them, anyway - strolling across the University of Florida campus - again, it’s every bit of paradise.

And third, Nate Campbell is one of my new favorite fighters.

The Jacksonville native made his seventh career trip to Tampa a successful one with a sudden sixth-round stoppage of Wilson Alcorro, in the headline bout of ESPN’s trip to the Florida State Fairgrounds Hall on Friday night.

Every bit as colorful as his “Galaxxy Warrior” nickname suggests, the 35-year- old grandfather (yes, he’s a grandfather for God’s sake) wobbled and dropped his Colombian foe with a pair of smashing right hands in the session’s first half-minute.

But he was even better conversationally later on, both during requisite post- fight chats in the locker room and less formal dialogue at the card’s festive after-party in a local Tampa bar-restaurant establishment.

“I shouldn’t have to ask for the shot. I shouldn’t have to look for the shot. It’s my shot,” Campbell said, referring to a seemingly imminent title try against IBF lightweight champ Julio Diaz - for whom Campbell is a mandatory challenger.

“I don’t care which Diaz it is. Julio, (WBC champ) David or (WBA champ) Juan. I’ll fight any Diaz who wants to get in a ring with me and put a title up.”

Sharing the bill, albeit in a much lesser role, was former heavyweight title challenger DaVarryl Williamson, who scored just his second win in two years with a third-round stoppage of chubby and unwilling Philadelphian Maurice Wheeler.

Williamson, who’ll turn 39 later this month, was beaten by unanimous decision in a shot at Chris Byrd’s IBF belt in October 2005 and had fought just once since, stopping previously unbeaten Mike Mollo in four rounds in May 2006.

Now healthy and refocused, the soft-spoken but agitated Colorado resident said he’s ready to again carve a niche for himself in the wide-open heavyweight ranks.

“I’m ready to fight a top-10 guy and make some noise,” he said. “They know I’m out here. They know I’m talented. But sometimes you’ve got to take fights like this just to take care of business. I need to make money. I’ve got a family. It’s hard not doing it for 14 months. It’s time to stop playing games and just fight.”

Aside from the aforementioned goings-on this Saturday night, the weekend’s title fights are of a decidedly foreign flavor.

WBC super flyweight champ Cristian Mijares - who topped power-punching veteran Jorge Arce his last time out - will defend his 115-pound belt against Japanese export Teppei Kikui on Friday night in his native Mexico. Mijares, now 31-3-2, hasn’t lost a bout in five years.

On Saturday, unbeaten Canadian super bantamweight Steve Molitor defends the IBF’s title against South African challenger Takalani Ndlovu at the Casino Rama in Orillia, Ontario. Molitor (23-0) won his championship with a fifth- round KO of formerly unbeaten Michael Hunter in England last November.

Elsewhere, unbeaten Brit favorite Nicky Cook faces off against Californian Steven Luevano for the vacant WBO featherweight title at the O2 Arena in London. Cook enters with a pristine 27-0 record, while Luevano has lost just once in 33 career fights. Also on that card, Amir Khan meets Willie Limond for the Commonwealth lightweight title.

And lastly, in Mexico, Fernando Montiel makes his fourth defense of the WBO super flyweight title in a 12-rounder against Cecilio Santos. Montiel won the title with a seventh-round KO of Ivan Hernandez in April 2005 and has lost just once since - by split decision to Jhonny Gonzalez in a try for the WBO bantamweight crown in May 2006.

Joliet, IL - Casey Mears captured the pole for Sunday’s USG Sheetrock 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway. The No.25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet circled the 1.5-mile oval in 29.580 seconds (182.556 m.p.h.), just 0.013 seconds ahead of Martin Truex Jr.

The pole victory was Mears’ first of the season and third of his Nextel Cup career. His last pole was at Indianapolis in 2004.

“It’s a great day for the National Guard/GMAC team, the guys have been doing a great job,” said Mears. “This is the car that we won Charlotte with so everyone is pretty pumped this weekend.”

Truex Jr.’s time was 29.593 seconds (182.476 m.p.h.). Ryan Newman (29.595) and Mark Martin (29.622) will make up row two.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fifth), Jimmie Johnson (eighth), Matt Kenseth (10th), Jeff Gordon (11th), Denny Hamlin (13th) and Kevin Harvick (14th).

Gordon ended his Joliet, IL winless streak last July and climbed into the top-10. He has been in the top-10 ever since - 37 weeks. It is the second longest active streak in Nextel Cup behind the 44-week streak by Jeff Burton. (The all-time record is held by Dale Earnhardt - 174 weeks from 1986 - 1992.)

Gordon has been almost perfect in 2007 winning four times and posting 16 top-10s in 18 starts. Even after being penalized 100 points for a COT infraction, Gordon owns a 277-point lead over Hamlin. With just eight races left before the start of the “Chase for the Nextel Cup,” Gordon can coast into the “playoffs.” He is 733 points ahead of 12th-place Earnhardt Jr.

Also safely ensconced in the “Chase” are Hamlin, Kenseth, 2006 Nextel Cup champion Johnson, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards.

The final six playoff positions are being contested by 11 drivers. Currently, two-time Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Daytona 500 winner Harvick, Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Earnhardt Jr. hold the positions. But Jamie McMurray, winner of last week’s race in Daytona, is just 49 points back. The win was his first in 166 starts.

“That guy (McMurray) works as hard or harder than anybody down here; he deserves it,” said Edwards, his teammate at Roush Racing.

Also within striking distance are Newman (-61), Kurt Busch (-121), Greg Biffle (-204) and J.J. Yeley (-236).

The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Sunday at 4 p.m. (et).

Silvis, IL - The John Deere Classic has seen the likes of Nathan Green before. Every year, it seems, somebody make this tournament his first PGA Tour win.

On Friday, Green set off on becoming the latest first-time winner by firing an eight-under 63 to take the second-round lead at TPC Deere Run.

A 32-year-old Australian playing just his second season on the PGA Tour, Green is looking to follow in the footsteps of countrymen Mark Hensby and John Senden, who both made the John Deere Classic their first win in the last three seasons.

Seven of the last 10 champions have been first-timers.

“There’s some good vibes there, and I’d love to get my turn at some stage,” said Green, who stood at 12-under 130 overall.

He held a one-shot lead over Carl Pettersen and Jason Dufner following a round that included eight birdies and no bogeys. It was his lowest round on the PGA Tour, and first time with the 36-hole lead.

All of this coming on the heels of a three-week break, which Green spent in Australia trying to get his head back into the game following a missed cut at brutal Oakmont for the U.S. Open.

“I just put the feet up and didn’t really do much for the whole time,” said Green.

On his heels are another winless Nationwide Tour veteran — Dufner — and a two-time PGA Tour winner in Pettersson.

Pettersson had seven drives of at least 300 yards Friday and fired a seven- under 64 to take the clubhouse lead at 11-under 131. Dufner shot a five-under 66 and joined him there about 90 minutes later.

With the British Open just a week away, scores of players avoided this event to get some rest before heading to Scotland and Carnoustie. Pettersson is not one of those players.

“I’ve crossed the pond several times,” said the former European Tour player. “It doesn’t really affect me that much.”

Overnight leader Neal Lancaster followed up his first-round 64 with a three- under 68 Friday and was alone in fourth place at 10-under 132. He hit 12 of 14 fairways in the first round, but just six in the second round.

“I stand no chance if I keep driving it like that,” said Lancaster. “I hung in there, that’s the main thing.”

Green did more than hang in there. And his round could have been even better.

He had six birdies on his first 10 holes, and just barely missed a hole-in-one at the 186-yard third. His ball rolled to the back of the green, and he made par.

Green’s round also included several close calls, like at No. 1, where he missed holing out for an eagle by about an inch.

Instead of lamenting the near-misses, Green focused on the shots that shouldn’t have gone in, but did. Shots like his eight-foot birdie putt at No. 6, which lipped in instead of lipping out.

“The good breaks outweighed the bad,” he said. “I had a few good lip-ins where the ball was dying and sort of spun in. Hopefully the good vibes will keep going on the greens. It’s probably as comfortable as I’ve felt on them all year.”

Pettersson began on the back nine and had a four-hole birdie streak from the 14th to get to eight-under. It ended with a bogey at the 18th, and the Swede made the turn at seven-under.

Birdies at the second, third and fifth gave him the early lead at 11-under.

“Conditions were easier than they were yesterday,” Pettersen said. “You have to shot low here, so it was nice to get a couple of birdies early. But we’ve got a long way to go. You have to get to 20-under.”

Dufner had the lead alone before stumbling to a bogey at his last hole, the par-four ninth. It was his second bogey in three holes, and just his second birdie of the week so far.

“It’s been a pretty good two days,” he said.

Duffy Waldorf, Kevin Sutherland, Tim Clark, Bob May and Kenny Perry made up a well-known group of players who shared fifth place at nine-under 133 — part of a group of 16 players who head to the weekend within five shots of the lead.

The cut fell at two-under 140, with John Daly and the defending champion Senden among those who missed the weekend.