Cejka two clear of Poulter at Players

Golf Betting Lines

05/08/2009 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Cejka posted a five-under 67 on Friday to move atop the leaderboard after the second round of The Players Championship.

Cejka finished 36 holes at 11-under 133 and is two clear of Ian Poulter, who managed a four-under 68 on Friday, at the famous Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera tallied nine birdies Friday, including seven in a 10-hole span, and ended up with a seven-under 65. That vaulted the two-time major winner into a tie for third at minus-seven.

"All tournaments are important to me. I really haven't changed the way I prepare for them," said Cabrera. "My tee shots were pretty much the difference today. I was able to get the hole started out right."

Tiger Woods managed a three-under 69 and finished two rounds at minus-four. The 2001 champion, who hasn't finished inside the top-10 here since that win, is tied for 22nd place.

Woods was even at the turn after a six-foot birdie at nine, but a 15-foot birdie putt at 10 and a two-putt birdie at 11 got him to three-under for the championship.

He failed to save par from a bunker at the 12th, but back-to-back birdies from the 14th got him to four-under for the tournament. Woods hit a spectacular punch shot from the right rough by a tree at the last, but could not hole his 10-footer for birdie.

"I made a couple of mistakes today, but overall I'm still right back in the ball game," said Woods, who found several terrible lies en route to his 69. "Take your medicine sometimes and move on from there."

One player who didn't have to take his medicine much on Friday was Cejka.

He parred the first hole Friday, but made a great save from left of the green at the par-five second for a birdie. Cejka knocked his tee ball to 10 feet at the par-three third and canned the birdie putt. Cejka made it three in a row at the fourth when he drained a 15-footer.

At the par-three seventh, Cejka hit a seven-iron inside a foot. He tapped in for a birdie, then converted a 30-foot par save at the very next hole to stay at 10-under par for the championship.

After he made the turn, Cejka hit his approach almost 20 feet left of the hole, but slightly off the putting surface. He holed that birdie effort to get to minus-11 and tapped in a short birdie putt at the par-five 11th to become the first player to get to 12-under par.

Cejka parred his next three holes, but found some trouble at the 15th when his approach landed in a greenside bunker. He could not get up and down for par and fell back to minus-11.

Cejka parred 16 and 17, but once again found some problems, this time at the par-four closing hole. He drove into the right rough and missed the green with his second. The best Cejka could muster was a pitch to 18 feet, but he ran home the par putt to finish at 11-under par.

"I didn't really hit the ball as well as yesterday. Yesterday was kind of flawless," said Cejka. "But I still made a couple good up-and-downs, and when I had a birdie chance I took it."

Cejka is quite an interesting leader.

At the end of last season, Cejka had neck fusion surgery and admittedly, came back too soon. He had an epidural injection in his neck just last week to curtail some numbness in his arm and fingers.

"It's still a little bit numb, but there's no pain," he said.

But Cejka's story predates neck surgery or the lead in the Players Championship.

When Cejka was nine years old, he and his father fled Communist Czechoslovakia. They went to Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Italy and eventually landed in Germany.

"I was too young to understand what's going on," said Cejka. "My dad told nobody what he was doing. I was nine years old. Back then I didn't know. For me it was a vacation, so for me it was a smooth ride."

That ride went by foot, by train, by bike and even through water.

"I think we swam across the Rhine," said Cejka, a four-time winner on the European Tour.

He hit a few balls in Czechoslovakia, but started taking lessons when he and his father settled in Germany. Cejka became more interested in golf in the mid-80s when Bernhard Langer started to burst on to the scene.

"I skipped school and I watched him even in pro-ams, and he was my inspiration," Cejka said of Langer. "He was the only German guy who was on Tour, the only German guy who won tournaments, the only German who won a major, so that was inspiration."

Cabrera was joined in third by 2001 PGA Champion David Toms (70), Kevin Na (66), Jason Dufner (70), John Mallinger (71) and world No. 9 Henrik Stenson (69).

Overnight-leader Ben Crane struggled to a one-over 73 on Friday and fell into a tie for ninth with Richard S. Johnson (72), Jeff Overton (67) and Tim Petrovic (70) at six-under 138.

The last two winners of this championship, Phil Mickelson (2007) and Sergio Garcia (2008), both made the cut on the number at even-par 144.

Among those who did make the weekend were: Adam Scott (145), Davis Love III (147), last week's Quail Hollow Championship winner Sean O'Hair (148), 2008 playoff loser Paul Goydos (148) and Anthony Kim (155).