de only 1 of 8 shots for two points. Atlantas Paul Millsa

[lw789]

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Jimmy Walker and Jordan Spieth are tied for the lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which should surprise no one. Walker went eight years and 187 starts on the PGA Tour before his first victory, and now he cant seem to lose. He already has won twice in this new wraparound season, the Frys.com Open and Sony Open, and he has played 36 holes this week without making a bogey. That included a 69 at Spyglass Hill on Friday. And it helps that Walker has finished in the top 10 at Pebble Beach each of the last three years. "Its definitely not old," he said of this position he keeps finding himself in. "Ive been here before after 36 holes and after 54 and after 72. You do get more comfortable and you start to realize what it takes." Spieth had an amazing rookie season, going from no status at the start of the year to No. 7 in the FedEx Cup and a spot on the Presidents Cup team. And the 20-year-old Texan has shown no sign of stopping. Throw out that missed cut at the Sony Open, a matter of the hole failing to get in the way of his putts, and consider his start. He led after the first and third rounds at Kapalua, where he played in the final group and finished second. He led after 36 holes at the Farmers Insurance Open and played in the final group at Torrey Pines. Spieth had a 67 at Monterey Peninsula, following a 67 at Spyglass Hill, and now heads to Pebble Beach. In his young career -- 27 tournaments in the book since turning pro -- he already has a win at the John Deere Classic and four runner-up finishes. Spieth doesnt see the four second-place finishes as failures, rather learning experiences, which shows a maturity beyond his years. Both still have one more day before they can truly figure out where they stand. Walker was at 9-under 135 and heads to Monterey Peninsula, the easiest of the three courses in the rotation. Spieth was at 9-under 134 and goes to Pebble Beach, which can be brutal in nasty weather. And the forecast for Saturday was not particularly pleasant. Along with a three-club wind on the exposed sections of all three courses, steady rain began coming down sideways toward the end of the second round. There was about a 75 per cent chance for more rain Saturday, and Sunday didnt appear to be much better. More than looking ahead, Spieth was looking behind. He was happy to at least get Spyglass out of the way already, having opened with a 67 on Thursday. That didnt make the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula a picnic. "Today was very difficult," Spieth said. "We started out in the rain and wind, and we finished in rainier and windier," he said. Spieth caught Walker for a share of the lead on the 187-yard ninth hole, which typically requires a 6-iron. He watched Kevin Chappell hit first with a 3-iron, and the ball rolled back down off the front of the green. Spieth doesnt carry a 3-iron. "I went to a hybrid," he said. "And I just kind of hit a little stinger cut about 20 feet away. And then it was normally a straight putt and Michael (Greller) and I, my caddie, are looking at each other saying, Well, weve got to play this about a foot out to the right with the wind. And so I hit it a foot out. With about 3 feet to go, the wind just blew it right, just broke perfectly right into the hole." Walkers best holes were his pars, particularly the par-5 14th. His 8-iron came back down into a bunker, leaving him such an awkward lie that he had to plant his feet outside the sand. With a shallow swing, he did well to blast out 12 feet away, and he made the par putt. "That was pretty big to keep it feeling like things were still in my favour," Walker said. He made two long birdie putts, and then hit a drive of nearly 390 yards on the seventh hole -- with the aid of a cart path. It left him only an 8-iron to the green, and he had an easy up-and-down for his final birdie. Hunter Mahan had a 68 at Spyglass Hill, with half of his six birdies on the par 5s. He was at 8-under 136. "Coming up these last few holes are tough," Mahan said. "Theyre uphill, they got the wind, its getting cold, raining. You just dont want to throw away shots. Because this can be a long week, and it could be mentally more grinding than anything." Phil Mickelson had a 73 at Pebble Beach and was five shots behind, even though he has taken 62 putts over two rounds. "Tee to green, Im playing very well, but I havent putted this poorly in a year," he said. "For the way Im hitting it, its a little disappointing because I should have a really good opportunity. And Ill have to turn it around. Its not too late, but Ive got to get it turned around here." . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons. . Philbin said Thursday he wants players to treat one another with civility and he wont tolerate anything less. In taking questions for the first time since Ted Wells released his report into the bullying scandal that rocked the league, Philbin made it clear things would be cleaned up. http://www.cheapjerseysusaauthentic.com/. - Josh Sterk scored twice to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 7-1 rout of the Ottawa 67s in Mondays Ontario Hockey League action. . Gorges is believed to have suffered the injury while blocking a shot with a hand during Montreals win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Canadiens added to their defensive depth this week by acquiring veteran Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers. . - A week after a late-game debacle on defence, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they can finish.ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks are slowly picking up the ball-movement lessons Mike Budenholzer learned as a longtime assistant with the Spurs. Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. The Hawks had 32 assists, adding to their NBA lead and bringing a smile to the face of their first-year coach. "Its an indication theyre just getting a better and better understanding of the ball movement and how we want to play," Budenholzer said. "Passing and hitting the open guy just becomes something thats expected." Atlanta set a scoring high with its 124-107 win over Sacramento on Wednesday night and has topped 110 points in three straight games. Al Horford, who had 23 points, has been a key in the recent flurry of high-scoring games. He has averaged 23.6 points in his last five games. Williams, who has played in only 14 games in his return from knee surgery, took extra shooting practice after scoring only two points in 20 minutes in Wednesday nights win over Sacramento. "Im glad it paid off," Williams said. "It was one of the nights we had everything clicking." The Hawks never trailed and pushed their lead to double digits for good in the opening period. They kept up the pressure, outscoring Utah in every period and making 52.3 per cent of their shots (45 of 86) from the field. Budenholzer said the most encouraging sign was "not so much putting them away, but just continuing to play the way we play, just doing the things we did to establish a lead. Tonight was a step forward in that direction." Jeff Teague had nine points and eight assists. Horford was resting when the Hawks took an 85-58 lead into the final period. "Our energy was the difference," Horford said. The Jazz agreed.dddddddddddd "Its a mental thing," said Utahs Derrick Favours. "Weve just got to come out with the energy and the attitude like they had against us tonight." It was a letdown for Utah coach Tyrone Corbin following a win at Orlando on Wednesday night. "I thought we didnt come out with the sense of urgency wed been seeing," Corbin said. "I thought wed turned the corner, I felt like, the way we played in Orlando the other night. I was looking for that effort. We just didnt have it from the beginning tonight." Enes Kanter had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Utah (7-22). Alec Burks also had 13 points. Trey Burke, who scored a career-high 30 points against Orlando, made only 1 of 8 shots for two points. Atlantas Paul Millsap had 14 points and 10 rebounds against his former Utah teammates. The Hawks took their largest halftime lead of the season, pulling ahead by 21 points to lead 55-34 at the break. Horford had 14 points in the half. Kyle Korver extended his NBA record by making a 3-pointer in his 96th consecutive game. His made the first of his two 3s with 4:24 remaining in the first period. Utah had a scare midway through the third quarter when Gordon Hayward was slow to return to his feet following a collision with Teague as the two were reaching for a loose ball. Hayward remained in the game following a timeout and finished with 11 points. Jeremy Evans, the 2012 slam-dunk competition champion, missed a dunk and then landed hard on his back with 7:53 remaining, giving the Jazz another scare. Following a brief delay, Evans remained in the game and had 10 points. NOTES: The Jazz are 0-11 on the road and 1-13 overall when trailing at halftime. ... Atlanta leads the NBA with its average of 25.3 assists per game. ... Hawks G Cartier Martin (sprained left ankle) and F Gustavo Ayon (left ankle) have missed five straight games. ... Williams was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. ' ' '