Golf Events / Editor / 19 May 2007 /

Zach Johnson already has very fond memories of Georgia and there is every chance that it will become his favourite state in America if he pulls off victory at this weekend's AT &T Classic.

Six weeks after Johnson stunned the golfing world by beating the world's best at the US Masters in Augusta, Johnson lies poised to mount another challenge for his second title of the season.

The 31-year-old, who claimed his maiden PGA Tour title in this tournament three years ago, stands on seven-under-par at the halfway stage - three shots off surprise leaders Ryugi Imada and Troy Matteson.

The pair are one stroke clear of DJ Brigman and two ahead of first round leader Kevin Sutherland, with Craig Kanada and Colombian Camilo Villegas level with Johnson after two rounds.

While Matteson and Imada may have a clear advantage over Johnson on the course at the halfway stage, that is not reflected in the Betfair market with the trio's odds all closely matched.

Matteson is the new favourite and is trading at 6.4 to win, half a point ahead of Imada, but the value bet could be Johnson who can be backed at 7.6 to win.

Villegas, who has had three second places on the PGA Tour but never won, is available 13.5 to make his big breakthrough with Sutherland half a point longer, while European Order of Merit leader, Henrik Stenson, is trading at 19 to win ahead of Rory Sabbatini (22), Brigman and David Toms (both 23).

Matteson and Imada are the men to catch at this stage, but both are relatively inexperienced at leading and they will be aware that only three out of the last 10 leaders at the halfway mark have gone on to win the tournament.

With this in mind, it may be worth keeping a close eye on the likes of Stenson, Sabbatini and Toms - who are all just five strokes adrift of the leaders on five-under-par.

Of the two, Matteson has the most experience having already sampled success in America with victory at last year's Frys.com Open in Las Vegas, while he also finished second at the FUNAI Classic in 2006 after leading with one round to go.

This year has been a different story for him though, and he has struggled missing six out of 10 cuts. No one has been more surprised than Matteson by his form this week but his spectacular second-round 64 included eight birdies and no bogeys and his dismal run could be about to come to an end.

Imada has enjoyed a slightly better time of things and registered his best finish of the season recently when ninth at the Byron Nelson Classic three weeks ago - the third top-10 finish of his career in America.

While not very long off the tee compared to his rivals, the 30-year-old is more than able in the other areas of his game including on the greens.

Imada's successive rounds of 67 this week have included just 50 putts and, not surprisingly, he leads the statistics in putts per greens in regulation hit. He is trading at 1.72 to place in the first five.

Johnson is one of the few players that has managed to win this event - formerly the BellSouth Classic - having led at halfway and his second round 66 was also bogey-free.

He has happy memories of the TPC Sugerloaf course in Duluth and Georgia in general and could be worth backing to finish in the top five and top 10 this week, where he is available at odds of 1.55 and 165 respectively.

Brigman has been very consistent this week, as illustrated by his rounds of
68 and 67, while Kanada - trading at 32 to win - has bogeyed only one hole all week, the par-five 18th on Friday.

Joe Ogilvie (46 to win), Tommy Armour III (60 to win) and Billy Andrade (65 to triumph) all lie on six-under and are well-placed to mount a challenge at the weekend, while it would be no surprise to see the winner come out of the group on five-under which includes Stenson, Sabbatini and Toms.

Stenson, 2.34 to place in the first five, is showing signs of warming to life on the PGA Tour, Sabbatini is one of the form players of 2007 while Toms has a habit of scoring well in the final three rounds of this tournament as he demonstrated last year when scoring 12-under after a poor opening effort.

Also included on the five-under mark is former US Open champion Lee Janzen, 85 to win, who has shown signs of turning back the clock this week after rounds of 69 and 70.

With the cut coming at one-under, there remain plenty of players who can leap into contention with a good performance in the third round.

Australian Steve Elkington, 100 to win, has carried on from his good form at last week's Players' Championship and is included in the group on four-under while Briny Baird, 120 to win, is one shot further back and may be worth watching.

Pre-tournament favourite Stewart Cink has struggled on the greens this week and only just managed to make the cut and is now trading at 110 to win the tournament on his home course.

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