Bart Bryant raised his arms as his putt headed for the center of the cup yesterday, giving him another eagle on the 15th hole at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
But this celebration was different.
The short eagle putt in the first round carried him to the course record at East Lake.
This one allowed him to stop his slide, and kept him atop the leaderboard with defending champion Retief Goosen.
"It was more important than two shots," Bryant said.
Bryant saw a five-shot lead disappear in six holes as he struggled in the bunkers, but recovered with a 30-foot eagle putt for a 2-under 68 that left him tied with Goosen after two rounds.
Goosen hit only four fairways, but he managed to continue his mastery at East Lake with a 66 and gave himself a good chance at becoming the first repeat winner of the Tour Championship.
"I scrambled really well," Goosen said. "Four-under is as good as I could have played today."
They were at 10-under 130 and were three shots clear of Ben Crane (65), Scott Verplank (66) and Tiger Woods (67).
In other golf news:
* John Cook closed with four straight birdies for a 7-under 65 and shared the lead with five players at 10-under 134 in the PGA Tour's Southern Farm Bureau Classic at Madison, Miss.
* Annika Sorenstam opened with an 8-under 64 to finish the first round a stroke behind South Korea's Young Kim at the Mizuno Classic in Otsu, Japan.
Baseball
* Hall of Famer Robin Yount is returning to Milwaukee as the bench coach for the Brewers, 12 years after he left the only team he played for.
* Former All-Star lefthander Ron Guidry rejoined the Yankees as the team's pitching coach and former Phillies pitching coach Joe Kerrigan joined the staff as bullpen coach.
* The White Sox bought out Frank Thomas for $3.5 million, making the best slugger in team history eligible for free agency.
* Bucky Dent was hired as bench coach of the Cincinnati Reds, making him the top assistant to close friend and manager Jerry Narron.
* The Dodgers and outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. agreed to 1-year contract worth $3.21 million.
Philly File
* The Kixx agreed to terms with defenders Josh Rife and Clay Roberts for the 2005-06 season.
Sport Stops
* Ex-Penn State women's basketball player Jennifer Harris was disliked and threatened because of her appearance, according to paperwork filed with a state civil rights agency against coach Rene Portland. Harris, who is not gay, left after last season and transferred to James Madison, claiming Portland mistreated her, thinking she was a lesbian. *
