Langer up two at Senior Open

Golf Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernhard Langer continued his hot play Friday as he carded a two-under 68 to grab a two-stroke lead after the second round of the U.S. Senior Open.

Langer, who is coming off a win last week at the Senior British Open, completed 36 holes at three-under-par 137.

The German is trying to become the first player to win back-to-back majors on the Champions Tour since Tom Watson won the Senior British Open and the JELD- WEN Tradition in 2003.

Jeff Roth, the club professional at San Juan Country Club in New Mexico, fired a four-under 66 to match the low round of the championship. That helped him move into a share of second place at minus-one.

He was joined there by John Cook and Tommy Armour III, who both shot two-under 68s on Friday. They were the only four players to complete 36 holes in red figures.

Local favorite Fred Couples and Watson both shot 70 for the second straight day. They share fifth place at even-par 140 with Loren Roberts (72) and Michael Allen (71).

The round was completed despite a two-hour, 12-minute fog delay early in the day at Sahalee Country Club.

Langer was in one of the first groups out off the first tee on Friday. He opened with a six-foot birdie putt on the first, but faltered to a bogey on the par-four third.

After five straight pars, Langer stumbled to another bogey at the ninth after hitting his approach into a greenside bunker. He atoned for that mistake with a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-five 11th.

Langer again reeled off five consecutive pars to remain at minus-two. He converted a nine-footer for birdie on the par-three 17th and parred the last to finish at three-under.

"I hit it straight and made some putts. It's always the same, isn't it," Langer joked. "Just different venues, different conditions, but it's always same idea, hit it where you're looking and try and play smart, attack the holes that can be attacked and play smart on the other ones."

First-round leader Bruce Vaughan had yet to tee off when Langer finished. Vaughan struggled badly on Friday as he faltered to a 12-over 82, which dropped him into a share of 40th.

Roth isn't just in unfamiliar territory on the leaderboard, he is also unfamiliar with USGA Championships in general. The last USGA championship he competed in was back in 1975.

His unfamiliarity with the situation didn't show on Friday. Roth birdied the first, but tripped to a bogey on the third. He climbed to even-par for the championship with birdies on five, seven and nine.

Around the turn, Roth got to minus-one with a birdie at the 11th. He bogeyed the 16th, but closed with a birdie at the last to finish at minus-one.

"It's really kind of funny, because I've always tried to qualify for USGA events, and this is only my second USGA event I played in," Roth explained. "I think the way USGA sets up the golf course, it really is good for me, because I'm just one of those guys that grinds it out. I can make as good a par as anybody, and that's usually a pretty good score."

Cook played the back nine first Friday and was even-par with a birdie on 16 and a bogey at the 18th. On the front nine, he poured in three straight birdies from the second. Cook wrapped bogeys at seven and nine around a birdie on the eighth.

Armour was even-par for his round through 12 with birdies on two and four and bogeys at the third and 12th. He moved into a share of second thanks to birdies at 15 and 17.

Tom Kite (69) and Scott Simpson (71) are tied for ninth place at one-over-par 141. Mark Calcavecchia (73) headlines a group of five players at plus-two.

NOTES: There were eight sub-par rounds for the second straight day...Defending champion Fred Funk posted an even-par 70 Friday and is tied for 29th place at plus-six after two days....The cut line fell at 10-over-par 150 with 69 players making it to the weekend...Former champions Brad Bryant, Hale Irwin, Dave Eichelberger and Dale Douglass were among those that missed the cut as were Mark O'Meara, Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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