Wake me up at St. Andrews

Golf Betting Lines

07/18/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What? What? What?

That's my general response when my dear wakes me up in the middle of the night. Be it a noise or my diesel-locomotive snoring, that's my canned response to her.

It's roughly what we all felt Sunday afternoon.

Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open Championship at St. Andrews. The oldest, most prestigious major title, won at the very home of golf, went to a largely unknown man from South Africa.

Sadly, this might have been the biggest yawner of a major championship in my generation, but I've been poked, not by my dear, but by the game of golf. I'm finally awake.

Paul Azinger said it best on ESPN's broadcast: "I hope the viewer wasn't bored with the blowout."

Sorry, Zinger, but we were.

Let's clear some things up first about the boredom.

Oosthuizen's performance was nothing short of brilliant. I just referred to this as the most boring major championship ever, but that was partly due to the amazing display by Oosthuizen.

He owned St. Andrews on the weekend. By Friday afternoon, no one expected Oosthuizen to come out on top. Lee Westwood was there. So was Paul Casey. Mark Calcavecchia might have scared you 15 years ago, but even at 50, he's a streaky guy who could've piled up six birdies on the front nine in round three.

Oosthuizen hung tough. In fact, he did better than that, he attacked. At St. Andrews, attacking is playing to your strength in relation to the course. He drove it spectacularly. His irons were crisp. His putting was generally genius. Oosthuizen flat-out awed us all, including Tom Watson, who applauded as Oosthuizen walked up 18 on Sunday. It seemed like Watson might cry at what he saw.

Oosthuizen was just that good and this is a guy to root for.

He wasn't a country club kid who was destined by the gods or genes to be a major champion. Oosthuizen is the son of farmers from South Africa. He was in Ernie Els' academy for a few years honing his craft.

No, Louie didn't have to ward off Tiger or Phil or Ernie. Casey got close, but Oosthuizen swatted him away like an annoying gnat nipping at your ankle.

And that's when boredom set in.

Where was Tiger? I get that his game is as far down as his personal life, but didn't he dominate St. Andrews twice for a claret jug? He couldn't get his putter working, but Louis Oosthuizen could?

Where was Phil? Does he want to be No. 1 in the world because I'm having serious doubts. Lefty won't ever win a British, but St. Andrews and this week was probably his best chance and all he could muster was a tie for 48th?

Where was Ernie? Didn't he win twice this year?

Westwood? Top threes in four majors in the last three years, but no charge all week?

Rory McIlroy? A 63 then an 80, but at least this 21-year-old kid fought hard to get back into the top five.

Where was the challenge? I get that St. Andrews played difficultly, but Oosthuizen handled it like it was a local muni. He's a top 60 player, however the field and the championship let us down.

Oosthuizen's margin of victory was the biggest since Tiger at the Old Course in 2000. That leads to a very uninteresting tournament and it didn't let down.

Dominating performances draw interest, but not when it's a man very few have heard of. If Tiger or Phil had done this on Sunday, it would've been compelling. What we got wasn't.

Nothing against Oosthuizen, but this will forever be known as the biggest snoozer of a major. Kudos to him for making it that way, but wake me up for the PGA.

What? What? What?

Must have been a noise. Or my snoring.

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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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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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