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06/14/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sitting down for his post-championship interview in 2000, Tiger Woods opened with a simple comment that summed up his historic victory at the U.S. Open.
"Well, I guess I won."
More than that, Woods dominated from start to finish in a record-setting rout at the year's second major.
Among the U.S. Open records Woods set that week were most strokes under par (12), largest margin of victory (15 shots), largest 36-hole lead (six shots) and largest 54-hole lead (10 shots).
In short, Woods may have reached the peak of his dominance during those four rounds at Pebble Beach, finishing the championship with a 12-under 272 that left his fellow competitors wondering what course he was playing.
Woods was the only player who finished under par.
"When you have a guy playing like that, you have no chance," said Ernie Els, who was paired with Woods for the final round.
Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez finished as distant runners-up that Sunday, and Els was left wondering how someone who was only 24 years old could be so much better than anyone else.
"It seems like we're not playing in the same ballpark right now," Els said afterward.
This week, the U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach for the first time since that historic Sunday, but Woods doesn't look anything like the dominant player he was 10 years ago.
Following a sex scandal that dynamited his personal life and public image, and a neck injury that forced him to withdraw from The Players Championship, Woods' once-solid position as the No. 1 player in golf is suddenly open for attack.
He hasn't won a major since picking up No. 14 in dramatic fashion at the 2008 U.S. Open, where he beat Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff at Torrey Pines while playing on a severely injured leg.
In the interim, six players have captured majors: Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink, Y.E. Yang and Phil Mickelson. Harrington has won two.
Woods' showed cracks in his armor at last year's PGA Championship, where Yang pulled off the previously impossible feat of defeating Woods at a major when Woods held the 54-hole lead.
Suddenly, Woods looked beatable. And with only one top-10 finish in four starts this season -- a fourth-place tie at the Masters, his 2010 debut -- he still does.
With Woods no longer a bullet-proof lock as the overwhelming favorite, this week's U.S. Open is setting up to be a wide-open championship with many contenders.
Mickelson won the year's first major when he captured his third Masters title and he has looked like the best player in golf many times this season. His history at U.S. Opens is a dubious one, of course, with a record-setting five runner-up finishes.
Lefty's latest runner-up came last year at Bethpage Black, where he was playing for the final time before his wife, Amy, began treatment for breast cancer. Mickelson was the favorite as always in front of the New York galleries, especially as he made a charge during the Monday finish, but the result was a familiar one: another runner-up, his fourth at a U.S. Open in New York.
Lee Westwood has never won a major, but the talented Englishman is the reigning European No. 1 and third-ranked player in the world behind Woods and Mickelson.
Westwood has too many good finishes at major championships to mention in detail -- the latest was a runner-up to Mickelson at this year's Masters -- but one in particular is often overlooked. We forget that he missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole with a chance to join Woods and Mediate in the U.S. Open playoff in 2008.
And then there's this: Westwood is coming off a win at the St. Jude Classic, his first on the PGA Tour in 12 years. That's good momentum, but a bad historical omen. No player has ever won a PGA Tour event and then captured the U.S. Open the following week.
There are the usual top contenders in this week's field -- proven talent like Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Els -- as well as young stars like Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa, who will draw attention.
There has also been an English revival this season, led by Westwood, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Luke Donald, who have all captured significant wins this season. Three of them -- Rose isn't in the field -- will be looking to snap an English drought at majors that goes back to Nick Faldo's win at the 1996 Masters.
This week's darkhorse pick isn't really a darkhorse at all: 29th-ranked Dustin Johnson, who has captured the regular PGA Tour stop at Pebble Beach in each of the last two seasons.
The sentimental favorite is 60-year-old Tom Watson, who was given a special exemption by the USGA to play in his first U.S. Open since 2003. The offer came on the heels of his tie for 18th place at this year's Masters, where he opened with a turn-back-the-clock 67 and remained in contention until tying for 18th place.
Of course, it might also have something to do with his playoff loss to Stewart Cink at last year's British Open, where Watson nearly gave us the greatest golf story of all time.
Watson captured his only U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 1982, knocking off Jack Nicklaus with a chip-in birdie at the 17th hole on Sunday. Watson has played in all four U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach, making the cut in three of them.
While it is unlikely that Watson will win this week, the recent history of U.S. Opens has showed us that anything is possible at the year's second major.
The last four championships have given us Mickelson's 72nd-hole blunder at Winged Foot in 2006, when Geoff Ogilvy capitalized for the win; Angel Cabrera's chain-smoking victory at Oakmont in 2007; Woods' dramatic playoff triumph on one leg in 2008; and last year's rain-soaked, five-day marathon at Bethpage Black, where Lucas Glover scratched out his first major win.
With those finishes in mind, we like Watson in a Tuesday playoff over Westwood and 18-year-old Ishikawa, with Woods missing a three-footer for a spot in the playoff and Mickelson coming in dead last.
What? It could happen.
<< World Cup neophytes New Zealand, Slovakia set to square off
Rustenburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of relative newcomers to
the world stage meet up at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Tuesday as New Zealand
and Slovakia square off in the Group F opener for both sides.
Slovakia will be app
<< De Bakker exits Unicef draw
's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Dutch
crowd favorite Thiemo De Bakker was a first-round upset victim Monday at the
Unicef Open, a final grass-court Wimbledon tuneup.
De Bakker gave way to wild car
<< Orioles reinstate RHP Simon from DL
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have reinstated
right-hander Alfredo Simon from the 15-day disabled list.
Simon is 1-1 with a 2.92 earned-run average and six saves in 12 appearances
for the Orioles this se
<< Japan tames Indomitable Lions
Bloemfontein, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japan earned a 1-0 victory in
its Group E match vs. Cameroon at Free State Stadium on Monday in what could
be considered the biggest upset to this point of the FIFA World Cup.
Cameroon, whi
This Week in Golf - June 17th through June 20th >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION - UNITED
STATES OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California -
The major championship season continues this week as the best players in the
world h
Titans LB McRath suspended four games >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans linebacker Gerald McRath
has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season for
violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs.
The Tennessean conf
Indiana State hoops coach McKenna resigns >>
Terre Haute, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana State men's basketball coach
Kevin McKenna has resigned from his position Monday to take an assistant
coaching position at Oregon.
McKenna spent three seasons guiding the Sycamores,
Cards G Lutui signs qualifying offer >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Cardinals guard Deuce Lutui signed his
one-year qualifying offer on Monday.
A four-year pro, he started all 16 games for Arizona last season.
Since coming into the league as Arizona's second-rou
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
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