Clark, Wilson share Canadian Open lead

Golf Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Clark fired a six-under 64 Friday to grab a share of the lead after 36 holes of the Canadian Open.

Clark was joined in the lead by Dean Wilson, who carded a 65 in round two. They are tied at 10-under-par 130.

First-round leader Brent Delahoussaye posted a one-under 69 and slipped into a tie for third at minus-nine. He was joined there by Steve Wheatcroft, who shot four-under 66 Friday.

The second round was completed Friday despite a two-hour weather delay prior to the start of the round.

With a slightly different setup this week, players started on the first and ninth tees at St. George's Golf & Country Club for the first two rounds.

Clark, who finally broke through for his first PGA Tour win earlier this year at the Players Championship, started his round on the ninth, where he collected his first birdie.

The South African dropped in back-to-back birdie chances from the 11th to move to minus-seven. Clark parred four straight before a birdie on the 17th.

Around the turn, Clark birdied the third and fifth to climb to 10-under. He parred his final three holes.

"I certainly didn't expect to be scoring on this course," Clark admitted. "I thought in the Pro-Am it was going to be pretty tough. But you know, I've been hitting the driver really well and driving it in the fairway is a huge key on this golf course. I've done that and been able to stay out of trouble."

Wilson, whose lone PGA Tour win was at The International in 2006, got going with a birdie on the first. He gave that stroke back with a bogey at the fourth.

The 40-year-old atoned for that error with a birdie on the par-three sixth. Around the turn, Wilson moved to seven-under with a birdie at the 10th.

Wilson birdied 13 and 15 to move to nine-under. He was the first in the clubhouse at 10-under as he birdied the 17th.

"I'm happy the way I've been playing. I've missed a few cuts, so it's nice to get in contention and get in the mix," said Wilson, who has missed the cut in five of his last six starts. "So it just feels nice to have a little bit of control over my game."

J.J. Henry carded a five-under 65 Friday to move into a share of fifth at eight-under-par 132. He stands alongside Hunter Mahan (67), Rob Grube (66) and Brock Mackenzie (68).

Defending champion Nathan Green shot 65 to climb into a share of ninth at minus-seven. He was joined there by Bob Estes (67), Tim Herron (63), Vance Veazey (69) and Matt Jones (67).

NOTES: One day after Delahoussaye fired a 62 to match the tournament's 18-hole scoring record, Kevin Sutherland shot 62 on Friday...No. 8 Paul Casey, the highest ranked player in the field, tripped to a three-over 73, which put him over the cut line, which fell at one-under-par 139 with 79 players moving on to the weekend...Sean O'Hair, Fred Couples and Mike Weir were among those joining Casey with the weekend off.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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