As the wind blows, scores soar at St. Andrews

Golf Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After second-round play was stopped for 66 minutes at the British Open, the wind continued to blow at St. Andrews, and in the process, sent scores soaring.

With the final group midway through the front nine, there are only five players under par for the second round.

All five of them are just minus-one. Among that group, Jin Jeong, the reigning British Amateur champion, and Darren Clarke are the deepest into their rounds as they have completed 10 holes.

Louis Oosthuizen fired a five-under 67 before the wind really kicked up to finish two rounds at 12-under-par 132. That gave him a five-stroke cushion over 1989 champion Mark Calcavecchia, who also shot 67.

For the day, there were just nine rounds in the 60s and U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell was the last of them to finish. He completed his round at about 12:07 p.m. (et) or 5:07 local time.

When McDowell finished, the final group was still 19 minutes from its scheduled tee time due to the weather delay.

With about one-third of the field still on the course, there already were 10 rounds in the 80s with at least three more players on the their way to posting a number that high.

Among those going the wrong way on the leaderboard was first-round leader Rory McIlroy. The 21-year-old, who had never shot a round out of the 60s on the Old Course, was eight-over through 16 holes of his second round.

Nikkanspots Golf Betting News

<< Montanes into semis in Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Montanes of Spain rolled over second-seeded Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup tennis event on Friday. Montanes, seeded fifth, cruised over the second-seeded

<< Lightning re-sign Szczechura
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed forward Paul Szczechura to a one-year contract on Friday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Szczechura appeared in 52 games last season for the Lightning, rec

<< Sunderland's Gordon to miss start of new season
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon will miss the start of the upcoming Premiership season after he fractured a bone in his arm. Gordon sustained the injury in training on Thursday after he fell awkwar

<< Szavay moves on in Prague; Garrigues ousted
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last week's Budapest titlist Agnes Szavay advanced to the semifinals of the $220,000 Prague Open tennis event with a straight set win over Slovenian Polona Hercog. The seventh-seeded Sza

<< Barrera completes West Ham move
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexico international Pablo Barrera completed his move to West Ham on Friday, the club announced. The 23-year-old winger has moved to Upton Park from Mexican side UNAM Pumas on a four-year contract

EWU home victories would turn opponents red >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an effort to boost exposure, Eastern Washington University will literally go in the red this year, replacing the traditional grass surface of Woodward Field with red artificial turf. The move is admitte

Predators sign Lundmark >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators signed center Jamie Lundmark to a one-year, two-way contract on Friday. The 29-year-old appeared in 36 games between Calgary and Toronto in the 2009-10 season and tallied five

Roberts, Skelton under contract >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals will head into training camp with their two FCS draft choices, quarterback John Skelton and wide receiver Andre Roberts, signed to four-year contracts. Skelton was the Cardinals' fifth-rou

AL Central: Tribe's future will take shape in second half >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For Cleveland Indians fans, the hard part is over. They've endured a first half of the season that saw their team finish 20 games below .500 (34-54) and fall 15 1/2 games off the pace in the American League Central. Grante

Stars sign veteran D Lukowich, three others >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars signed veteran defenseman Brad Lukowich and two others to one-year, two-way contracts on Friday. Lukowich, 33, has registered 23 goals and 90 assists in 653 regular season NHL games with six

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.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.