Haas extends lead in Des Moines

Golf Betting Lines

06/09/2007 - West Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jay Haas, the reigning Champions Tour Player of the Year, overcame a double-bogey on Saturday with six birdies in a seven-hole span to increase his lead at The Principal Charity Classic.

Haas shot a four-under 67 in the second round and is three ahead at 10-under- par 132.

David Edwards shot a three-under 68 on Saturday and is alone in second place at minus-seven. Denis Watson, who won the Senior PGA Championship last month, posted a four-under 67 and has third place at six-under-par 136.

Haas, who held a one-shot lead over Dave Eichelberger at the start of the second round, bogeyed the par-three second hole. He got that stroke back with a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-three fifth, but trouble loomed.

At the par-four eighth, Haas drove his ball well to the right. His second shot remained in the tall grass and he finally reached the putting surface with his fourth shot. Haas missed the 35-footer for bogey and found himself trailing the lead.

That was short-lived for Haas, an eight-time winner on the Champions Tour, including two this year. He reached the par-five ninth green in two and two- putted for a birdie from 25 feet. Haas made it two in a row with a sensational seven-iron tee ball that rolled back to a foot.

"The next hole was big, the ninth hole," said Haas. "It's a relatively easy par five, if you drive it well and I did. I hit one of my best drives of the day and managed to get a two-putt birdie. That kind of settled me down a bit."

Haas stayed hot, although he parred the par-five 11th when his second left him with a difficult bunker shot. After the par at 11, Haas rattled off four consecutive birdies.

At the 12th, Haas drained a 17-footer for birdie to reach seven-under par and get within one of the lead. He holed a 45-foot birdie putt at the 13th to tie for the lead, then kicked in a three-footer at 14 to move in front for good.

He gave himself a good look at eagle at the par-five 15th, but his 20-footer stayed above ground. Haas tapped in for birdie, then moved three clear when Edwards could not make par from the right rough at 17.

Haas parred 16 and 17 in relative ease, but hit a strong approach to the closing hole at Glen Oaks Country Club. He had 14 feet to extend the lead, but missed the putt.

Now, Haas will take a three-shot lead into Sunday, although one week ago, he was in a similar position and lost. He held a one-shot advantage last week at the Boeing Championship at Sandestin, but lost to Loren Roberts after a final- round 73 and tied for fifth place.

"I try not to get ahead," said Haas, who is competing in this event for the first time. "We'll see. I'm hitting some good shots, but there's a long way to go."

Brad Bryant (65) and Mark James (70) are tied for fourth place at five-under- par 137.

Eichelberger struggled to a one-over 72 on Saturday and is knotted in sixth place with Jay Sigel (66) and Morris Hatalsky (68). The trio came in at four- under-par 138.

Tom Jenkins (67), Mike McCullough (67), Hale Irwin (66), Chip Beck (68), Wayne Levi (68), Dave Stockton (69), John Jacobs (70) and Tom Purtzer (71) share ninth at minus-three.

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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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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