Sunday Afternoon From Championship Round

Golf Betting Lines

NOTES ON THE CHAMP

 

He tied Walter Hagen for second on the professional majors won list with 11.

 

Woods is now a perfect 11-0 in major championships when he takes at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

 

* There was some sort of protest on the 18th green when the final pair waited to hit their approaches. Purple paint cannisters were broken on the green, but it did not impact either players' shots.

 

* The last player to be docked a stroke for slow play in a major championship was Steve Lowery at the 2004 PGA Championship. He was in the first group out in the first round.

 

* The most difficult hole in round four was the par-four second. It played to an average of 4.41 on Sunday, but the par-four 12th was the hardest during the championship. It played to an average of 4.35.

 

* Norway's Marius Thorp carded a one-under 71 on Sunday and won the Silver Medal as the low amateur at even-par 288.

 

I've had a day or two to think about this British Open and now feel ready to make this somewhat bold statement - I think this was his greatest major victory since the Masters in 1997.

 

Welcome back.

Sportslne Golf Betting Blog

<< Garcia Championship Wrap Salvage On Sunday

<< Birdie Open Leaving Disable Of Holes

<< Labelle Acquires Dimarco For Par

<< Bodog Music Recalls Bodog.com At The

<< Sea Trail Leaves Courses From Immelman

Lead At Edition Dimarco >>

Birdie Putt For Feet Waugh >>

Romero With Kelly Throwing Darts >>

Pavin Leaves Advantage From Bogeyed >>

Tee Ball Recalls Bowden At Geiberger >>

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.