Tiger, Rock share lead in Abu Dhabi

Golf Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods and Robert Rock posted matching rounds of six-under 66 Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the Abu Dhabi Championship.

The duo ended 54 holes at 11-under-par 205. They share a two-stroke lead over four players.

Woods, who is playing this event for the first time, posted his best round since round two of last year's Masters, where he also shot 66.

Rock, who has a pair of top-15 finishes already this season on the European Tour, is aiming for his second tour title. He won the Italian Open last year.

Peter Hanson, who shared second at this event in 2007, had the low round of the week as he fired an eight-under 64 to jump into a share of third at minus- nine. He was joined there by former British Open champion Paul Lawrie (68), Francesco Molinari (66) and reigning U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy (68).

Second-round leader Thorbjorn Olesen managed a one-under 71 and dipped into a four-way tie for seventh at eight-under-par 208 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Woods and Rock broke through a large pack of players to share the lead. At one point in the third round, there were eight players tied atop the leaderboard. At another juncture, there were five leaders.

However, it was Woods, who had a bogey-free round, and Rock, who birdied the final two holes, that broke through the crowded leaderboard.

Woods drained a 10-footer for birdie at the first. After five straight pars, he sank a six-footer for birdie on the par-three seventh to again get within one of the lead.

Around the turn, Woods made his charge. He two-putted for birdie on the par- five 10th to grab a piece of the lead at minus-eight.

Woods drained a seven-foot birdie try on the 12th to join Lawrie at nine- under, then poured in a 25-footer for birdie at 14 to take the lead by himself for the first time.

After two-putting for par on the next three holes, Woods found the green with his second to the par-five 18th. He lagged his eagle putt within three feet and knocked that in a for a closing birdie.

"I was just kind of consistent. I didn't do a whole lot wrong, I didn't do a whole lot right," Woods stated. "Six birdies piled up, but I was methodically going about my business and grinding. This course is playing difficult enough. You can make birdies, but you can go the wrong way quickly. I've still got to post a good number."

Woods hasn't won on the European Tour since he claimed the 2009 JBWere Masters, his last official win anywhere since the turmoil of his car accident and divorce that started shortly after that victory.

Rock, who was one group behind Woods, also had a pair of birdies on the front nine, with his coming on the third and seventh.

The Englishman birdied the 10th and 12th to move into a share of the lead at minus-nine. He converted a birdie chance on No. 14 to match Woods at 10-under.

However, Rock stumbled to a bogey on the par-four 16th, a hole that he also bogeyed in the first round. He fought back with birdies on the final two holes, both from inside eight feet, to join Woods atop the leaderboard.

"I've played some pretty good golf the last few days, so I'm more than happy," Rock said. "I holed a lot (of putts), and I nearly holed two long ones at the end. I just kept trying to hit them all the same, and that worked alright."

Olesen was joined in seventh place by James Kingston (67), George Coetzee (65) and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (69).

NOTES: Woods, who has 37 European Tour titles, hasn't won in the Persian Gulf region since claiming the 2008 Dubai Desert Classic...Fifty-nine of the 69 players that made the cut shot par or better on Saturday.

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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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