107th U.S. Open Championship Preview

Golf Betting Lines

06/11/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a practice round at Oakmont Country Club two months ago, Tiger Woods debated hitting driver into the wind at the 288-yard eighth hole.

But because the world's best golfer has a self-imposed rule never to hit driver at any par three, he pulled a three-wood instead and knocked his tee ball to 25 feet.

Indeed, if you know one thing about this year's U.S. Open site you should know that its members take pride in their course's ability to chew them up and spit them out, to force them to make decisions like the one Woods was forced to make in April.

"Where 'unplayable' is a compliment," one magazine's cover described Oakmont.

Sounds like the perfect place for a U.S. Open.

Trying to picture Oakmont, think Winged Foot with a few extra rows of teeth, like some great white shark waiting to take a bite out of the world's best golfers.

If Winged Foot was frustrating last year, Oakmont is fixing to be damn near impossible this year. Its fairways will be just as narrow, but what Winged Foot lacked in obstacles, Oakmont has in spades.

Even if its landscape reminds us a little of Telly Savales.

Nearly 4,000 trees have been removed since Ernie Els won the last U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1994, most in clandestine late-night landscaping orgies to keep naysayers at bay and avoid any interruption in play.

Nearly every tree in play when Els won is gone.

The course is bald and open, but there are the nearly 200 bunkers to keep players honest, including the famous "Church Pews" bunker down the left side of No. 3, and the rough will be as penal as it was at Winged Foot last year.

The plan is to grow a 12-foot band of the first cut of rough to three inches, then cut the deepest rough left and right of the landing areas to six inches, the same length as Winged Foot.

It's the second year of the USGA's "penalty fits the crime" plan to make recovery shots harder the further off-line a tee shot is.

In the third round last year, Colin Montgomerie made a double-bogey at Winged Foot's par-three third after he found the deep rough in front of a greenside bunker, duffed a flop shot into that bunker, then two-putted for a five.

"Bloody hell!" the Scotsman shouted.

Expect more of that at Oakmont.

The course has been lengthened 284 yards since Els won in 1994 -- no surprise there; lengthening courses has become the norm over the past 10 years -- so it will play 7,230 yards, about 34 yards shorter than Winged Foot last year.

Scores could be astronomical.

After Phil Mickelson's collapse at the 72nd hole at Winged Foot, Geoff Ogilvy won with a score of five-over 285. It was the highest winning number at a U.S. Open in 32 years -- since Hale Irwin's seven-over 287 prevailed at the so- called "Massacre at Winged Foot" in 1974.

Ogilvy played a practice round at Oakmont with Adam Scott and shot in the mid-80s, he said. Ogilvy also claimed his fellow Australian beat him by double-digits.

That news -- as well as Scott's challenge last weekend in Memphis -- makes Scott a clear choice to join a list of the favorites this week. The usual suspects will be there, too.

Woods hasn't won a U.S. Open since Bethpage Black in 2002, two years after he won his first at Pebble Beach. He also finished runner-up to Michael Campbell in 2005 and placed third in 1999, both at Pinehurst No. 2.

His length means lesser clubs into the greens, and his strength will help him out of the rough. Consider last year's missed cut a fluke; Woods admitted he wasn't ready to play the Open so soon after his father's death.

Tiger will be there on the weekend.

Mickelson was on a roll when he arrived at Winged Foot last year, having won two consecutive majors. He practiced at the course up to a year in advance.

That kind of preparation may have cost him this year, though, as Mickelson withdrew from the Memorial two weeks ago and skipped a scheduled start in Memphis with a wrist injury he said he may have suffered chipping from the rough at Oakmont during a practice round.

If you're looking for favorite 1b, Mickelson is often your guy. But I don't see him winning this year, even if the "redemption" storyline -- which you will see ad nauseam on TV this weekend, we promise you -- gets him into contention.

The remainder of golf's former "Big Five" all make interesting choices, too, especially two-time U.S. Open winners Els and Retief Goosen.

Els won his first Open at Oakmont in '94, then won at Congressional three years later. But is he ready to win again on such a big stage? I'm not so sure. Plus, Oakmont is a different course this time around.

Goosen won at Southern Hills in 2001 and at Shinnecock in 2004. Although he's recently tumbled out of the top 10, he has shown signs of returning to the form that once made him a top-five player. Plus, he's got the U.S. Open game.

Vijay Singh has never won a U.S. Open, but he has two victories already this year and appears to have broken free of the slump that claimed the last half of his '05 season and the first half of '06. With his all-around game, the Fijian can never be counted out.

Looking elsewhere, there are grinders and international stars who can be considered threats.

Keep an eye on Scott, for sure, and Masters champion Zach Johnson, who won again at the AT&T Classic four weeks ago. Sergio Garcia is still the "Best Player Never to Have Won a Major," although if Scott keeps winning he might soon snatch that dubious crown.

Then there's the trio of players everyone forgets could have each won at Winged Foot last year.

Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington and Montgomerie all joined Mickelson on a list of players who collapsed at Winged Foot's hilly 18th green on Sunday. Harrington recently won the Irish Open -- winning your national championship, he said, is second only to winning majors -- and Montgomerie's shotmaking skills are too good for him to be counted out.

But I'm going with Furyk to win his second U.S. Open.

Now ranked No. 3 behind Woods and Mickelson, Furyk won at Olympia Fields in 2003 with a control game that will suit Oakmont just fine. It's a long course, but more important than that, it's a course where control is of the utmost importance.

If he hadn't backed off one too many times from a relatively easy par putt at the 72nd hole last year -- he eventually missed it -- Furyk could have forced a Monday playoff with Ogilvy at Winged Foot.

"I'm disappointed," he said afterward. "I played my heart out and it didn't work."

I see it ending differently for Furyk this year.

Here's how some others see it:

JIM GILLIS, MANAGING EDITOR: Vijay Singh

Vijay Singh might not be the top choice of some so-called experts, but maybe it's finally his time. He's never won a U.S. Open and only once has he finished in the top-five (T-3 at Pinehurst in 1999), but the three-time major champion does have seven top-10 finishes in his 13 appearances. That always makes Singh a contender. He tied for sixth in each of the last two Opens and this year has a pair of PGA Tour victories to his credit. It's been three years since his last major triumph. He's due for another.

PHIL SOKOL, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS: Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els

Driving is the key at Oakmont, where the rough is the thickest the pros will face in years. Furyk's ranked second in driving accuracy and can certainly make plenty of birdies. As for Tiger: No reasons needed. Els won here in 1994 and his game has showed signs of improvement. As for darkhorses, I look for good putters who will do well on the 13-plus greens. Players like Justin Rose, Aaron Baddeley and, this might sound crazy, Fred Funk. He is one of the straightest-hitting guys on tour and a decent putter.

KEVIN CURRIE, GOLF EDITOR: Ernie Els

I think Oakmont is going to weed out those who haven't won a major before. Therefore, look for someone who has not only won a major, but this championship. That means, look out for guys like Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els. The choice here is Els. He struggled earlier in the year with an equipment change, but he is rounding into form. Plus, he won the last time Oakmont hosted the Open. I was leaning towards Goosen, but since sharing second at the Masters, his best finish was a tie for 15th at the Asian Open.

GREG WILEY, STAFF WRITER: Tiger Woods

When Tiger Woods is in the field I have to go with him. I know it's the easy pick, but it's also the smart pick. We all know that the USGA likes to test all aspects of a golfer's game and Tiger is the most well-rounded golfer out there. This year Oakmont is going to play at over 7,200 yards and the toughness of the greens are already being talked about by the players. Woods is in the top-10 in greens in regulation and putting average, and ranks 22nd in driving distance. His one downside is driving accuracy, which ranks 165th on the tour (at just over 55 percent). However, his superior strength to everyone else on the tour gives him a huge advantage when working from the thick rough. That is one of the reasons why I'm not big on Phil Mickelson this week. His driving accuracy is also poor at just over 56 percent and his injured wrist will hurt him when working from the rough. Jim Furyk is also a solid pick to win. The second-ranked player in the world lacks distance off the tee, but that won't hurt as much since he ranks second in driving accuracy, 13th in greens in regulation and 77th in putting average. If you're looking for a true darkhorse, go north of the border and look at Mike Weir. He's not going to win, but could have a strong showing. He finished tied for 20th at the Masters and has three top-25s in his last five tournaments. He has also been strong in past U.S. Opens. The left-hander has five top-20 finishes and three top-10s, including a tie for sixth last year, in eight U.S. Open appearances.

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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