Four share lead at Hong Kong Open

Golf Betting Lines

11/21/2008 - Hong Kong (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen fired an eight-under 62 on Friday to spotlight a four-way tie for the lead after the second round of the Hong Kong Open.

Oliver Fisher (65), Chawalit Plaphol (66) and European Ryder Cup team member Oliver Wilson (66) shared the lead with Oosthuizen at eight-under-par 132 heading into the weekend at Hong Kong Golf Club.

Colin Montgomerie (65) led a group of five players who stood one shot off the pace at seven-under 133 on a tight leaderboard. He was joined by Johan Edfors (65), Marcus Fraser (66), Francesco Molinari (67) and first round co-leader Richard Sterne (69).

John Daly (136), Bernhard Langer (136) and Jose Maria Olazabal (137) were among the 33 players who were within five shots of the co-leaders after 36 holes.

None of the co-leaders has ever won on the European Tour.

Oosthuizen earned his share of the halfway lead with eight birdies in a bogey- free round. The 26-year-old South African finished one shot off the course record of 61 shared by Henrik Bjornstad (2002) and Simon Yates (2006).

"I've been playing well for the last seven months, really, but I just can't get that final edge in," said Oosthuizen, who posted his personal-best score on the European Tour.

Wilson, who lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia at the HSBC Champions two weeks ago, mixed six birdies with two bogeys in his second round. He was a couple shots clear of the field before making a bogey on his last hole.

"I'm obviously pretty happy with the first two days," said the 28-year-old Englishman. "It has gone according to plan so far."

Fisher, the youngest among the co-leaders at just 20 years old, racked up five birdies in a spotless round. He got things rolling early on with three birdies on his first six holes, including two on approaches within a few feet.

"It is very good," said the young Englishman. "I played very solid and I am in a good position going into the weekend."

Plaphol also got off to a good start, making three birdies on his first five holes. The two-time Asian Tour winner added two more birdies later on, but was done in by a lone bogey at his 10th hole.

The cut line fell at even-par 140 with 82 players making it to the weekend, including defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, who made it on the number after shooting a 69.

Jason Hak, a 14-year-old amateur from Hong Kong, made history as the youngest player to make the cut in a European Tour event after his second consecutive even-par 70. He beat Garcia's record by 107 days.

Not so lucky was European Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo, who went 72-70 to miss the cut by two shots.

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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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