Baddeley leads Woods at U.S. Open

Golf Betting Lines

06/17/2007 - Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Baddeley will carry a two-shot lead over Tiger Woods into the final round of the U.S. Open after shooting an even-par 70 Saturday at a tamer Oakmont.

Baddeley, an Australian transplant living in Arizona, is at two-over 212 -- the second straight year the 54-hole leader was plus-two at the U.S. Open.

Woods began the day five shots behind Angel Cabrera's overnight lead and shot a one-under 69, playing bogey-free until the 18th hole. He was at four-over 214.

Paul Casey followed his spectacular 66 Friday with a 72 in the second round and was tied for third place with Stephen Ames (73), Justin Rose (73) and Bubba Watson (74) at five-over 215.

Cabrera shot a 76 and fell back to six-over 216. He was joined there by Steve Stricker, whose 68 was the best round of the day, and 2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk (70).

In 28 tries, Woods has never come from behind to win a major. Baddeley, who played with Woods at the Masters this year, will have a chance to extend that losing streak to 29 tournaments.

"I'll absolutely enjoy it," Baddeley, a two-time PGA Tour winner, said. "I'm comfortable playing with Tiger at the majors."

If he had seen Woods' round Saturday, he might not have been as comfortable.

Woods made 13 consecutive pars after posting birdies on two of his first four holes and hit every green in regulation through 17 holes. That run ended when he found a bunker with his tee shot at the 18th, only to blast out to the middle of the fairway.

He put his third shot over the hole and missed a a 15-foot par putt, ending a chance for the first bogey-free round of the week.

Woods was just the sixth player since 1983 to hit 17 greens in regulation during a round at the U.S. Open. He hit no more than 11 in either of the first two rounds.

"I felt like I was in control of my game today, which is nice to have on a Saturday afternoon of an Open," said Woods, a two-time U.S. Open winner.

His round was filled with a handful of agonizing near-misses on makable putts. If even three of them had rolled in, he would have equaled Casey's tournament- best 66 from Friday.

Casey's round was sensational, if not unbelievable. Woods' was workmanlike.

What a difference a few putts make.

"But, hey, I put myself right there in the tournament," Woods figured.

He began the round with a long drive at No. 1 that cut into the center of the fairway, then an approach shot to 20 feet to set up a routine par. He then made par from a bunker at No. 2 -- the first time he parred the first two holes this week.

Woods made his two birdies on back-to-back holes beginning at No. 3, where he rolled in an eight-foot putt. He two-putted from 20 feet at the fourth.

MORE TO FOLLOW.

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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

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