Poulter increases lead in Melbourne

Golf Betting Lines

12/16/2011 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Poulter shot a three-under-par 68 on Friday and has a two-shot lead at nine-under par midway through the JBWere Masters.

Poulter carried a one-stroke advantage into the second round after firing a six-under 65 on Thursday, but he is now two in front of Matthew Giles, who matched Poulter's 68 on Friday to complete 36 holes at seven-under par. Ashley Hall started the day one behind Poulter, but managed only a one-under 70 and is now three back in third place at minus-six.

Brent McCullough and 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy tied for the low round of the day at five-under 66 and are among six players tied for fourth at five-under par. Nathan Greene, Brendan Jones, Kieran Pratt and Peter Lonard are also knotted a minus-five.

Poulter followed a seven-birdie, one-bogey effort from Thursday with four birdies and one bogey on Friday. He has bogeyed the same hole, the par-four 11th, each day.

World No. 1 Luke Donald carded a one-under 70 on Friday and will head to the weekend six shots back at three-under par. Greg Chalmers, trying for the Australian Triple Crown after capturing the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship, is also minus-three after a one-under 70 on Friday.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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