Allen leads Senior PGA by one

Golf Betting Lines

05/23/2009 - Beachwood, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Allen, who is making his first Champions Tour start, carded a three-under 67 Saturday to grab a one-shot lead after three rounds of the 70th Senior PGA Championship.

Allen, a PGA Tour regular who hasn't won since 1998 on the Nationwide Tour, completed 54 holes at three-under-par 207.

Tom Kite and Jeff Sluman both owned a piece of the lead during the third round, but stumbled late. Kite shot a one-under 69, while Sluman managed an even-par 70 as they share second place at minus-two.

Former Masters champion Larry Mize was also in the mix, but was derailed by three bogeys and a double-bogey on the back nine. Mize carded a one-over 71 as he was joined in fourth place at one-under-par 209 by Gil Morgan (70) and Tim Simpson (68).

Second-round leader Ross Drummond faltered to a six-over 76 that dropped him into a share of 16th at plus-two at Canterbury Golf Club.

Allen had a very steady round until catching fire on the back nine. He birdied the second from just over 15 feet out to move to minus-one, but gave that shot back as he bogeyed the ninth after parring six in a row from the third.

The 50-year-old parred the first four holes of the back nine as well. He was four shots back on the 14th, but started to make his move with a seven-foot birdie putt there.

Allen chipped his third to the par-five 15th within two feet and he kicked that in for birdie. He followed with another up-and-down birdie on the par- five 16th to get to three-under.

He parred the final two holes to get into the clubhouse at minus-three and it was good for the 54-hole lead as Sluman, Mize and Kite all stumbled late in their rounds.

"I seem like I'm playing really well on the front nine, but I just can't get any birdies out of it. All the putts seem to lip out," admitted Allen. "My expectations coming in were definitely to be competitive and to win. These guys are great players and they have beat me for a long time, but maybe it is my turn now. I don't know if I'm going to win or not, but I felt like I should definitely be competitive here."

Kite, whose first of 10 Champions Tour wins was a major (the 2000 Tradition), birdied the third and ninth to climb to minus-three and a share of the lead.

The 59-year-old parred the first five holes of the back nine. He moved into the lead at four-under with a two-putt birdie on the par-five 15th. After a par on 16, he missed the par-three 17th well right.

Kite dumped his chip into a bunker, but got up and down for bogey. He also bogeyed the last to end one back.

"I'll tell you what, it's a hard golf course and those last couple of holes are really hard," Kite admitted. "It is a pretty sadistic finish those last couple of holes. But all in all, I really feel like I'm playing well. I really like the way I'm striking the ball and I'm hitting a lot of greens in regulation."

Sluman, the 1988 PGA champion, birdied the second, but faltered to a bogey on the par-four fourth to dip to minus-two. He birdied the ninth to gain a share of the lead at minus-three.

After Kite pushed the lead to four-under, Sluman matched him there with a birdie on the 14th. However, he bogeyed 16 and 18 to drop into a share of second.

"I just have to drive it better. I kind of said the last two days I honestly don't know where it's going off the tee," stated Sluman. "The golf course is in wonderful condition, the type of golf course that if you're driving it well, you love to play, kind of right up my alley. But it's not up anybody's alley when you're kind of wild off the tee."

Joey Sindelar and Bruce Fleisher both posted one-under 69s to move into a share of seventh at even-par 210. They were joined there by Jay Don Blake (71). Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer, Joe Ozaki, Don Pooley, Mark McNulty and Chris Starkjohann are one shot back at plus-one.

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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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