Vegas Likes Harrington On Final Day

Sports Betting News - September 7th, 2009 - Written by John

The FedEx Cup Playoffs, they will tell you, has it's merits. Good round-by-round paycheck. Nice atmosphere. Great competition. But it still comes a way short in matching the importance of a winning a Major. There is still something about holding the Wanamaker Trophy, or fitting into a green jacket, that you just can't match at TPC Boston.

So it is befuddling that Tiger Woods, who has 70 career PGA wins, 14 of them Majors, just can't put together a solid round in the Playoffs.

Woods struggled from the start Sunday, failing to make a birdie until no. 15, and fell back to a tie for 30th heading into the final day of the tournament. Although typically good on the green, hitting 90-percent of his putts within ten feet and converting one out of every three birdies, his numbers have seen a sharp decline over the past two tournaments, rendering him mute to reporters and keeping him on the practice green for hours. Woods declined to speak about his performance Sunday, instead working on his distance and line while others were talking about Steve Stricker, a steady golfer who is tied for the lead at minus-13 with a six-under round of 65. He made a terrific shot on 18, hitting a hybrid 5-wood when the yardage called for him to club-up. He got all of it, knocking his second shot within five feet to make eagle, allowing him to play comfortably in the final group Monday.

"It turned out good," Stricker told media outlets.

The crowd was also buzzing about local favorite Padraig Harrington, who's Irish descent allows him to fit in well with the Irish-saturated population of Boston. It probably helps that he is also playing great. He is one shot off the lead heading into the final round with Scott Verplank and Kevin Na.

"There's a saying, 'There's 5 million people in Ireland and 40 million in the States,' and I think those 40 million people live in Boston," Harrington joked with reporters after the round. "There's great support here. When you get people supporting you, you do feed off it and try to go with it, and it's certainly helped me over the last three days."

The leader board is filled with steady, yet unremarkable golfers, making it an almost certainty that another big tournament will be won by someone you may not have heard of until today. Heath Slocum won the first-round match, pulling him up from the depths of the rankings at 124. Before that, the four Majors were won by Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Y.E. Yang.

Vegas is going against another surprise name at the top of the Deutsche Bank Championship. Harrington is actually favored, despite his one-stroke deficit. His odds to take the trophy is 10-to-3, according to Bodog. Just behind him, Stricker is given 7-to-2 odds while Retief Goosen is at 4-to-1. The other player tied for the lead, Sean O'Hair, who birdied two of the final three holes to keep himself in it, is a 9-to-2 wager. It probably would not be a shocker if Goosen took the trophy after winning the U.S. Open twice in his career.

Bodog is paying out 10-to-1 if any other golfer wins outside of the top 15.

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