Blumenherst, Munoz to battle for U.S. Women's Amateur crown

Golf Betting Lines

08/09/2008 - Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amanda Blumenherst didn't lead until the back nine on Saturday, but she managed to knock off Erynne Lee 3 & 2 to advance to the finals at the 108th U.S. Women's Amateur at Eugene Country Club.

Azahara Munoz cruised to a 4 & 3 win over fellow Spaniard Belen Mozo in the other semifinal match.

Lee, a high school sophomore, grabbed an early 1-up lead as Blumenherst bogeyed the third. Blumenherst rebounded with a win on the fifth, where she made bogey on the par-three to even the match. Lee parred the next and again was 1-up.

Blumenherst, the co-stroke play medalist and last year's runner-up, squared the match again with a par on the ninth. Around the turn, it was all Blumenherst.

The three-time All-American from Duke grabbed her first lead with a par on the par-four 11th. Blumenherst made another par on 15 to extend her lead to 2-up with three holes to go.

The 21-year-old Blumenherst closed out the match in style with a birdie on the par-five 16th.

In the other semifinal, Munoz parred the first for a 1-up edge and never gave up that lead. Mozo made bogey on the second to drop 2-down, but birdied the third to cut the deficit back to 1-down.

Munoz, the 2008 NCAA Individual champion, parred the fifth and sixth to extend her lead to 3-up. Mozo fought right back to win the seventh and eighth to again pull within 1-down. That was as close as she'd get.

The 20-year-old Munoz parred the ninth, then birdied the 11th to again move 3- up. Mozo birdied the 12th to get within 2-down, but Munoz parred 14 and 15 to close out the 4 & 3 win.

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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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