Garcia not a favourite for Open despite Masters win

AUGUSTA, April 11, (RTRS): Sergio Garcia’s victory at the US Masters on Sunday was received with delight throughout the golf world, but it seems unlikely to lead to a subsequent flood of major titles for the Spaniard.

That is not to say 37-year-old Garcia will fail to add to his first major win, but the best players are too evenly matched in the post-Tiger Woods era to realistically expect him to suddenly run up his major tally in his late 30s.

The top 20 or so players are all eminently capable of winning when in top form. Woods may have been capable of winning with his “B” game, but no-one Rose were ranked 11th and 14th respectively in the world last week, but it was hardly a surprise they ended up separating themselves from the field, especially in the absence of Johnson, who pulled out at the last minute with a back injury.

A little luck is often required to win, and if Rose’s seven-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole had toppled in instead of grazing the cup, the Englishman probably would be celebrating getting halfway to the career grand slam, after winning the 2013 US Open.

Indeed, Garcia’s victory hardly elevated him to the top echelon of favourites in betting for the next major, the US Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin in June.

Betting website Centrebet on Monday had Dustin Johnson a 7/1 favourite, followed at 8/1 by McIlroy and Jason Day, with Jordan Spieth at 9/1.

Garcia was 33/1, similar to his preMasters odds. But he will not care as he celebrates an occasion that he thought might never come. He was not the only one. Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley struggled to retain his composure during the live television commentary on Sky Sports. can really heat up at this time,” Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner said. “Whoever comes out of the East is going to be well-deserving, and we hope that it’s us.”

Alex Ovechkin and linemates Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie are clicking and the Capitals won 11 of their final 14 games. They lost seven of their last 14 games a year ago before the Penguins knocked them out in the second round.

“We definitely have improved from last year in that area,” goaltender Braden Holtby said. “That was one of the areas we wanted to get better at. I think our ability to realize what we’re doing well and not well, even when we’re having success, has helped us throughout the year. I think we’ve put in the work to prepare for playoffs.”

It helped the Capitals that they had to play well to beat out the Penguins, Blue Jackets and West-leading Chicago Blackhawks for the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

Pittsburgh dealt with its share of injuries down the stretch, and Columbus stumbled to the finish line with eight losses in its last 11 games. Those two teams needing to meet in the first round is one reason NBC Sports analyst Ed Olczyk thinks it’s the Capitals’ year.

“That Pittsburgh-Columbus series to me is going to be one of those where it’s going to go a long while and if it’s six games, then it’s going to feel like eight and a half or nine games,” Olczyk said. “If Washington could have their way with the Leafs fairly quickly, that six- or seven-game series might feel like 10 or 11 and end up taking its toll.”

Meanwhile, Jordan Eberle shrugs off the notion that he and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers might be a little wide-eyed when the puck drops in their playoff series against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are the defending Western Conference champions, with savvy veterans who have been to the postseason plenty of times. Eberle isn’t worried about it. “We have enough experience in this locker room to handle the playoffs,” he said.

Eberle is especially looking forward to the tournament. He’s in his seventh NHL season, all with Edmonton, and has yet to play for the big prize.

“This is usually the last day (of the season) for me,” Eberle said. “It’s what you play hockey for, to get into the postseason and I have a chance to do that finally.”

The stats favor the Oilers when the series begins Wednesday in Edmonton. The Oilers finished second in the Pacific Division with 103 points. The Sharks appeared to have the division locked up in mid-March, only to lose nine of their last 13 to tumble to third with 99 points. The Oilers beat the Sharks three out of five games, including twice in the past two weeks.

Still, the Oilers have not been in the postseason since 2006 when they made a surprising run that ended with a loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes. Along the way, they beat the Sharks in six games, the only time the teams have met in the playoffs.

Oilers coach Todd McLellan and assistants Jay Woodcroft and Jim Johnson all parted ways with the Sharks two years ago and are back in the playoffs facing their former team.

Furthermore, the Los Angeles Kings on Monday fired coach Darryl Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi, the duo that led the franchise to its only two Stanley Cup championships.

The Kings promoted former defenseman Rob Blake to vice president and general manager. Longtime executive Luc Robitaille was promoted to team president in charge of all hockey and business operations.

The moves bring an emphatic end to the best era in the mostly ordinary history of the Kings, a Second Six expansion franchise. Los Angeles won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, but hasn’t won a playoff round since.