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03/11/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Africa's Charl Schwartzel posted a brilliant, bogey-free, five-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the WGC-CA Championship.
Schwartzel braved tough, windy conditions at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral for the first-round advantage, when every other leader got tripped up by the famed Blue Monster 18th hole.
First up was Robert Allenby, who reached eight-under, but bogeyed three in a row from the 15th. At the last, Allenby found a greenside bunker and nearly blasted his ball into the water. He couldn't get up and down for par and walked off with a 68.
"When you come from eight-under and you finish up at four (under par), you look at it and go, wow, you really messed that up," Allenby said. "They are not easy holes."
Next was Vijay Singh.
The Fijian was alone in the lead at six-under par after a great approach at 17 left him a tap-in birdie. Singh drove into the water at 18, took a drop, missed the green with his third, chipped to 16 feet, missed the bogey putt and settled for a double-bogey and a round of 68.
Francesco Molinari was tied for first at five-under, but, like Singh, drove into the drink on the left. He missed the green with his third and landed his fourth 16 feet from the hole. Molinari's putt stayed above ground and he made double for a round of 69.
The final leader who fell victim to the Blue Monster was Ernie Els.
The three-time major winner was five-under, but avoided the water off the tee, only to land in the right rough by the trees. Els' second trickled into the water and after a drop, he pitched to five feet and made the putt for bogey.
"You can't afford to get it anywhere near the water," acknowledged Els. "It's a very, very difficult hole."
To tally it up, Allenby, Els and Singh are tied for second at four-under 68. Molinari heads a group of John Senden, Soren Hansen, J.B. Holmes, Paul Casey and FedEx Cup leader Dustin Johnson in a share of fifth at three-under 69.
That left Schwartzel the sole survivor.
Perhaps he was aided by the fact that he started on the 10th tee Thursday and finished his round at the par-three ninth.
"There's so much trouble out there, especially with this type of wind." said Schwartzel. "The big achievement for me today was not making any bogeys. That kept the scorecard very clean."
Schwartzel parred the 10th on Thursday, then rattled off back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12. He parred his last six on his first nine, including the Blue Monster, then caught fire after he made the turn.
The South African birdied the par-five first, then holed a long birdie putt from off the green at No. 2. Schwartzel parred three, then returned with a birdie at No. 4.
He missed the green at his last, the par-three ninth, but hit a great chip to three feet. Schwartzel made the putt to save par and stay atop the leaderboard, a familiar place for the 25-year-old.
Schwartzel earned back-to-back victories earlier this year at the Africa Open and Joburg Open on the European Tour. He tied for ninth at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and is third on that tour's Race to Dubai.
"I've started off the year so good and I couldn't have asked for any better," said Schwartzel. "I've got a lot of confidence with the way I'm playing right now, I'm striking the ball well, and you know, I'm also making a few putts, which is all adds up to good golf.
"I played a lot of good rounds in my career, and yeah, this one rates right up there."
Defending champion Phil Mickelson carded a one-under 71 and is part of a group tied for 17th place.
"I'm happy with 71," said Mickelson. "I know it's not in contention yet, but my goal was to shoot something as solid as I did today, and improve on it each day."
NOTES: Due to Friday afternoon rain on the horizon, officials moved up second- round tee times. The first group off on Friday will now be at 8:00 a.m. (ET) with times running through 9:55 a.m. The groups will remain the same with threesomes going off the first and 10th tees...The only two players qualified for this week that aren't in the field are Tiger Woods, who is still on an indefinite leave, and Ryo Ishikawa, who is graduating from high school in Japan...This is the second WGC event of the year. Ian Poulter won the WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship and had an even-par 72 on Thursday.
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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