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Jimenez outlasts Westwood for Dubai titleGolf Betting Lines02/07/2010 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Angel Jimenez didn't play great golf in Sunday's playoff, but did enough to defeat Lee Westwood and win the Dubai Desert Classic. Jimenez netted three pars in the extra session and the last one was enough to topple Westwood, last year's Race to Dubai winner. Jimenez and Westwood, two of four third-round co-leaders, headed to the par- four ninth at the Emirates Golf Club for the third playoff hole. Westwood had good looks at victory on both previous holes and Jimenez did his share of scrambling, but they were even on No. 9. Westwood found the fairway off the tee at the ninth, while Jimenez missed the short grass in the left first cut. Jimenez came up short and right with his approach, but Westwood was almost a club short and nearly met a watery problem. Jimenez chipped to four feet and Westwood pitched to six feet. Westwood missed his par putt and Jimenez drained his for his 16th European Tour victory and ninth since he turned 40. "I feel so proud to win this trophy. I like the golf course, I like the ambience and I like the people and I am very happy," said the 46-year-old, who was a runner-up twice in this event. Thongchai Jaidee, the third of four third-round co-leaders, had a one-over 73 and missed the playoff by a single stroke at minus-10. Martin Kaymer, who won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship two weeks ago, posted a two-under 70 and shared fourth place with Edoardo Molinari, who had a 71 on Sunday. The pair finished at nine-under 279. That wasn't quite enough to get into the sudden-death session between Jimenez and Westwood. Both playoff combatants had even-par 72s on Sunday and finished regulation tied at 11-under 277. Jimenez birdied the 17th and Westwood the 18th to put the two into a sudden-death playoff. Westwood appeared to have the advantage on the first playoff trip through the par-five 18th. Jimenez laid up short of the water, while Westwood knocked it just left of the green. Jimenez nearly rolled into the pond with his third, but was safe and actually got up and down for par. Westwood had 10 feet for the birdie and the win, but played too much break and it was back to the tee for the second playoff hole. If the first extra hole was advantage Westwood, the second time around in sudden death it was absolutely his for the taking. Jimenez drove into the rough and once again had to lay up, only this time he had 200 yards for his third. Westwood's fairway-metal second rolled over the back and Jimenez' third found a bunker. Westwood hit an average chip and left himself with 15 feet downhill for birdie. Jimenez blasted out to 12 feet, so Westwood stepped over his putt in great shape. He missed, but tapped in for par and had to wait for Jimenez to make his to extend the playoff. "The Mechanic" poured his par save into the middle of the cup and it was off to the par-four ninth and eventually the winner's circle for the 46-year-old Spaniard. "I made a very good putt on the second hole of the playoff on the 18th that kept me going then I had a putt to win," said Jimenez. "My last win was in 2008 in the PGA (BMW PGA Championship) and it proves the old guys like me can win." Jimenez had an average day in windy conditions on Sunday. With several players, including Westwood, Jaidee and Alvaro Quiros, on top of the leaderboard, Jimenez plodded along. He made bogey at the sixth, then went birdie-bogey immediately after the turn. Jimenez still trailed and didn't move in front until his third birdie in four rounds at the 17th. Westwood caught him with a birdie on the 18th in the final group. The final 54-hole leader to finish on Sunday was Quiros, a runner-up last week in Qatar. Quiros owned the lead for a good portion of the back nine until three late bogeys led him to a three-over 75. Quiros shared sixth place with last year's winner Rory McIlroy, who managed a one-over 73 in the final round. McIlroy and Quiros came in at eight-under-par 280. Tom Watson, 60, played his first European Tour event since 1993 and was brilliant on Sunday. He shot a four-under 68 and tied for eighth with world No. 10 Henrik Stenson and Gregory Bourdy. Both Stenson and Bourdy had 68s as well on Sunday and the trio was knotted at minus-six. "I'm obviously very happy with how I played today," said Watson. "It was a good week. I've enjoyed it very much. It was a learning experience here in Dubai. NOTES: Amateur Matteo Manassero had a one-under 71 on Sunday and tied for 31st at minus-one...Last week's winner in Qatar, Robert Karlsson, struggled to a four-over 76 and fell into a tie for 44th at plus-one...Next week is a new event on tour, the Avantha Masters in India.
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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview“You play to win the game!” Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy. The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line. The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2. Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway? Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year. Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years. Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant. Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success. The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones. Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings. Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record. This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots. First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!” The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Betting the NFL preseasonRule 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. |
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