Stricker hangs on to win at Riviera
Golf Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After entering the final round with a
six-stroke lead, Steve Stricker managed a one-under 70 Sunday to win the
Northern Trust Open by two strokes.
Stricker, who had led by seven late in the third round, which was completed
earlier Sunday, completed his eighth PGA Tour title at 16-under-par 268.
With the victory, Stricker moved past Phil Mickelson to become the No. 2
ranked player in the world rankings.
"It feels great. I remember where I was and where I am now, you know, it
doesn't get any better," said Stricker, who collected $1,152,000 for the
victory. "That was hard today. I aged a lot out there today. It was a grind
from the get go."
Luke Donald twice got within two of Stricker's lead, but could not get any
closer. The Englishman closed with a five-under 66 at Riviera Country Club to
take second at minus-14.
J.B. Holmes (67) and first-round leader Dustin Johnson (66) shared third place
at 13-under-par 271.
Mickelson entered as the two-time defending champion, but never threaten on
the weekend. He closed with a two-over 73 to share 45th at two-under-par 282.
Twelve players finished their third round earlier Sunday. Friday's second
round was pushed into Saturday by rain causing the delay in the middle rounds.
Stricker parred the first three holes before missing the green on the par-
three fourth. That led to a bogey dropping Stricker to 14-under. He led by
three, but Donald was making a charge.
Donald got off to a fast start with birdies on one and three. He poured in a
six-foot birdie try on the fifth to get within two at 12-under.
However, Stricker made a run in the middle of the round that gave him a four-
stroke cushion. At the eighth, Stricker rolled in a birdie effort from five
feet and made it two in a row with a nine-footer on the ninth.
Stricker moved to 17-under with a birdie putt from just inside 13 feet on the
par-five 11th. Donald also birdied the 11th and was four back.
Both Stricker and Donald faltered to bogeys on the par-four 12th. Donald got
back within three with a four-foot birdie putt on the 13th. The Englishman
narrowed the gap to two with a short birdie putt on 17.
Stricker scrambled down the stretch as he missed two of five greens between 13
and 17, but got up and down for par both times. The other three holes he two-
putted for par to maintain his lead.
At the last, Donald had a birdie effort from 31 feet, but came up short.
Stricker had three putts for the win, but took just two as he two-putted for
par for the third straight hole to seal the victory.
"I didn't make birdie on No. 1 and made bogey on No. 4 and kind of let some
other players into the tournament," Stricker said. "I knew it was going to be
tough today. I am not too familiar with having a six-shot lead too many times,
so I knew it was going to be hard. I just tried to grind it out.
"I didn't hit it the greatest, but at times my short game saved me and my
putting saved me a few times too."
Donald was denied his first win since the 2006 Honda Classic.
"I tried to keep making good swings and give myself birdie chances. Obviously,
I missed a couple of chances on six and seven, but I can't really complain,"
Donald said. "I hit a lot of quality shots and made Steve think about it a
little. There is no one more annoyed. I haven't been in the winner's circle
coming up on four years now. I feel like I am good enough to be there."
Paul Goydos (65), Steve Marino (68), George McNeill (69) and Andres Romero
(70) shared fifth place at 10-under-par 274. Ricky Barnes was one stroke back
at minus-nine after closing with back-to-back 69s.
NOTES: Goydos led a list of five players, that also included Jason Bohn, Marc
Leishman, Webb Simpson and K.J. Choi, to shoot 65 in the final round...Johnson
will defend his title next week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
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Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Jayne Appel added 15 points
and 13 rebounds while Rosalyn Gold-Onwude
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has managed to hold a 10-6 lead at halftime on the New Orleans Saints.
The Colts used a Pe
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third quarter has helped the Colts grab a tenuous 17-16 lead over New Orleans
heading into the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIV.
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Why Sports Betting is so much fun?
Betting Sports
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Points (or Runs) Scored
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Future Bets
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)
Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:
- What team will win the coin toss
- What player will score the game’s first touchdown
- What will be the exact margin of victory
Types of Bets
Straight Bet
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.
Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.
Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.
Round Robin Betting
Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.
Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.
These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
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