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07/11/2010 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edoardo Molinari only managed a three- over 74 on Sunday, but it was still enough to earn his first European Tour title at the Scottish Open.
Molinari finished off his maiden tour victory at 12-under 272 and won by three strokes at Loch Lomond Golf Club.
He teamed with his brother Francesco to win the World Cup last year for his native Italy and he won five times on the European Challenge Tour, but Sunday was his first win and he had his brother there the whole way.
Francesco played in Sunday's final group with Edoardo and now the two are both European Tour winners.
"I think it was very special," said Edoardo. "It was strange, but on Tuesday morning we were talking about the fact we've never together played well in the same week. It was a great day for both of us."
Darren Clarke rounded out the final threesome, but struggled to a five-over 76 on Sunday. He finished second at nine-under 275, but despite not getting his first win in two years, Clarke got something out of Sunday's tough round.
He earned an invitation to St. Andrews next week for the British Open Championship. Clarke finished highest in the top five and wasn't otherwise eligible.
"The Open is a consolation prize, but if somebody had said at the start of the week that I would finish second I think I would have taken it," said Clarke.
Clarke tripped up Raphael Jacquelin, who was going for that St. Andrews spot. Jacquelin carded a three-under 68 in the final round and took third place at minus-eight.
Francesco Molinari shot a one-over 72 on Sunday and tied for fourth place with Stephen Gallacher (68) and Peter Hedblom (72). The trio came in at seven- under-par 277.
But, even with a 74, Sunday belonged to the older Molinari.
Edoardo Molinari began the final round with a one-shot lead and it stayed at that margin after he and Clarke bogeyed No. 2. The third hole proved to be the swing hole for the entire round.
Clarke's third landed in the water in front of the green at the par-five hole. He tried to lash out of the drink, but the ball stayed in the water. Clarke walked off with a double-bogey seven and Edoardo Molinari converted a three- foot birdie putt to take a four-shot lead.
"I was trying to play conservatively," said Edoardo Molinari, who moved past his younger brother in the world rankings with Sunday's victory.
Clarke missed a five-foot par putt at five and was suddenly five behind. Edoardo Molinari bogeyed six and seven to trim his margin, but when Clarke missed the green at 11 and made bogey, the Italian was four in front.
A birdie at 14 gave Edoardo Molinari a five-shot lead, but things got tight thanks to an errant drive at 15. He carded a double-bogey and his cushion was three strokes.
"Disaster struck on 15, but I managed myself pretty well today," said the champion.
At the 17th, Clarke hit his tee ball to six feet, but Edoardo Molinari played his to eight feet. Edoardo Molinari missed his birdie putt, but Clarke didn't and it was a two-shot difference with 18 to go.
Both players found the fairway off the tee and Edoardo Molinari hit his approach almost 40 feet short of the stick. Clarke had a decent look at birdie, but the older Molinari ran his putt less than a foot past the hole.
He tapped in for the win.
"I was very nervous," admitted Edoardo Molinari. "I held on. I'm very, very proud."
Clarke three-putted for bogey after the outcome was decided.
Shane Lowry shot an even-par 71 and took seventh at minus-six, followed by Johan Edfors (68), Rory Sabbatini (71) and Ross Fisher (70), who tied for eighth at five-under 279.
NOTES: Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman had a 70 and took a solo 11th at three-under...U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, who played for the first time since his Pebble Beach breakthrough, shot a four-over 75 and tied for 21st at plus-one...Next week is the third major, the British Open Championship, which was won last year by Stewart Cink.
<< Kuo to replace Heyward at All-Star game
NEW YORK (AP) -Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo has been selected to replace injured Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward at the All-Star game.Heyward is on the 15-day disabled list because of a deep bone bruise in his left thumb. He wi
<< Royals' Greinke scratched from start
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals scratched reigning
American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke from his scheduled start
Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.
The right-hander is experiencing discomfort
<< Astros name Bagwell hitting coach
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have named Jeff Bagwell
their new hitting coach, replacing the fired Sean Berry.
Bagwell had been serving as a special assistant to the general manager since
his retirement in 2006. He
<< Wiesberger wins on Challenge Tour
Monthieux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austria's Bernd Wiesberger fired a
course-record, nine-under 62 on Sunday to come from behind and win the Allianz
Golf Open de Lyon on the European Challenge Tour.
Wiesberger finished at 17-under
Phillies strike out on replay reviews >>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -The Philadelphia Phillies went 0 for 2 on video replay reviews after two doubles were not changed into home runs against the Cincinnati Reds.Carlos Ruiz led off the third inning Sunday with a ground-rule double when a fan reached
Dodgers' Kuo to replace Heyward on All-Star team >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo
has been named as the replacement for Atlanta outfielder Jason Heyward on the
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Heyward was a fan-elected starter for the team,
World Cup final scoreless at halftime >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Netherlands and Spain are
scoreless through 45 minutes of the FIFA World Cup final at Soccer City
Stadium on Sunday.
Spain threatened a few times in the early going and nearly
Twins salvage series finale with Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-3 with a two-run
double and scored a run, as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers,
6-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Comerica Park.
Jason Kubel chipped i
Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
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(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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