05/08/2008 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Sergio Garcia fired a six- under-par 66 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of The Players Championship.
Kenny Perry and Paul Goydos both shot rounds of four-under 68 to share second place at the Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson is certainly in the hunt to become the first player in tournament history to successfully defend his title. He posted a two-under 70 on Thursday, which is good for a tie for ninth place.
"I think that anything under par is a very good score," said Mickelson, who mixed five birdies and three bogeys on Thursday. "I feel as though I'm turning 66s into 70s and I'm going to have to fix that this weekend."
Mickelson and Garcia will have a better shot at claiming the title this weekend due to some high-profile absences.
Tiger Woods, who won The Players in 2001, is still recovering from knee surgery, but Masters champion Trevor Immelman, along with several others, withdrew on Thursday due to illness.
That left the door open for Garcia, whose best finish this season was a tie for 15th at the World Golf Championship - CA Championship.
Garcia began his opening round on the 10th tee, but first broke into red numbers at the par-five 11th. He hit a three-wood into a greenside bunker, then blasted out to three feet and cashed in on the birdie try.
At the 13th, Garcia hit a seven-iron to six feet and converted the birdie effort. The Spaniard made it two in a row with a 35-footer at No. 14, then two-putted from 18 feet for a birdie at the par-five 16th.
Garcia parred three holes around the turn, including the famed island green at 17. He took advantage of the next par five, the second. Garcia's five-wood second shot came up short, but he pitched to five feet and sank the birdie try.
Garcia's next birdie came at the par-four fifth. He hit a three-wood into the short grass and knocked a seven-iron six feet below the hole. Garcia made the birdie putt to reach six-under par for the championship.
Trouble loomed for the European Ryder Cup star. He three-putted the par-three eighth green en route to a bogey, but Garcia had one more bit of magic in him.
At the par-five ninth, Garcia hit three-wood off the tee, then once more from the fairway. The second three-wood landed in a pot bunker on the right. Garcia blasted out to five feet and holed the birdie putt for the first-round lead.
Garcia has now gone 67-66-66 in his last three rounds at the TPC at Sawgrass, including last year's runner-up finish to Mickelson.
"I did shoot 67 last year with the double on the last, so I guess, the last three rounds I played here, I played very nicely," said Garcia. "My whole game has been good."
His whole game has not been that good outside Sawgrass.
Garcia has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2005 Booz Allen Classic. He finished second here in 2007 and lost the playoff to Padraig Harrington at the British Open.
"It doesn't matter," said Garcia. "Even if I would have won last week, I would still be as motivated trying to win this week, so that doesn't change. I don't think it changes for any of us."
Most believe the thing that has held Garcia out of the winner's circle is his putting.
"That's not true," Garcia said, despite ranking 131st on tour in putting. "It's a lot of things involved. Of course, if you don't putt well, it doesn't help. I feel like I'm getting closer and closer; at least now I feel like I can do it and it just a matter of being able to do it."
Steve Elkington, a two-time Players Champion, Heath Slocum, Ian Poulter, Niclas Fasth and 2004 British Open winner Todd Hamilton are knotted in fourth at three-under 69.
Mickelson was joined in ninth by several players, including reigning U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, two-time Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal, Fred Couples, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Boo Weekley and last week's Wachovia Championship winner Anthony Kim.
<< Real hopes to catch a break against Dallas
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis finally
had enough this week, criticizing officials for calls that "are consistently
going against us."
Kreis was rewarded with one-game suspension and a 1,000 fine. He
<< Atletico moves closer to Champions League berth
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan scored as
Atletico Madrid defeated Espanyol, 2-0, on Thursday in Spain's La Liga to move
back up to fourth.
Atletico slipped to fifth Wednesday when Sevilla defeated Racing
<< Sweden, Canada victorious at Worlds
Quebec City, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hockey powerhouses Sweden and Canada each
posted wins on Thursday at the 2008 World Hockey Championship.
The first game of the day in Quebec's capital saw Sweden avenge its
surprise loss to S
<< Toronto's Eckstein, McDonald go to DL
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays placed infielders
David Eckstein and John McDonald on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, after
the two players were both injured in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay.
Eckstein (st
McKay leads at Kingsmill; Sorenstam, Ochoa lurking >>
Williamsburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mhairi McKay fired an eight-under-par 63
Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of the Michelob ULTRA Open
at Kingsmill.
McKay, who is winless on the LPGA Tour, tied the course record wit
Lo Duca, Estrada to go on DL >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals are expected to
place a pair of catchers, Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, on the 15-day
disabled list on Friday.
The club is also expected to recall catcher Jesus F
Barcelona fires coach Rijkaard >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona fired coach Frank Rijkaard on
Thursday, less than three years after he guided the club to the UEFA Champions
League title.
Rijkaard will officially step down on June 30. He will be replaced by
Thursday's NBA Playoff Capsules >>
BOSTON (AP) -Paul Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett added 13 with 12 rebounds, and Ray Allen broke out of a seven-quarter scoring drought with 16 points to help Boston beat Cleveland 89-73 on Thursday night.The Celtics took a 2-0 lead in the Ea
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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