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06/03/2010 - Newport, Wales (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England's Chris Wood shot a six-under 65 to take the first-round lead Thursday at the Wales Open.
Wood collected six birdies in a bogey-free round on the Celtic Manor course to finish with a one-shot lead over Welshman Bradley Dredge and Australia's Andrew Dodt.
Edoardo Molinari, Richard McEvoy, Rhys Davies and Raphael Jacquelin were another stroke further back at four-under 67, while former U.S. Amateur champion Richie Ramsay led a large group at 68.
Wood rebounded nicely from his last round on the European Tour -- a 77 in the final round of the BMW PGA Championship two weeks ago. He held the 54-hole lead at the tour's flagship event, but finished four shots behind winner Simon Khan.
"It was just a really tough day for me," Wood said of his Sunday at Wentworth. "I thought the course played a lot harder than it did the previous three days. It was a new experience for me -- leading on Saturday night by a couple of shots."
At 22 years old and playing just his second full season as a professional, Wood has already made a name for himself as a rising star on tour.
He turned pro after tying for fifth place at the 2008 British Open, then shared third place at the '09 Open -- one shot out of the playoff between winner Stewart Cink and Tom Watson.
While he has yet to win, Wood continues to come close. He has three top-10 finishes in his last three starts, including a tie for third place at the Italian Open and a share of fifth in Mallorca.
Wood birdied just one par-five hole on Thursday -- the 562-yard 11th, which is the shortest of the four par fives at Celtic Manor.
Nevertheless, he felt like he put himself in position to shoot a good score by driving the ball so strongly.
"If you can set it up off the tee, it makes it a hell of a lot easier on the next few shots," he said.
The birdies that Wood made -- three on both sides of the course -- were set up by good approach shots, and he rarely found himself needing to make long putts.
"I struggled a little bit with the pace of uphill putts, but I had some really good shots and gave myself quite a lot of chances," he said.
"No bogeys is always pleasing," he said.
With Celtic Manor set to host the Ryder Cup in October, European captain Colin Montgomerie had his eye on several players in the field. Among them was Spain's Alvaro Quiros, who had a hole-in-one Thursday at the 189-yard third hole.
The long-hitting Spaniard, who captured a win earlier this season in his home country, opened with a 71 and was tied for 40th place.
"Someone who hits the ball that far, what an asset that is," said Montgomerie, who had a 70.
NOTES: Defending champion Jeppe Huldahl of Denmark opened with a 72...Khan (71), Paul Lawrie (72), Paul McGinley (72) and Scott Strange (79) are the other former Wales Open champions in the field this week...Richard Green and Paul Waring withdrew from the tournament.
<< In the FCS Huddle: Top 10 FCS Receivers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The dry erase board hanging in Tysson
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Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics starter Brett Anderson left
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Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Red Stars forward Kosovare Asllani
was named Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Week for Week 7.
Asllani lifted the Red Stars to their second win this season,1-0 over first-
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gonna mess your mind."
The LPGA Tour is one-third of the way through its season, and there has only
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MLB decides against overturning Joyce's call >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball has decided not to
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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