Schwartzel finds himself alone in front at Doral

Golf Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Africa's Charl Schwartzel posted a brilliant, bogey-free, five-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the WGC-CA Championship.

Schwartzel braved tough, windy conditions at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral for the first-round advantage, when every other leader got tripped up by the famed Blue Monster 18th hole.

First up was Robert Allenby, who reached eight-under, but bogeyed three in a row from the 15th. At the last, Allenby found a greenside bunker and nearly blasted his ball into the water. He couldn't get up and down for par and walked off with a 68.

"When you come from eight-under and you finish up at four (under par), you look at it and go, wow, you really messed that up," Allenby said. "They are not easy holes."

Next was Vijay Singh.

The Fijian was alone in the lead at six-under par after a great approach at 17 left him a tap-in birdie. Singh drove into the water at 18, took a drop, missed the green with his third, chipped to 16 feet, missed the bogey putt and settled for a double-bogey and a round of 68.

Francesco Molinari was tied for first at five-under, but, like Singh, drove into the drink on the left. He missed the green with his third and landed his fourth 16 feet from the hole. Molinari's putt stayed above ground and he made double for a round of 69.

The final leader who fell victim to the Blue Monster was Ernie Els.

The three-time major winner was five-under, but avoided the water off the tee, only to land in the right rough by the trees. Els' second trickled into the water and after a drop, he pitched to five feet and made the putt for bogey.

"You can't afford to get it anywhere near the water," acknowledged Els. "It's a very, very difficult hole."

To tally it up, Allenby, Els and Singh are tied for second at four-under 68. Molinari heads a group of John Senden, Soren Hansen, J.B. Holmes, Paul Casey and FedEx Cup leader Dustin Johnson in a share of fifth at three-under 69.

That left Schwartzel the sole survivor.

Perhaps he was aided by the fact that he started on the 10th tee Thursday and finished his round at the par-three ninth.

"There's so much trouble out there, especially with this type of wind." said Schwartzel. "The big achievement for me today was not making any bogeys. That kept the scorecard very clean."

Schwartzel parred the 10th on Thursday, then rattled off back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12. He parred his last six on his first nine, including the Blue Monster, then caught fire after he made the turn.

The South African birdied the par-five first, then holed a long birdie putt from off the green at No. 2. Schwartzel parred three, then returned with a birdie at No. 4.

He missed the green at his last, the par-three ninth, but hit a great chip to three feet. Schwartzel made the putt to save par and stay atop the leaderboard, a familiar place for the 25-year-old.

Schwartzel earned back-to-back victories earlier this year at the Africa Open and Joburg Open on the European Tour. He tied for ninth at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and is third on that tour's Race to Dubai.

"I've started off the year so good and I couldn't have asked for any better," said Schwartzel. "I've got a lot of confidence with the way I'm playing right now, I'm striking the ball well, and you know, I'm also making a few putts, which is all adds up to good golf.

"I played a lot of good rounds in my career, and yeah, this one rates right up there."

Defending champion Phil Mickelson carded a one-under 71 and is part of a group tied for 17th place.

"I'm happy with 71," said Mickelson. "I know it's not in contention yet, but my goal was to shoot something as solid as I did today, and improve on it each day."

NOTES: Due to Friday afternoon rain on the horizon, officials moved up second- round tee times. The first group off on Friday will now be at 8:00 a.m. (ET) with times running through 9:55 a.m. The groups will remain the same with threesomes going off the first and 10th tees...The only two players qualified for this week that aren't in the field are Tiger Woods, who is still on an indefinite leave, and Ryo Ishikawa, who is graduating from high school in Japan...This is the second WGC event of the year. Ian Poulter won the WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship and had an even-par 72 on Thursday.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.