PGA Championship Third Round News & Notes

Golf Betting Lines

08/09/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the horn sounded on Thursday evening to end play for darkness, three players shared the lead.

Robert Karlsson, with three top-10s in this year's majors, and Jeev Milkha Singh of India were in the clubhouse at two-under-par 68. One player had yet to finish his round.

That was Andres Romero.

Unfortunately, the Argentine bogeyed No. 18 to fall out of the lead.

It got a lot worse for Romero in the second round.

He tallied a birdied, three bogeys, a double-bogey at 18 and a quadruple-bogey eight on the 16th. Romero shot an eight-over 78 and fell down to plus-seven for the championship, which was one shot within the cut line.

"I couldn't come back after that eight. I made a double bogey at the 18th because I was mad," Romero acknowledged through an interpreter on Saturday. "And then I was almost fighting for the lead in the tournament and suddenly I was trying to make the cut, so I was going mad the whole round the rest of the round."

Romero atoned for the hideous second round with a five-under 65 on Saturday. That is the lowest score of the championship and got Romero back into the mix at plus-two, just three off the lead.

"I played an excellent round. Almost perfect," Romero said through his interpreter. "I can't believe it, I have a chance for tomorrow and, well, I have to wait, but it's great to be here."

Romero burst on to the golf scene with an amazing run Sunday at the 2007 British Open Championship. He held the lead, but closed with a double-bogey, then a bogey at 18 to finish one shot outside the playoff between eventual champion Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia.

Romero parlayed his good run at the Open Championship into a victory the following week in Germany. He won the Deutsche Bank Players Championship on the European Tour by three, then posted a top 10 the very next week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

"I learned a lot after that week," said Romero, referring to the 2007 British Open. "That helped me a lot not to, I don't know, not to go down after that loss. It was a very good experience after The Open."

SO WHO'S READY FOR 36?

When people debate whether golfers are athletes, focus on Sunday's final round. At least six players will play 36 holes on what could be a truly soggy track.

Factor in this is for a major championship and Sunday sets up as a long day.

"It's going to be like college again, playing 36 in one day," said the second- round leader, J.B. Holmes. "It happens, and everybody else is going to do it, too, so just have to go out there and deal with it."

Not everyone is going to be doing it.

Romero is three off the lead and can wait until the final round before he goes out for the first time Sunday. Romero's tee time could be in the 2:00 p.m. (et) neighborhood as opposed to the 7:40 a.m. time Holmes and Charlie Wi have Sunday morning.

"Obviously the guys that finished today that played well will have a nice relaxing morning while we're out there grinding," said 2003 British Open champion Ben Curtis, who is one off the lead heading into Sunday morning. "It's going to be tough for us, but it can be done."

Curtis feels that playing 36 in one day could actually be an advantage. If someone has a sensational third round Sunday morning, that can be carried over to the final round.

Essentially, you could have one big day and win the PGA Championship.

"I'm a believer in big momentum in one day, not necessarily for three or four days at a time," said Curtis.

* Prior to Mickelson's win in 2005, the last Monday finish was Bob Tway's victory in 1986 at Inverness. The only other in the stroke-play era of the PGA Championship was Dave Stockton's 1976 win at Congressional.

* Romero's 65 in Saturday's third round matched the course record at Oakland Hills. He is the ninth player to shoot 65 at this venue and first since Tom Lehman in the third round of the 1996 U.S. Open.

* Sunday's forecast calls for some rain.

* The winner of the last 12 PGA Championships has come from the final group in the final round. Steve Elkington was tied for fifth heading into the final round in 1995 and was the last player to win without being in the final group in round four.

* All three major winners this year have come from the final pairing on Sunday.

Jszzsports Golf Betting News


<< Glaus powers Cardinals past Zambrano, Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus belted two home runs en route to a three-hit and five-RBI day to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs, 12-3, in the second contest of a three-game set at Wrigley Field. Skip Schum

<< Brewers' Braun leaves game
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun left in the third inning of the club's game against Washington on Saturday with lower back tightness. Braun struck out in the bottom of the first, and during the at-b

<< Angels pull away from Yankees with huge eighth inning
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero each homered and drove in two runs as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim used a late blitz to steamroll the New York Yankees, 11-4, in the second of a three- game we

<< White Sox P Contreras leaves game
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras left Saturday's game in the top of the second inning due to an apparent ankle injury. Contreras was running toward first base to cover on a ground ball hit

<< Dolphins sign Pennington
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins officially signed quarterback Chad Pennington to a multi-year contract on Saturday, The move to bring Pennington into the fold came only two days after his former team, the New Yo

Dixon picks up record-tying sixth win this season >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Dixon passed Helio Castroneves on the last turn of the final lap to win Saturday's Meijer Indy 300 at the Kentucky Speedway. The No.9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver crossed the finish line 0.5532

Lee-ving early; Houston slugger exits early >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston outfielder Carlos Lee left Saturday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning after getting hit by a pitch on his left pinky finger. The National League's RBI leader

Piercy still leads as weather stops play in Wichita >>
Wichita, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Piercy was five-under par for his round Saturday before play was suspended for the night due to inclement weather at the Wichita Open. Piercy stands atop the leaderboard at 21-under par, three str

Denver LB Green leaves game on stretcher >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos linebacker Louis Green left the field on a stretcher with a neck injury and a concussion in the first quarter of Saturday's preseason game against Houston. Green collided with teammate D.J. Wil

Falcons' Abraham leaves game >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Abraham sustained a right ankle injury in Saturday's preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and will not return. Abraham, who was acquired in a three-

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards