Pavin joins Langer in lead at Carnoustie

Golf Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Carnoustie, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin shot his second straight two-under 69 on Friday to join Bernhard Langer atop the leaderboard after the second round of the Senior British Open Championship.

Pavin and Langer, a first-round co-leader who carded an even-par 71 on Friday, finished 36 holes at four-under 138 at Carnoustie.

Former Masters champion Ian Woosnam shared low round of the day honors on Friday with a four-under 67. He vaulted into a tie for third place with Dan Forsman (71), Larry Mize (70) and Jay Haas (69). The group is knotted at minus-three.

Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 British Open champion who is making his third Champions Tour start, posted his second straight one-under 70 on Friday and is alone in seventh at two-under 140.

Tom Watson, a five-time British Open winner and three-time Senior Open champion, posted an even-par 71 and moved into a tie for 24th place at plus- three.

They are chasing a pair of major champions from their days on the PGA Tour, but a duo who has yet to break through in one of the big five events on the Champions Tour.

Pavin, a tour rookie, started well enough with five consecutive pars. He broke into red figures with a birdie at the par-five sixth, his second in as many rounds at the 565-yard hole.

He closed with three straight pars, but went on a mini run to start the back nine. Pavin birdied his first two holes of the second side and reached six- under par when he birdied the par-three 16th.

Pavin found trouble at the par-four closing hole. Pavin, never one of the longest hitters in the game, hooked a five-wood approach shot out of bounds. He walked off with a double-bogey that cost him sole possession of first place.

"I played pretty solidly today," said Pavin. "Wish I could take that shot over on 18. I was pleased with the day - I played well. I had a few times when I put myself in a little bit of trouble, but extricated myself and made some good par putts coming in and a nice birdie on 16."

Langer, like Pavin, started decently with five straight pars on Friday. He hit a five-iron to 50 feet with his second at the par-five sixth and two-putted for birdie.

He made it two in a row thanks to a seven-footer at No. 7. Langer got it to six-under par for the championship and was in the lead with Pavin in the clubhouse, but, like almost everyone in the field, the back nine tripped up Langer.

The German Hall of Famer came undone on the two back-nine par threes at Carnoustie. He landed in a pot bunker at the 13th en route to a bogey, then three-putted from off the green at No. 16 for his second bogey of the second round.

Those two hiccups cost Langer first, but he was satisfied with his performance on Friday.

"Overall, I'm pretty pleased," said Langer, a 10-time winner on the Champions Tour, including two victories in 2010. "There's no real birdie hole or easy hole. This course can get you on any hole. The wind was really blowing all day. It made links golf that much harder."

First-round co-leader Jay Don Blake struggled to a three-over 74 on Friday and fell into a tie for eighth place with 2008 runner-up John Cook (72) and Russ Cochran (71). The trio is knotted at one-under 141.

NOTES: Pavin won the 1995 U.S. Open and Langer captured the Masters in 1985 and 1993...The third first-round co-leader Carl Mason, who is tied for most wins in European Senior Tour history with 23, shot a five-over 76 and fell into a tie for 13th at plus-one...Defending champion Loren Roberts is also one-over par...The 36-hole cut fell at seven-over 149 and Chip Beck, Craig Stadler and Sandy Lyle missed the mark.

Pokerfanatik Golf Betting News

<< St. Etienne's Sanogo out for three weeks
Saint Etienne, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saint-Etienne forward Boubacar Sanogo will be sidelined for three weeks with a thigh injury and could miss the start of the French Ligue 1 season, which starts the first weekend in August. Sanogo left

<< Indians activate Choo, disable Laffey
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have activated outfielder Shin-Soo Choo from the 15-day disabled list. He had been sidelined since suffering a right thumb injury in a game against Oakland on July 2 while att

<< Canucks D Salo out with torn Achilles tendon
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo is out indefinitely after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. The Vancouver Sun reported on Friday that Salo was injured in his native Finland while playing a

<< Mika Miyazato leads Evian Masters
Evian-les-Bains, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mika Miyazato shot a five-under 67 to take the second-round lead Friday at the Evian Masters. Miyazato finished 36 holes on the Evian Masters Golf Club with a nine-under 135 and will carry a one-sho

<< Lyon signs defender Cris to two-year extension
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon signed Brazilian center back Cris to a two-year contract extension Friday through the 2012-13 season. Cris, 33, has spent the last six seasons at Lyon and looks set to finish his career with the Fren

Vidic agrees to new deal with United >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nemanja Vidic has agreed to a contract extension with Manchester United, chief executive David Gill confirmed Friday. Vidic's current deal expires in two years, and he has verbally agreed to a new deal

Spurs sign first-round pick Anderson >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have signed guard James Anderson. The Spurs selected the 6-foot-6 Anderson with the 20th pick in last month's draft. Anderson was named the Big 12 Player of the Year last s

Hamburg signs midfielder Kacar to five-year deal >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg signed Serbian midfielder Gojko Kacar to a five-year contract Friday through the 2014-15 Bundesliga season. Kacar, 23, previously played for Hertha Berlin, which was relegated after last season.

Dynamo jump back into league action at Crew >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo get back into Major League Soccer action on Saturday after a two week break when they travel to take on the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. The Dynamo (5-7-4) played three SuperLiga

Riera leaves Liverpool to join Olympiakos >>
Athens, Greece (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Riera has left Liverpool to sign with Olympiakos, the Greek club announced on Friday. Riera signed with Liverpool from Spanish side Espanyol in 2008 for a fee of $12 million, but he has now moved t

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard