Poulter, Westwood in front; Woods in third at Augusta

Golf Betting Lines

04/09/2010 - Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Englishmen Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood are knotted atop the leaderboard after Friday's second round of The Masters at Augusta National.

Poulter (68) and Westwood (69) are tied at eight-under 136.

Tiger Woods shot a two-under 70 on Friday and is tied for third place at six- under 138.

Thursday's round was Woods' first on the PGA Tour since a sex scandal last fall caused the four-time Masters champion to take a self-imposed absence from the game.

Woods came back with a fury when he posted a four-under 68, his lowest opening round at The Masters. On Friday, Woods mixed three birdies and a bogey for his 70.

"I feel good, I feel very comfortable," said Woods. "Today I hit a lot of good putts. I made my share. Conditions were so much more difficult today. As you can see the scores, guys are not tearing this place apart like they were yesterday."

On Friday, Woods tapped in a short birdie putt at the par-five second hole, but lost a shot thanks to a bogey at No. 4. He parred his next eight holes, then took advantage of the two par fives on Augusta's second nine.

At the 13th, Woods hit his drive long enough to reach the green in two, but elected to lay up due to the wind. He hit his third 20 feet short of the stick, but drained the putt for birdie.

He was five-under for the championship and missed the green with his second at the par-five 15th. Woods chipped on and made the birdie putt to get to minus- six.

Woods parred his last three to get in at 138.

Phil Mickelson, a two-time Masters champion, finished with a one-under 71 and tied Woods, K.J. Choi (71), Ricky Barnes (70) and Anthony Kim (70) at minus- six.

Mickelson nearly made a long birdie putt on the last, but it popped out of the hole.

"I gave it a little bit extra," said Mickelson, who won in 2004 and 2006. "I was fortunate it hit the hole."

Reigning PGA Champion Y.E. Yang managed an even-par 72 and is eighth at five- under 139.

First-round leader Fred Couples battled his balky back on Friday morning and bogeyed the last three holes for a three-over 75. The 50-year-old three-time winner on the Champions Tour this year is certainly still in contention at three-under 141, but admitted it was the back that did him in on Friday.

"For a while I felt like I could go from first to last," acknowledged Couples, the 1992 Masters champion. "But I kind of loosened up and I got it around."

Sixty-year-old Tom Watson, whose 67 on Thursday was his lowest round at Augusta since 1997, struggled to a two-over 74 on Friday, but matched Couples and Soren Kjeldsen (71) at minus-three.

"It was a struggle today," he admitted. "I'm disappointed that I didn't do as well as I could have today."

Poulter did about as well as anyone could have on Friday.

He broke into red figures with a birdie at the par-five second after his five- wood second landed in the middle of the green. Poulter's next birdie came from eight feet at the eighth, then it was off to the back nine where he flew up the board.

At the famous, par-three 12th, Poulter hit an eight-iron to eight feet to set up birdie. He ran his eagle putt 10 feet past the hole at the par-five 13th, but the colorful Englishman hit the comeback putt for another birdie.

Poulter hit another strong eight-iron at 16 and the result was the same as No. 12. He drained an eight-foot birdie try and was nine-under par for the championship.

Trouble loomed at the last. Poulter pulled his five-iron approach shot and left himself with seven feet for par. His putt stayed above ground and Poulter walked off with a bogey at 18.

"I'm pleased that I gave myself so many chances, and I would say it's one of best rounds of golf I've played in a while," said Poulter.

It was at this year's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship where Poulter earned his first win in the United States and first PGA Tour victory. He is the seventh-ranked golfer in the world and feels like he belongs on top of leaderboards at major championships.

"It's helped a lot to win on this side of the pond, has made a big difference, and the fact that it was a WGC has given me an extra boost," he said. "To be playing Augusta was in my dreams, and to be sitting at the top of the leaderboards was in my dreams, as well. So hopefully we can have a good weekend and be in a similar situation come Sunday night."

He will battle his fellow countrymen, starting Saturday.

Westwood flew out of the gate with a tap-in eagle at two and a curling birdie putt at No. 3. He bogeyed five, but back-to-back birdies at six and seven got him to nine-under par.

After a bogey at 10 and a birdie at 11, Westwood two-putted for a birdie at 13. He was 10-under and two clear, but that evaporated quickly. A bad drive at 14 led to a double-bogey, but he got one stroke back with another two-putt birdie at 15.

Westwood was in the lead until yet another errant drive, this time at the last. His ball went way right and Westwood turned around to the gallery as if he was distracted by something.

He pitched out, then knocked his third on to the green, but it rolled down toward the front of the green. Westwood missed the putt, made bogey and will play in Saturday's final pairing with his buddy.

"I don't think it'll be a factor at all," said Westwood of playing with his friend in round three. "If anything it'll help, but as golfers we go out there and concentrate on our own ball and not what the other guys do."

NOTES: The 36-hole cut fell at three-over 147 and defending champion Angel Cabrera birdied the last to make it on the number...Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Rory McIlory, British Open champion Stewart Cink, Paul Casey, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk were the biggest names to miss the weekend.

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NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

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Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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