Pettersen leads Webb at McDonald's LPGA

Golf Betting Lines

06/09/2007 - Havre de Grace, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suzann Pettersen shot a five-under 67 Friday to take a one-shot lead over Karrie Webb midway through the McDonald's LPGA Championship, the second women's major of the season.

Pettersen finished two rounds at Bulle Rock at eight-under 136. Webb bounced back from a double-bogey with two late birdies and shot a three-under 69. She was at seven-under 137.

Birdie Kim (71) and Brittany Lincicome (69) were tied for third place at six- under 138.

Annika Sorenstam shot a 69 and was tied with Paula Creamer (68), Morgan Pressel (71) and Meena Lee (69) at 139.

Michelle Wie followed her opening round 73 with a two-over 74 and made the cut on the number at three-over 147. She made back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th holes, where she went bogey-double bogey in the first round.

"My wrist felt a lot better. I felt stronger. I felt like I actually played some pretty good golf out there today," Wie said.

Her withdrawal from the Ginn Tribute last Thursday with a wrist injury caused a stir this week when Sorenstam said Wednesday that the 17-year-old star lacked "respect and class" by showing up over the weekend to practice for the LPGA Championship.

Wie was two bogeys away from shooting an 88, placing her dangerously close to an obscure LPGA Tour rule that disqualifies any non-member for the remainder of the season if they shoot an 88 or worse.

Thursday, LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens joined the chorus of critics by saying Wie was "not very respectful" in her decision. Friday, Wie was asked if she's had a chance to speak with her most vocal critic.

"I haven't really seen her this week," Wie said, referring to Sorenstam.

By making the cut, she will have two more days of opportunities to speak with Sorenstam, who posted six birdies Friday to make up for a double-bogey at No. 2 and a bogey at No. 4.

Sorenstam is playing for the second straight week after missing two months with a ruptured disk in her back. She won this event three straight times from 2003-05.

"I'm a competitor and I might be a little injured physically, but let me tell you, mentally I'm not,' said Sorenstam. "I'm probably strong as ever. So that's really what keeps me going."

Pettersen played in the first morning tee time off No. 1 Friday and made birdie at the first hole when she knocked an 80-yard wedge shot within tap-in range. She followed that with a bogey from the bunker at No. 2, then didn't make another bogey until the 13th hole.

In between, Pettersen made three birdies. She added three more in a row from the 15th hole to take the early lead, including a 15-foot putt at 16.

Pettersen, who won Michelob ULTRA Open in May, was asked if her first two rounds this week are the best golf she's ever played.

"I don't think so, but it's solid," she responded. "You should never say you're in control because then the game will get you the next day. I hit some good shots. I hit some half-decent shots. There's room for improvement."

Webb spent most of her round flirting with Pettersen's lead. She left a birdie putt at the edge of the cup on the 18th -- her ninth hole -- and was one shot down around the turn.

She fell three shot back with a double-bogey at the par-three third, where she missed the green left with an eight-iron. But Webb made birdies putts from 10 feet on No. 5 and five feet on No. 7 to climb back within a shot.

Last year, Webb lost to Se Ri Pak in a playoff when Pak stuck her approach within inches for birdie at the first extra hole. She won this event in 2001.

"I shot two rounds in the 60s pretty easily I feel," Webb said Friday. "So, another couple of rounds like that would definitely give me a good shot."

World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa shot her second consecutive 71 and was among a group of five players who were tied at two-under 142, six shots off the lead. Ochoa has won eight times in the last 14 months, but is still looking for her first major.

Pak, a three-time McDonald's LPGA champion, was a shot behind Ochoa at one- under 143. She had a 70 on Friday.

Eight-four players made the cut. Among those who missed the weekend were Ai Miyazato, Beth Daniel, Julieta Granada and Grace Park and 1995 winner Kelly Robbins.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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