08/24/2008 - Zandvoort, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Clarke ran off three straight birdies from the 10th en route to a four-under 66 Sunday, which helped him to a four-stroke win at the KLM Open.
Clarke completed the tournament at 16-under-par 264. He was one stroke off Tobias Dier's tournament record of 263. It was Clarke's second win of the season and 12th of his European Tour career.
"It's nice to come somewhere knowing that I had to play well and then actually do it," said Clarke, whose two sons were at the tournament and saw him win in person for the first time. "We try to get ourselves to play as well as we can every week."
Paul McGinley fired a six-under 64 to take second place at 12-under-par 268.
Neither Clarke nor McGinley is qualified for the European Ryder Cup team, but their 1-2 finish could help them gain a captain's selection for team captain Nick Faldo.
"I have two weeks to impress Nick and show him I'm playing okay. The first week is out of the way and I seemed to have done that," Clarke stated.
Henrik Stenson, the sixth-ranked player in the world, birdied the first three holes to take the early lead, but stumbled on the back nine as he hit just four fairways en route to a two-under 68. That left him alone in third at minus-11 at Kennemer Golf Club.
Lee Slattery (65) and Marc Warren (68) shared fourth place at nine-under 271.
Stenson ran off three birdies in a row from the first to jump to 12-under, one stroke clear of Clarke.
Clarke parred the first, but tripped to a bogey on the second to slide back to minus-11. However, he regained the lead from Stenson with back-to-back birdies from the fourth.
"I got caught in between clubs on the second...and got too aggressive there," Clarke admitted. "I knew I was swinging well and hit some really nice shots after that and knocked a few putts in."
After Stenson tied Clarke for the lead on six, Clarke pitched his third to three feet at the par-five seventh and rolled that in for birdie and a two- shot lead as Stenson bogeyed the hole.
Clarke caught fire around the turn. He birdied the 10th from four feet out and came right back with a kick-in birdie on No. 11. Clarke sank an eight-footer for birdie at 12 and that gave him a five-shot lead at 17-under.
After a pair of pars, Clarke missed the green at the par-three 15th and that led to his second bogey of the day. Stenson could have cut Clarke's lead to three, but he missed a birdie putt on 15.
Clarke parred the final three holes to secure the victory.
After falling behind with his bogey at the seventh, Stenson tripped to a double-bogey on the ninth to slide four back.
The Swede scrambled to three straight birdies from the 11th to get within four at 13-under. However, he bogeyed the 14th and 18th and drop into third place.
McGinley birdied three of the first five holes to get to nine-under. Around the turn, he jumped to 12-under with a birdie on 10 and an eagle at the 12th. The Irishman bogeyed the 13th for the third time this week, but recovered that stroke with a birdie on No. 14. He parred out to take second.
Soren Hansen, who is also battling for a spot on the European Ryder Cup team, closed with a two-under 68. He shared sixth place at eight-under-par 272 with Ross McGowan (67).
Former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell was joined in eighth place at minus-seven by Gary Orr, Anthony Wall and Gregory Bourdy. Ross Fisher, the 2007 champion, ended in a tie for 20th at five-under-par 275.
<< Astros, Mets resume series at Shea
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have passed virtually every test that's
come their way over the past few weeks. The National League East leaders may
be facing a tough challenge, however, when they continue a four-game series
with th
<< Phils try to make it three in a row against Dodgers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers may have wrecked the Philadelphia
Phillies' chances to win a division title last week. The Phils are doing their
best to return the favor.
Philadelphia will try to win their third straight over the
<< Indians vie for seventh straight win, sweep of Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicaraguan veteran Vicente Padilla tries to snap a four-
start skid when the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians close out a three-
game weekend series tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The 30-year-old Texa
<< A's hope to break long drought in finale with Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics shoot for a rare series win this
afternoon, when they wrap up a four-game set with the woeful Seattle Mariners
at Safeco Field.
Oakland, which hasn't won a series since taking three of four at h
Deco helps Chelsea slip past Wigan >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Deco scored his second goal in as many
games for Chelsea on Sunday, leading the Blues to a 1-0 win over a stubborn
Wigan side at the JJB Stadium.
The Portuguese playmaker scored the lone goal of
Fenin salvages draw for Eintracht >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Fenin scored in the 81st minute to
help Eintracht earn a 1-1 draw against Koln at Rhein Energie Stadion on
Sunday.
Milivoje Novakovic put Koln ahead 1-0 in the 33rd minute, but the hosts mis
Mears joining RCR in 2009, Bowyer switching teams >>
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team owner Richard Childress announced changes
within his organization for the 2009 season Saturday at the Bristol Motor
Speedway. Casey Mears will drive the No.07 Chevrolet starting next year, while
Clint B
Royals bring up P Duckworth from minors >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals purchased the
contract of pitcher Brandon Duckworth from Triple-A Omaha prior to Sunday's
series finale against the Detroit Tigers.
The 32-year-old Duckworth will be making
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend. Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend. With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.
MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:
Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1
Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
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