Lawrie pulls away for Qatar Masters title
Golf Betting Lines
02/05/2012 - Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Lawrie staved off challenges from Jason Day and Sergio Garcia on Sunday to win the Qatar Masters in comfortable fashion.
Lawrie, the second-round leader, fired a seven-under 65 on Sunday. The Scotsman was tied for the lead after eight holes, but played the last 10 in six-under par to earn a four-shot win.
"I don't think I can play much better than that," said Lawrie. "I've been playing well for a long, long time, but it's just nice to come out one ahead and shoot seven-under."
Day (65) and Peter Hanson (67) shared second at 11-under 205.
John Daly carded a five-under 67 and took fourth alone at minus-nine.
Garcia, who was tied for the lead with Lawrie after a birdie at the 10th, notched one birdie and two bogeys the rest of the way. He fell into a tie for fifth with Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (65), Soren Hansen (66) and Ricardo Gonzalez (70) at eight-under par.
The victory was Lawrie's seventh on the European Tour. He captured the 1999 British Open, but earlier in that season, he won this championship.
"Now wouldn't that be nice to get that again?" he asked.
Lawrie returned to the winner's circle for the first time in nine years when he won last year's Open de Andalucia.
But Sunday's victory was a big one based on the strength of the field, which included world No. 2 Lee Westwood, who tied for 12th, and No. 4 Martin Kaymer, who shared ninth.
Lawrie is expected to move into the top 45 in the world rankings based on this win. He hasn't been in that position since 2003.
The tournament was shortened to 54 holes when most of Friday's action was called off due to high winds.
Lawrie grabbed the second-round lead with a 67 in round two, then birdied his first hole Sunday morning. He parred his next seven and Garcia took that opportunity to vault up the leaderboard.
Garcia birdied one, five, seven and eight to get within one. His birdie at the par-five 10th tied him for the lead with Lawrie at nine-under par, but Lawrie chipped in for eagle at the par-five ninth to move two clear.
Garcia got one back with birdie at the 11th, but that was the last threat the Spaniard mounted. He three-putted the 13th for a bogey, dropped a shot at 15 and fell several behind Lawrie.
The leader played the best golf of the round after the eagle at nine. Lawrie ran home a six-footer for birdie at the 11th and was three in front of Garcia and Day, who birdied four in a row from the 10th.
Day, the No. 10 player in the world, trimmed the gap to two, and Lawrie began to spray the ball off the tee. He had a decent look at birdie at the 13th, but extended his cushion back to three with a birdie at 14.
Lawrie missed a good opportunity for birdie at 15, but cashed in at 16. He drove into the left rough at the drivable par four, then chipped to three feet to set up the easy birdie.
Four ahead with two to play, Lawrie birdied the par-three 17th and the final margin of victory became four only when Day birdied the par-five last.
With a four-shot edge to play with, Lawrie laid up at the closing hole and made a par to secure the trophy.
"When you've got a chance to win a tournament you don't sleep as well the night before and things go racing through your mind," said Lawrie. "You've got to get back to basics and I did that. I hit some nice shots coming in."
Kaymer was joined in ninth place by Victor Dubuisson (69) and Nicolas Colsaerts (72). The trio finished at seven-under 209.
NOTES: Lawrie has three top 10s in his first three starts of the season...European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal celebrated his 46th birthday Sunday with a three-under 69. He tied for 12th, his second top-15 finish of the season...Last year's winner Thomas Bjorn posted a four-under 68 on Sunday and tied for 25th at four-under...Next week, the tour hosts the Dubai Desert Classic, where Alvaro Quiros won the 2011 event.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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