Football Betting

Snedeker stuns Stanley in playoff

Golf Betting Lines

01/29/2012 - La Jolla, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandt Snedeker stunned Kyle Stanley with a par on the second playoff hole to win the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday.

Snedeker fired a five-under 67 to finish at 16-under-par 272. He seemingly was headed to a runner-up finish.

However, Stanley spun his third shot to the par-five 18th back into the water and that led to a triple-bogey, which closed a round of two-over 74. Stanley lost his three-stroke lead, and now faced extra holes with Snedeker.

The duo returned to the par-five 18th for the first playoff hole. Snedeker laid up out of a fairway bunker, then knocked his third to three feet.

Stanley found the fairway off the tee and hit his second over the green. He chipped his third to within inches of Snedeker's mark.

Both players rolled in their birdie putts on the 18th, then headed to the par- three 16th on the South Course at Torrey Pines.

Stanley, playing first, hit his tee ball to 47 feet. Snedeker blasted his tee ball over the green and was saved from a hazard as his ball hit the television tower behind the putting surface.

Snedeker took a drop away from the tower before chipping to four feet. Stanley left his birdie putt about four feet short.

After a measurement determined Snedeker was away, he sank his par putt. Stanley missed his par effort to give Snedeker his third PGA Tour title.

"I played good all week," Stanley said in a televised interview. "I'm kind of in shock though."

Snedeker was eight strokes back early in the final round, but forged a stellar rally. He also had the biggest comeback win in 2011 as he erased a six-stroke deficit at The Heritage.

"It's just crazy. I was literally in the media tent watching Kyle on 18, and I had to get up and go to the putting green," Snedeker said on television.

"To get my mind around what just happened in the last 30 minutes is pretty hard to do. I'm shaking right now I'm so excited. My heart goes out to Kyle because he really played great all week. I feel bad for him to have to go through this, but he'll be better for it, and hopefully win here pretty quick to get over this one."

John Rollins managed a one-under 71 Sunday to take third place at 14-under-par 274. Bill Haas (72) and Cameron Tringale (71) shared fourth at minus-12.

Hunter Mahan closed with a three-under 69 to end alongside John Huh (74) in sixth place at 11-under-par 277.

Stanley made the turn with a six-shot lead, but stumbled to bogeys on the 11th and 12th. Couple those bogeys with Snedeker's birdie on the par-five 13th, and Stanley's lead was down to three strokes.

The 24-year-old Stanley parred his next five holes. That run included several key par-saving putts, including a 13-footer on the 14th.

Snedeker stumbled to a bogey at the 17th, but rolled in an 11-foot birdie putt on the 18th to get in at minus-16.

Stanley was three clear on the 18th tee and his tee shot found the first cut. He laid up short with his second, then disaster struck. His third shot bounced pin high, but spun back off the front of the green and into the pond fronting the putting surface.

After taking a drop, Stanley's fifth stopped 43 feet past the cup. He lagged his bogey effort within four feet, but failed to convert that putt and it was off to a playoff.

Stanley led the John Deere Classic late in the final round last year, but he bogeyed the 18th to finish second to Steve Stricker, who birdied the final two holes.

NOTES: Snedeker, who earned $1.08 million for the win, matched the low round of the day with his 67...Bubba Watson, the 2011 champion, posted a one-under 71 to share 13th place at minus-nine...Mark Wilson, who won the Humana Challenge last week, will defend his title next week at the Phoenix Open.


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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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.