Cabrera-Bello fires 63 to lead by 2 in Dubai
Golf Betting Lines
02/09/2012 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Cabrera-Bello fired a nine-under 63 Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic.
Cabrera-Bello, whose lone tour title was at the 2009 Austrian Golf Open, birdied nine of his first 11 holes before cooling off. He parred the final seven holes.
Marcel Siem and Scott Jamieson share second place at minus-seven. Siem was in the first group off the first tee on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club on Thursday. He dropped his approach shot into the water on the 18th and that led to a closing bogey.
World Nos. 2 and 4, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer, both shot six-under 66 and headline a group of seven players that are tied for fourth place.
Cabrera-Bello started on the back nine Thursday and got off to a quick start with birdies on the 10th and 11th. He again converted back-to-back birdie efforts from the 13th to move four-under through five holes.
The 27-year-old Spaniard continued his fine play with a birdie on the 16th. He followed that with birdies on 17 and 18 to grab a piece of the lead at minus- seven.
After Siem moved ahead with a birdie on No. 17, Cabrera-Bello converted a birdie chance on the first to again move into a tie atop the leaderboard.
Cabrera-Bello made it five in a row as he birdied the second. That gave him the outright lead at minus-nine. Surely, he had thoughts of carding the first 59 in European Tour history at that point.
"Just for a second after the birdie on No. 2, I tried to do the math on what I needed for 59. Then I told myself to stop being foolish and don't be too greedy," Cabrera-Bello admitted. "Nothing wrong happened -- there were some tough holes to come and I didn't drop a stroke."
Not only did he not drop a shot, but Cabrera-Bello parred his final seven holes.
"It's a really, really good score, but in itself it means nothing. If you want to stay grounded, you think of how many leaders of the first round win the tournament," said Cabrera-Bello. "I know I have to play really, really good just to have a chance."
Siem flew up the leaderboard with five birdies in the first 10 holes, including a chip-in birdie on the sixth. He settled in with four pars in a row from the 11th.
The German poured in three straight birdies from the 15th to soar into the lead at minus-eight. He had a chance to end at nine-under, but his approach splashed into the pond short, right of the green at the 18th. That led to a closing bogey.
"I hit it pretty solid today. I thought it was one of my best rounds of golf ever," Siem stated. "I didn't make any stupid mistakes. I had a lot of good chances and made the putts too."
Jamieson had a bogey-free round with just two birdies on his opening nine. Around the turn, he birdied the 11th, then jumped to minus-five with an eagle on the par-five 13th.
The 28-year-old Jamieson birdied 15 and 18 to join Siem at minus-seven.
McIlroy and Kaymer were joined in fourth place by Thomas Bjorn, Richard Sterne, Nicolas Colsaerts, Gregory Bourdy and Romain Wattel.
Mark O'Meara, the 2004 winner, is tied for 20th at minus-three. Defending champion Alvaro Quiros opened with a two-under 70. Fred Couples, the 1995 champ, is among a large group of players tied with Quiros.
NOTES: McIlroy, Kaymer and Wattel were the only players in the top 10 that were in the afternoon wave...Stephen Gallacher had a hole-in-one on the par- three 15th, and is tied for 20th with O'Meara and world No. 3 Lee Westwood.
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and American Vania King were among the second-round winners Thursday at the Pattaya Open. The third-seeded Hantuchova notched a 6-3,
<< Lewis, Kemp lead in LPGA opener; Tseng lurking
Victoria, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stacy Lewis and Sarah Kemp both posted
four-under 69s on Thursday as the 2012 LPGA season kicked off with the first
round of the Women's Australian Open.
This season also began much like last sea
<< Rockets G Lowry leaves game
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets guard Kyle Lowry left
Wednesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers with a strained right
elbow.
The injury occurred late in the third quarter after Lowry's follow-through
<< Rockets hold off Blazers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goran Dragic filled in for an injured Kyle
Lowry and scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Houston
Rockets downed the Portland Trail Blazers, 103-96.
Lowry, who left the game late
<< Henrik Sedin may miss Thursday's game with ankle injury
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin may
miss Thursday's game against the Minnesota Wild after injuring his right ankle
on Tuesday.
Sedin took a shot off his right ankle early in the first period of Tu
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills have released safety Jon Corto, who missed the entire 2011 season with a shoulder injury. Corto, who had signed a two-year contract extension prior to the 2011 campaign, was a s
Ferrero will open for Nadal-less Spain >>
Oviedo, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Spain will begin defense of
its Davis Cup title with a 2012 opening-round tie against Kazakhstan this
week, as the festivities will get underway Friday with a singles rubber
between
Devils hope to stay on a roll versus the Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot New Jersey Devils will try to extend their
longest winning streak of the season to six games tonight, when they host the
St. Louis Blues at the Prudential Center.
The Devils, who are coming off Tuesday's contro
Stars aim to get right against hapless Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Columbus Blue Jackets are playing for pride, the
Dallas Stars have stumbled as of late in their chase of a postseason spot.
The Stars hope to break out of their scoring slump and get back on the winning
track thi
Flames hope to stay hot in Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Needing a big two points on Wednesday night, the Calgary
Flames turned to pair of Finns to get the job done. The Flames aim to jump
into the playoff picture this evening and stop the Phoenix Coyotes' three-game
winning streak
How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.