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07/11/2010 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edoardo Molinari only managed a three- over 74 on Sunday, but it was still enough to earn his first European Tour title at the Scottish Open.
Molinari finished off his maiden tour victory at 12-under 272 and won by three strokes at Loch Lomond Golf Club.
He teamed with his brother Francesco to win the World Cup last year for his native Italy and he won five times on the European Challenge Tour, but Sunday was his first win and he had his brother there the whole way.
Francesco played in Sunday's final group with Edoardo and now the two are both European Tour winners.
"I think it was very special," said Edoardo. "It was strange, but on Tuesday morning we were talking about the fact we've never together played well in the same week. It was a great day for both of us."
Darren Clarke rounded out the final threesome, but struggled to a five-over 76 on Sunday. He finished second at nine-under 275, but despite not getting his first win in two years, Clarke got something out of Sunday's tough round.
He earned an invitation to St. Andrews next week for the British Open Championship. Clarke finished highest in the top five and wasn't otherwise eligible.
"The Open is a consolation prize, but if somebody had said at the start of the week that I would finish second I think I would have taken it," said Clarke.
Clarke tripped up Raphael Jacquelin, who was going for that St. Andrews spot. Jacquelin carded a three-under 68 in the final round and took third place at minus-eight.
Francesco Molinari shot a one-over 72 on Sunday and tied for fourth place with Stephen Gallacher (68) and Peter Hedblom (72). The trio came in at seven- under-par 277.
But, even with a 74, Sunday belonged to the older Molinari.
Edoardo Molinari began the final round with a one-shot lead and it stayed at that margin after he and Clarke bogeyed No. 2. The third hole proved to be the swing hole for the entire round.
Clarke's third landed in the water in front of the green at the par-five hole. He tried to lash out of the drink, but the ball stayed in the water. Clarke walked off with a double-bogey seven and Edoardo Molinari converted a three- foot birdie putt to take a four-shot lead.
"I was trying to play conservatively," said Edoardo Molinari, who moved past his younger brother in the world rankings with Sunday's victory.
Clarke missed a five-foot par putt at five and was suddenly five behind. Edoardo Molinari bogeyed six and seven to trim his margin, but when Clarke missed the green at 11 and made bogey, the Italian was four in front.
A birdie at 14 gave Edoardo Molinari a five-shot lead, but things got tight thanks to an errant drive at 15. He carded a double-bogey and his cushion was three strokes.
"Disaster struck on 15, but I managed myself pretty well today," said the champion.
At the 17th, Clarke hit his tee ball to six feet, but Edoardo Molinari played his to eight feet. Edoardo Molinari missed his birdie putt, but Clarke didn't and it was a two-shot difference with 18 to go.
Both players found the fairway off the tee and Edoardo Molinari hit his approach almost 40 feet short of the stick. Clarke had a decent look at birdie, but the older Molinari ran his putt less than a foot past the hole.
He tapped in for the win.
"I was very nervous," admitted Edoardo Molinari. "I held on. I'm very, very proud."
Clarke three-putted for bogey after the outcome was decided.
Shane Lowry shot an even-par 71 and took seventh at minus-six, followed by Johan Edfors (68), Rory Sabbatini (71) and Ross Fisher (70), who tied for eighth at five-under 279.
NOTES: Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman had a 70 and took a solo 11th at three-under...U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, who played for the first time since his Pebble Beach breakthrough, shot a four-over 75 and tied for 21st at plus-one...Next week is the third major, the British Open Championship, which was won last year by Stewart Cink.
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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