Clarke pushes lead to three in Scotland

Golf Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Clarke carded a four-under 67 in steady rain Friday to extend his lead to three strokes after two rounds of the Scottish Open.

Clarke, who led by one after the first round, completed 36 holes at 10-under- par 132. He is seeking his 13th victory on the European Tour and a spot in next week's British Open.

"It wasn't torrential heavy rain, it was just torrential rain," Clarke said of the weather conditions. "If you're from Ireland there's a difference, a massive difference. We knew it was going to be very hard, but obviously at home in Portrush I've had much worse than this."

The 41-year-old is not yet eligible for the season's third major next weekend. If he were to win this week, he would get one of the last available spots in the field at St. Andrews.

Edoardo Molinari posted a two-under 69 in the afternoon and is alone in second at minus-seven. Molinari, and the rest of the afternoon wave, played in much better conditions than Clarke and the early group at Loch Lomond Golf Club.

Bradley Dredge and Peter Hedblom both carded 69s and are tied for third at six-under-par 136. Francesco Molinari also shot two-under 69 and is one stroke back at minus-five.

Further down the leaderboard, there was plenty of news as well.

Phil Mickelson could have overtaken Tiger Woods for the top spot in the world rankings. However, he was done in by a quintuple-bogey nine on the par-four 18th, his ninth on Friday.

Mickelson got a couple of those strokes back, but not enough as he shot three- over 74 to miss the cut by a stroke at three-over-par 145. Also missing the cut on the number were two-time winner Ernie Els and 2009 champion Martin Kaymer.

Clarke played the back nine first on Friday and three-putted for a bogey on No. 11. That was his first and only bogey of the week. He bounced back with a birdie on the 12th and moved to minus-seven with a chip-in birdie at the 16th.

Around the turn, Clarke poured in three birdies in the first four holes to jump to 10-under. His birdies on one and three came from off the green, before he converted from 20 feet out for birdie at the fourth. Clarke closed with five straight pars to lead by three.

"You have to take what the course gives you and try to grind out a score," Clarke said. "Certainly, I'm very pleased to have ground out four-under. I thought anything around level par was going to be pretty good."

Edoardo Molinari parred his first three holes before dropping in a birdie effort on the fourth. He faltered to a bogey on the par-three eighth, but atoned for that mistake with a birdie at the ninth.

The Italian parred the first four holes of the back nine. Molinari birdied the short par-four 14th, a hole in which he eagled one day earlier. The 2005 U.S. Amateur champion stumbled to a bogey on the 16th, but came back to birdie 17 to end three shots off Clarke's lead.

"I think it was a great round today, it was very windy out there. The wind was hurting a lot," Molinari stated. "I am almost happier today than I was with my 66 [Thursday]."

NOTES: Robert-Jan Derksen (68), Damien McGrane (72) and Graeme Storm (72) share sixth at four-under-par 138...The cut fell at two-over 144 with 68 players moving on to the final two rounds...Y.E. Yang, Vijay Singh, Lucas Glover, 2001 champion Retief Goosen, Robert Allenby, European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, 1996 winner Thomas Bjorn and Miguel Angel Jimenez, who has won twice this season, also missed the cut.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.