07/05/2009 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Kaymer defeated Lee Westwood in a playoff Sunday to win the Open de France, rolling in a lengthy par putt on the first extra hole to claim his third European Tour victory.
Kaymer closed with a three-under 68 at Le Golf National, missing several good birdie opportunities down the stretch that could have given him the win in regulation.
Instead, the 24-year-old German holed a 30-footer for par on the 18th green to win the playoff. An emerging threat in Europe, Kaymer claimed his other two victories last season.
"This is very special for me to get this trophy today," he said.
Westwood, the 36-year-old Ryder Cup star from England, was attempting to win for the 19th time on tour. He fired a six-under 65 in the final round to climb from a tie for seventh into a share of the lead with Kaymer.
But Westwood knocked his approach shot into the water in the playoff, ending his chances.
The duo finished regulation at 13-under 271, three shots in front of Ian Poulter, whose final round included a blow-up at the 15th hole when the Englishman hit into the water and then shouted at a photographer.
"What are you doing? Are you that stupid?" screamed Poulter, who shot a 67 and took third place at 10-under 274. He went on to bogey the hole.
Ugly as that incident was, it was trumped by the late struggles of third-round leader Rafa Echenique, who shot a six-over 77 and dropped into a tie for 13th place at five-under 279 -- eight shots back.
Among the Argentine's missteps Sunday were two shots hit into the water at the 15th, where he took a triple-bogey seven. Echenique also made a triple-bogey at the 18th hole.
As Echenique failed to protect the lead, Kaymer and Westwood emerged to battle for it.
They both made key birdies early on the back nine -- Kaymer when he drained a long putt at the 10th and Westwood after he nearly holed his approach at the 13th.
But they also took bad bogeys in key spots. Kaymer bogeyed the 12th moments before Westwood, after finding trouble off the tee, bogeyed the 14th when he came up well short on a chip-shot.
Westwood avoided another bogey when he holed a 10-foot par save at the 17th.
Kaymer, meanwhile, missed a 12-footer for birdie at the 16th and an eight-foot birdie putt at the 17th, both times with a chance to take sole possession of the lead.
He hit an iron off the tee at the par-four 18th, later saving par from five feet to force the playoff.
Sticking to his game plan, Kaymer again hit an iron off the No. 18 tee to start the playoff, finding the rough. Westwood, as he did in regulation, hit driver and also landed in the rough.
Barely carrying the water with his approach shot, Kaymer got lucky with a lie in the rough. From there, he chipped it to the far side of the green.
Westwood wasn't as lucky. He sent his second shot into the hazard -- it dropped in between the wooden boards and a sponsor's signage fronting the green.
After taking his one-stroke penalty, Westwood came up well short of the hole with his fourth shot. He then missed his long bogey putt, leaving Kaymer with two chances to win.
Kaymer needed only one shot, as he rolled the long par putt into the center of the cup.
Winning in such dramatic fashion had little effect on the unassuming German, who offered a quick and modest description of his final stroke.
"Four is a really good score on [18] any time," Kaymer said.
The loss earned Westwood his fifth second-place finish in the last two seasons. It all might have been different if he hadn't found the water in the playoff.
"Martin's ball carried the water by a foot and mine must have went in by a foot," said Westwood, who hasn't won since 2007. "That's the chance you take in playoffs."
<< Red-hot Rangers go for sweep of Rays in Arlington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Texas Rangers will try to collect a three-
game sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays when the two teams collide this evening in
Arlington.
The Rangers will send Scott Feldman to the hill, who is coming off a solid
<< Oswalt and the Big Unit square off in San Francisco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt and Randy Johnson will have a tough time
duplicating the magnificent performance from Tim Lincecum on Saturday when the
two starters face off this afternoon in the finale of the three-game set
between the Houston A
<< Billingsley goes for win No. 10 in rubber match against Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley tries to win his 10th game of the season
this afternoon when the Los Angeles Dodgers play the rubber match of their
three-game series with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Billingsley, though, is winles
<< Phils hope to break out the brooms on the Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Santana goes for the New York Mets this afternoon,
as they try and avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the NL East-leading
Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
With wins in just three of its last 15 gam
Federer tops Roddick in epic Wimbledon final for 15th major title >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer captured his sixth
Wimbledon title Sunday with a thrilling five-set victory over Andy Roddick and
established a record with his 15th career Grand Slam title.
Federer earned a 5-7,
Marlins' Ramirez scratched from lineup with tight hip flexor >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez was
scratched from Sunday's lineup versus the Pittsburgh Pirates due to a tight
right hip flexor.
Ramirez tweaked the injury rounding first base on a single in the
Phils activate reliever Eyre off DL >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies activated
lefty reliever Scott Eyre from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday.
Eyre hit the DL June 12 with a strained left calf. He is 1-1 with a 2.57
earned run av
Cardinals' Pujols headlines 2009 All-Star starters >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball has announced the
rosters for the 2009 All-Star Game, and the squads are filled with many
familiar names, as only a pair of first-time starters were selected.
The 80th Mid
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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