Els and Schwartzel share first at Doral

Golf Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els was joined atop the leaderboard by fellow South African Charl Schwartzel after Saturday's third round of the WGC- CA Championship.

Els, the second-round leader, managed a two-under 70 at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, while Schwartzel, the first-round leader, fired a five-under 67 on Saturday. The pair is knotted at 12-under 204.

Padraig Harrington, like Els, a three-time major winner, bogeyed the Blue Monster 18th on Saturday. That hiccup cost him a share of the lead, but his five-under 67 has him alone in third at minus-11.

Robert Allenby carded a one-under 71 and is fourth at 10-under 206.

The field is chasing a pair of South African co-leaders, who did most of their damage on the front nine Saturday.

Schwartzel birdied the first and third holes, then rattled off back-to-back birdies at five and six. The last birdie at six tied him with Els, who was one-under after birdies at one and five and a bogey at two.

Els rolled in a nine-foot birdie putt at the sixth to move ahead by one, but Schwartzel, playing in the group ahead of Els, hit a fat shot out of a bunker to lose a stroke at seven.

Els unfortunately couldn't take advantage. His approach came up short of the green and he could no better than seven feet with his third. The Big Easy missed the par putt, but was still one clear of his younger friend.

Both players birdied the par-five eighth to keep Els a stroke in front. Two holes later, Els knocked his third to seven feet and converted the birdie effort to move two clear.

At the next par five, the 12th, Els missed a makeable birdie putt and at the next hole, the par-three 13th, had a four-footer for par go all the way around the hole and stay out.

"I was really starting to look good," acknowledged Els. "The ball horse-shoed out of the hole. That put some doubt in my mind down the stretch, which wasn't nice."

Schwartzel himself made a pair of amazing pars at 13 and 14 to keep his momentum going. At the short, par-four 16th, Schwartzel drove into a greenside bunker and converted an eight-foot birdie putt to match Els in the first.

Els hit into a bunker at the 16th and his sand shot stopped three feet from the hole. His swipe at it badly pushed the ball to the right and it stayed above ground.

The pair was knotted in the lead with Harrington, who three-putted from 40 feet at the last to fall one behind.

Schwartzel made a routine par from the right rough at the Blue Monster, then Els two-putted from 25 feet to set up the final-round pairing of the veteran and the kid.

"Obviously going to be a fun day playing with Ernie," said Schwartzel. "I've played quite a few rounds with him. I always enjoy playing with him. It actually helps my rhythm looking at him."

The two have a long history despite the 15-year age difference.

Els used to golf with Schwartzel's father and when Schwartzel didn't get into the field at last week's Honda Classic, he stayed with Els.

On Sunday, the two are adversaries. One is a certain Hall of Famer with three major titles. The other won twice this year on the European Tour and is primed for a breakthrough in a significant championship.

"You know you can win," said Schwartzel. "You still have to play the same golf down the stretch."

Bill Haas shot a two-under 70 and is fifth at nine-under 207, which is one better than Martin Kaymer, who fired a 66 on Saturday to get into sixth place.

Matt Kuchar (67), Paul Casey (68), Vijay Singh (70) and Soren Hansen (71) are knotted in seventh place at minus-seven.

NOTES: Defending champion Phil Mickelson managed an even-par 72 on Saturday, but grimaced and clutched his elbow at the end of his round. He released a statement saying basically it was a stinger and he should be fine...Els has one WGC title and that came at the 2004 American Express Championship.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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