Lawrie pulls away for Qatar Masters title
Golf Betting Lines
02/05/2012 - Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Lawrie staved off challenges from Jason Day and Sergio Garcia on Sunday to win the Qatar Masters in comfortable fashion.
Lawrie, the second-round leader, fired a seven-under 65 on Sunday. The Scotsman was tied for the lead after eight holes, but played the last 10 in six-under par to earn a four-shot win.
"I don't think I can play much better than that," said Lawrie. "I've been playing well for a long, long time, but it's just nice to come out one ahead and shoot seven-under."
Day (65) and Peter Hanson (67) shared second at 11-under 205.
John Daly carded a five-under 67 and took fourth alone at minus-nine.
Garcia, who was tied for the lead with Lawrie after a birdie at the 10th, notched one birdie and two bogeys the rest of the way. He fell into a tie for fifth with Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (65), Soren Hansen (66) and Ricardo Gonzalez (70) at eight-under par.
The victory was Lawrie's seventh on the European Tour. He captured the 1999 British Open, but earlier in that season, he won this championship.
"Now wouldn't that be nice to get that again?" he asked.
Lawrie returned to the winner's circle for the first time in nine years when he won last year's Open de Andalucia.
But Sunday's victory was a big one based on the strength of the field, which included world No. 2 Lee Westwood, who tied for 12th, and No. 4 Martin Kaymer, who shared ninth.
Lawrie is expected to move into the top 45 in the world rankings based on this win. He hasn't been in that position since 2003.
The tournament was shortened to 54 holes when most of Friday's action was called off due to high winds.
Lawrie grabbed the second-round lead with a 67 in round two, then birdied his first hole Sunday morning. He parred his next seven and Garcia took that opportunity to vault up the leaderboard.
Garcia birdied one, five, seven and eight to get within one. His birdie at the par-five 10th tied him for the lead with Lawrie at nine-under par, but Lawrie chipped in for eagle at the par-five ninth to move two clear.
Garcia got one back with birdie at the 11th, but that was the last threat the Spaniard mounted. He three-putted the 13th for a bogey, dropped a shot at 15 and fell several behind Lawrie.
The leader played the best golf of the round after the eagle at nine. Lawrie ran home a six-footer for birdie at the 11th and was three in front of Garcia and Day, who birdied four in a row from the 10th.
Day, the No. 10 player in the world, trimmed the gap to two, and Lawrie began to spray the ball off the tee. He had a decent look at birdie at the 13th, but extended his cushion back to three with a birdie at 14.
Lawrie missed a good opportunity for birdie at 15, but cashed in at 16. He drove into the left rough at the drivable par four, then chipped to three feet to set up the easy birdie.
Four ahead with two to play, Lawrie birdied the par-three 17th and the final margin of victory became four only when Day birdied the par-five last.
With a four-shot edge to play with, Lawrie laid up at the closing hole and made a par to secure the trophy.
"When you've got a chance to win a tournament you don't sleep as well the night before and things go racing through your mind," said Lawrie. "You've got to get back to basics and I did that. I hit some nice shots coming in."
Kaymer was joined in ninth place by Victor Dubuisson (69) and Nicolas Colsaerts (72). The trio finished at seven-under 209.
NOTES: Lawrie has three top 10s in his first three starts of the season...European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal celebrated his 46th birthday Sunday with a three-under 69. He tied for 12th, his second top-15 finish of the season...Last year's winner Thomas Bjorn posted a four-under 68 on Sunday and tied for 25th at four-under...Next week, the tour hosts the Dubai Desert Classic, where Alvaro Quiros won the 2011 event.
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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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