Jimenez outlasts Westwood for Dubai title
Golf Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Angel Jimenez didn't
play great golf in Sunday's playoff, but did enough to defeat Lee Westwood and
win the Dubai Desert Classic.
Jimenez netted three pars in the extra session and the last one was enough to
topple Westwood, last year's Race to Dubai winner.
Jimenez and Westwood, two of four third-round co-leaders, headed to the par-
four ninth at the Emirates Golf Club for the third playoff hole. Westwood had
good looks at victory on both previous holes and Jimenez did his share of
scrambling, but they were even on No. 9.
Westwood found the fairway off the tee at the ninth, while Jimenez missed the
short grass in the left first cut. Jimenez came up short and right with his
approach, but Westwood was almost a club short and nearly met a watery
problem.
Jimenez chipped to four feet and Westwood pitched to six feet. Westwood missed
his par putt and Jimenez drained his for his 16th European Tour victory and
ninth since he turned 40.
"I feel so proud to win this trophy. I like the golf course, I like the
ambience and I like the people and I am very happy," said the 46-year-old, who
was a runner-up twice in this event.
Thongchai Jaidee, the third of four third-round co-leaders, had a one-over 73
and missed the playoff by a single stroke at minus-10.
Martin Kaymer, who won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship two weeks ago, posted a
two-under 70 and shared fourth place with Edoardo Molinari, who had a 71 on
Sunday. The pair finished at nine-under 279.
That wasn't quite enough to get into the sudden-death session between Jimenez
and Westwood.
Both playoff combatants had even-par 72s on Sunday and finished regulation
tied at 11-under 277. Jimenez birdied the 17th and Westwood the 18th to put
the two into a sudden-death playoff.
Westwood appeared to have the advantage on the first playoff trip through the
par-five 18th. Jimenez laid up short of the water, while Westwood knocked it
just left of the green. Jimenez nearly rolled into the pond with his third,
but was safe and actually got up and down for par. Westwood had 10 feet for
the birdie and the win, but played too much break and it was back to the tee
for the second playoff hole.
If the first extra hole was advantage Westwood, the second time around in
sudden death it was absolutely his for the taking. Jimenez drove into the
rough and once again had to lay up, only this time he had 200 yards for his
third. Westwood's fairway-metal second rolled over the back and Jimenez' third
found a bunker.
Westwood hit an average chip and left himself with 15 feet downhill for
birdie. Jimenez blasted out to 12 feet, so Westwood stepped over his putt in
great shape. He missed, but tapped in for par and had to wait for Jimenez to
make his to extend the playoff.
"The Mechanic" poured his par save into the middle of the cup and it was off
to the par-four ninth and eventually the winner's circle for the 46-year-old
Spaniard.
"I made a very good putt on the second hole of the playoff on the 18th that
kept me going then I had a putt to win," said Jimenez. "My last win was in
2008 in the PGA (BMW PGA Championship) and it proves the old guys like me can
win."
Jimenez had an average day in windy conditions on Sunday. With several
players, including Westwood, Jaidee and Alvaro Quiros, on top of the
leaderboard, Jimenez plodded along.
He made bogey at the sixth, then went birdie-bogey immediately after the turn.
Jimenez still trailed and didn't move in front until his third birdie in four
rounds at the 17th.
Westwood caught him with a birdie on the 18th in the final group.
The final 54-hole leader to finish on Sunday was Quiros, a runner-up last week
in Qatar. Quiros owned the lead for a good portion of the back nine until
three late bogeys led him to a three-over 75.
Quiros shared sixth place with last year's winner Rory McIlroy, who managed a
one-over 73 in the final round. McIlroy and Quiros came in at eight-under-par
280.
Tom Watson, 60, played his first European Tour event since 1993 and was
brilliant on Sunday. He shot a four-under 68 and tied for eighth with world
No. 10 Henrik Stenson and Gregory Bourdy. Both Stenson and Bourdy had 68s as
well on Sunday and the trio was knotted at minus-six.
"I'm obviously very happy with how I played today," said Watson. "It was a
good week. I've enjoyed it very much. It was a learning experience here in
Dubai.
NOTES: Amateur Matteo Manassero had a one-under 71 on Sunday and tied for 31st
at minus-one...Last week's winner in Qatar, Robert Karlsson, struggled to a
four-over 76 and fell into a tie for 44th at plus-one...Next week is a new
event on tour, the Avantha Masters in India.
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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.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
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).
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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.
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They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
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