08/18/2008 - Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Bryan and Andrew Putnam both posted rounds of three-under 67 Monday to share the lead after the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Amateur.
The championship is being contested at Pinehurst Resorts No. 2 and No. 4 courses. Bryan played No. 2 on Monday, while Putnam played No. 4.
Bryan scrambled his way to his 67 as he hit just four fairways, but recovered to hit 13 of 18 fairways in regulation.
"I scrambled around all day," said Bryan. "I was hitting it so far off line that I had some good lies in the pine straw and on the packed down cart paths. You name it, I was on it. I got it up and down from everywhere."
Sihwan Kim, the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, carded a two-under 68 on the No. 2 course. He was joined in a share of third place by Barden Berry, Isaiah Telles, Matt Cook, David McDaniel and Jeff Edelman.
Derek Fathauer, 2007 quarterfinalist at this event, and Billy Horschel, a member of the 2007 U.S. Walker Cup team, are among a group of players tied for ninth at one-under 69.
They were joined at minus-one by Dan Woltman, Tyler Gann, Robbie Fillmore, Jesse Massie, Brady Exber, James Bowen, Scott Langley, Sam Smith, Peter Uihlein and Jordan Johnstun.
Brian Harman, the 2003 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and a member of the 2007 U.S. Walker Cup team, and Nick Taylor, a quarterfinalist from last year, are among 15 players at even-par 70 after the first round of stroke play.
After two rounds of stroke play, the low 64 players will advance to match play. The match play portion runs from Wednesday through the 36-hole final on Sunday.
<< Zito's strong start helps Giants blank Braves
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Rowand homered and drove in two runs
while Barry Zito hurled seven strong innings, as San Francisco shut down
Atlanta, 5-0, in the finale of a four-game set from Turner Field.
Zito (7-15) allow
<< Rays' Percival opts against surgery
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Ray's closer Troy Percival
decided Monday not to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee.
Rather, the 39-year-old elected rehabilitation and anti-inflammatory
medic
<< Hull enters top 50 in Rolex Rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katherine Hull claimed her first LPGA Tour
win on Sunday and that helped her enter the top 50 in this week's Rolex
Women's World Golf Rankings.
Hull jumped 40 places to No. 49 this week.
Lorena
<< Pettersson returns to top 50 in World Rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pettersson collected his third PGA
Tour win Sunday at the Wyndham Championship and that helped him jump 22 places
in this week's Official World Golf Rankings.
Pettersson returns to the world top 50
Maddux to join Manny in LA? >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers may be positioning
themselves for help in the starting rotation by turning to Greg Maddux.
The Los Angeles Times reported Monday night that the Dodgers have acquired the
four-time C
A's Duchscherer leaves game versus Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Justin
Duchscherer left the AL clash with Minnesota in the third inning for
unspecified reasons.
Duchscherer (10-8) threw a pitch to Twins catcher Joe Mauer with two outs
Browns QB Anderson exits preseason game >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek
Anderson left Monday's preseason contest against the New York Giants with a
possible concussion.
Early in the second quarter, Anderson was sacked by Giants d
Bay homers twice as Red Sox double up O's >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay homered twice, driving in four runs
and Jon Lester pitched seven solid innings as Boston topped Baltimore, 6-3, in
the opener of a three-game series from Camden Yards.
Lester (12-4) yielded four h
MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?
Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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