11/10/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia birdied the second playoff hole Monday to defeat Ryder Cup teammate Oliver Wilson and win the HSBC Champions.
Garcia closed with a four-under 68 to finish at 14-under-par 274. Wilson, who led after the third round, posted a two-under to join Garcia at minus-14 and force the playoff.
On the first extra hole, No. 18, Garcia and Wilson both two-putted for par.
They played the 18th again and Wilson had nearly the same putt as he did the first time around. Wilson missed the 15-foot birdie putt left of the hole.
Garcia was 12 feet out on the back fringe. He rolled the putt in for birdie and his eighth European Tour win.
The Monday finish was needed after Friday's play was completely washed out and there was a long delay Saturday as well.
"It's been a long week. Finally we got two nice, decent days to play. It was great," said Garcia, who has won twice in the last three events. "I think that was my fourth playoff this year. I think I was 2-2, so I'll take that."
Adding to the significance, Garcia now leads the Race to Dubai standings and passed Phil Mickelson to become the second-ranked player in the world.
"I'm so proud to win. No. 2 in the world, so I am very happy," Garcia said. "Great week. It feels awesome to be the first leader to the Race to Dubai. I guess that will go down in history. It's always nice to achieve something like that."
Wilson, who hasn't won on the European Tour, was again a tough-luck loser. He finished second four times last year and with this loss drops to 0-3 in playoffs on the European Tour.
Peter Hanson eagled the 13th and birdied the 16th to tie for the lead. He closed with a six-under 66 to tie for third at minus-13. He was joined there by former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (70).
Henrik Stenson ended alone in fifth at 11-under-par 277 after a final-round, one-under 71. Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel shared sixth at minus-10.
Wilson led by one at the start of the final round and parred his first four holes over two days. He stumbled to a bogey on the fifth to slide into a share of the lead with Mickelson at 11-under.
The Englishman pitched his third to three feet at the eighth and kicked that in for birdie. He stood at 12-under and was one shot clear of Garcia.
Garcia birdied the second on Sunday, but stumbled to a bogey on three before play ended on Sunday. He returned to Sheshan International Golf Club on Monday and slipped two back with a bogey on the fifth.
The Spaniard rebounded with a birdie on the seventh and made it two straight with a three-foot birdie putt on eight.
Garcia rolled in a seven-footer for birdie on nine to make it three in a row and join Wilson at minus-12.
Wilson parred five straight from the ninth, while Garcia parred four in a row from the 10th. Garcia briefly took the lead with a short birdie putt on the par-five 14th.
However, Wilson also birdied 14 to forge at tie at 13-under. For the week, Garcia was five-under on the 14th with an eagle and three birdies, while Wilson played the hole in four-under with four birdies.
Wilson reclaimed the lead when he sank a nine-foot birdie effort on the 16th. Garcia tied him at 14-under with a six-foot birdie putt at 18. Wilson got up and down for par from a bunker on 17, then two-putted from long range at 18 to force the playoff.
Mickelson, who won this title last year, shared eighth with Prayad Marksaeng at nine-under-par 279. Mickelson shot one-over 73, while Marksaeng closed with a two-under 70.
<< Martin leads Kings past Warriors
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin scored 27 points, and the
Sacramento Kings rolled to a 115-98 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Spencer Hawes scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Brad Miller had 14
points and
<< Anthony, Nuggets top Grizzlies
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and grabbed
eight rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets in a 100-90 victory over the Memphis
Grizzlies.
Nene chipped in 18 points and 12 boards for the Nuggets, who have w
<< Jokinen scores twice as Coyotes down Sharks
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olli Jokinen scored two goals and added an
assist, as the Phoenix Coyotes doubled up San Jose, 4-2, and snapped the
Sharks' seven-game winning streak.
Peter Mueller registered a goal and an assist
<< Booth picks up hat trick as Panthers top Ducks
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Booth recorded his first hat trick and
Craig Anderson stopped 44 shots, as the Florida Panthers put the brakes on a
six-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
Stephen Weiss and Jassen
Report: Pats LB Thomas breaks arm >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas
could be out the remainder of the season due to a broken forearm.
ESPN reports Thomas, who has five sacks this season, suffered the injury in
the first half of a 2
Federer beaten in Masters Cup opener >>
Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time defending champion Roger Federer
dropped his opening round-robin match on Monday at the Tennis Masters Cup.
Frenchman Gilles Simon pulled off the upset with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph.
Simon only
Magic shoot for fifth straight win against Blazers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home has been sweet so far this season for the Orlando
Magic, who will shoot for their fifth straight win tonight versus the Portland
Trail Blazers at Amway Arena.
Orlando opened the 2008-09 campaign with consecuti
Pacers host struggling Thunder >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Oklahoma City Thunder try and right the ship
on the road as they travel to Indianapolis to face the Pacers at Conseco
Fieldhouse.
The Thunder lost for the fifth time in six games Sunday when Atlant
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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