Westwood vaults into Dubai lead
Golf Betting Lines
02/11/2012 -
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lee Westwood fired a five-under
67 on Saturday to vault into the lead at 15-under par after three rounds of
the Dubai Desert Classic.
Westwood was three shots behind Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn when the day
started, but finished it with a one-stroke edge over playing partners Stephen
Gallacher and Marcel Siem, as well as first-round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
Gallacher and Siem each carded four-under 68s at the Emirates Golf Club, while
Cabrera-Bello managed a two-under 70.
McIlroy is two shots back at 13-under after an even-par 72 on Saturday. He is
joined there by Martin Kaymer, Scott Jamieson and Joel Sjoholm. Kaymer and
Jamieson each shot rounds of two-under 70, while Sjoholm had the low round of
the day with a six-under 66.
Bjorn stumbled to a one-over 73 and is tied for ninth at minus-12 with Ben
Curtis and George Coetzee.
Westwood was coming off a seven-under 65 on Friday that concluded with three
straight birdies. He added three birdies on his first four holes Saturday to
reach 13-under.
"I got off to a very good start, three under after four, rolled the ball well
on the greens and hit a lot of good quality iron shots," the world No. 3 said
Saturday.
Westwood sandwiched a pair of birdies around a bogey late in his opening nine
and made the turn at 12-under, then put together three more birdies over his
first four holes on the back side and closed the round with five pars.
"I played nicely again," the Englishman added, "very solid."
Westwood has 21 career European Tour victories and has had a decent start to
2012 with a tie for 17th at Abu Dhabi and a tie for 12th at the Qatar Masters.
"I've won 30-odd times in my career," stated Westwood, who has also won two
PGA Tour events and 10 other times around the world. "So I'm used to knowing
what to do when I'm leading a tournament."
McIlroy, the second-ranked player in the world and the 2009 Dubai champ, had a
birdie and a bogey on an uneventful front nine, then bogeyed the par-five 10th
to start an up-and-down back. He added two more bogeys and three birdies over
the final eight holes.
Bjorn, the 2001 Dubai winner, held a two-shot lead at 15-under after a birdie
at the 10th, but bogeyed three of his last four holes.
NOTES: Defending champion Alvaro Quiros managed a one-under 71 Saturday and is
tied for 35th at minus-five...Paul Lawrie, last week's winner in Qatar, is
six-under par, as is American John Daly...Colin Montgomerie is one-over par
after struggling to a five-over 77 Saturday.
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Stapleton had been sidelined since January 20 with a lower body injury. He has
appeared in 37 games this season, entering Saturda
Jets activate Stapleton off IR >>
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Devils this afternoon in New Jersey.
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Nuggets aim to snap skid in Indy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets will try to halt a season-high five-game
losing streak when they visit the Hoosier State to take on the Indiana
Pacers.
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the
Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
 Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
 It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.
Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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