Rock wins in Abu Dhabi; Tiger ties for 3rd

Golf Betting Lines

01/29/2012 - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Rock trumped some of the best players in the world Sunday, including fellow third-round co-leader Tiger Woods, to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Rock shot a two-under 70 on Sunday to finish the championship at 13-under 275.

Rory McIlroy, the No. 3 player in the world, posted a three-under 69 and came in second for the second straight year. The reigning U.S. Open champion lost by a stroke at minus-12.

Woods didn't get anything going on Sunday. He hit only two fairways in the final round, sprayed iron shots all over Abu Dhabi Golf Club and ended up with an even-par 72.

Woods shared third place with Graeme McDowell and Thomas Bjorn, who both had four-under 68s. McDowell played the final seven holes in five-under par thanks to an ace and chip-in birdie, but it wasn't enough. The trio finished at minus-11.

This Sunday belonged to Rock, a 34-year-old Englishman, who was once a club pro before landing on the European Tour.

With a two-shot lead over McIlroy and three clear of Woods on the par-five 18th tee, Rock made things interesting.

He drove into a hazard near water on the right side and decided to take a penalty drop and hit his third from the fairway. Rock played down the fairway safely after the lost stroke.

Woods needed an eagle to get in at 13-under, but drove poorly into the left rough, then came up 60 yards short and left with his second. His third ran slightly through the green, but Rock opened the door ever so slightly.

Rock knocked his fourth 35 feet short of the flagstick. He still had two putts for the title and lagged his par putt inches from the hole. Rock marked and let Woods and Peter Hanson finish the hole before he tapped in for bogey and the victory.

The win was his second on the European Tour. Rock broke through last year at the Italian Open.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.