Amateur Lowry on top in Ireland

Golf Betting Lines

05/15/2009 - Beltray, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Irish amateur Shane Lowry fired a 10-under 62 on Friday to vault atop the leaderboard after the second round of his national championship, the Irish Open.

Lowry, the 16th-ranked amateur in the world, finished 36 holes at 15-under 129 and that matched the tournament record. Patrik Sjoland set the original mark in 2000 and he went on to victory.

Lowry wouldn't be the first amateur to visit the winner's circle this season on the European Tour if he holds on Sunday. Danny Lee captured the Johnnie Walker Classic, but no matter what, it was a big two rounds for the 22-year- old Lowry.

"I'll never forget this day as long as I live," said Lowry.

The groups in the early wave were once again met with difficult conditions. Rain and cold temperatures didn't exactly hinder scoring, but when the rain subsided, players went very low.

Lowry's 62 wasn't even the best round of the day on Friday. Graeme McDowell set a new tournament and course record with an 11-under 61 that only got him into a tie for 36th at minus-six after a poor 77 on Thursday.

"Yeah, 61, low score of my career," said McDowell. "I think I shot 61 one other time in practice. You know, 77 wasn't really what I was looking for. I was extremely disappointed, obviously to come here in front of my home fans and disappoint the way I did. But I took a lot of positives away at the same time because I knew I had not played that badly."

Robert Rock and Jamie Donaldson both shot rounds of seven-under 65 and are tied for second place at 13-under 131 at County Louth Golf Club.

Paul Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, posted a six-under 66 and that was aided by an ace at the par-three 17th. He won an Audi for his effort and got into fourth place at minus-12.

"It was 196 yards, a little downhill, a little downwind off the left, and hit a beautiful shot," said Lawrie. "As soon as I hit it, it was straight down the pin. You've obviously always got to get a little lucky for it to go in, but it was a nice shot."

Lowry's day was filled with nice shots.

He flew out of the gate on Friday with three birdies in his first four holes. Lowry eagled the par-five sixth to reach 10-under par for the championship and get within striking distance of the lead.

At the par-four ninth, Lowry sank a seven-foot birdie putt to join a group in first place. He tapped in a short birdie putt at the 10th that kept him tied for the lead after Lawrie's ace.

Lowry couldn't save par from a bunker at 11, but he got back to 12-under thanks to a 12-footer for birdie at the 12th. That kept him tied atop the leaderboard, but his play late gave him a cushion.

He birdied the 14th and 15th holes to find himself two clear. Rock and Donaldson got to 13-under par, but a birdie from Lowry at the last gave him the 36-hole record and a two-shot lead.

"It's like a dream, really, the way I putted," said Lowry. "It's an unbelievable feeling to be leading by two shots over a field like this. I didn't expect it coming into the tournament, but I expected to do well."

Lowry stated that his tentative plan is to play for the Great Britain & Ireland team at this year's Walker Cup, then turn professional. He wants to go to European Tour Q School in the fall.

Nick Dougherty (67), Roope Kakko (67) and Thomas Levet (66) are knotted in fifth place at minus-11.

Johan Edfors (70), Soren Kjeldsen (67), Lee Westwood (66) and Oliver Wilson (68) share eighth place at 10-under 134.

The 36-hole cut fell at four-under 140 and local hero and two-time major champion in 2008 Padraig Harrington, last year's winner Richard Finch and John Daly all missed the weekend.

One player who also has the weekend off is first-round leader Francesco Molinari. After he shot a one-over 73, Molinari signed an incorrect scorecard and was disqualified.

Virtuslvegas Golf Betting News

<< Buffon pledges future to Juve
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has ended speculation suggesting that he could leave the club in the summer by pledging his future to the Turin giants. The 31-year-old had been linked with a number

<< Jockey meets gelding
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and his rider for Saturday's Preakness Stakes, Mike Smith, began to get acquainted with each other Friday morning. Smith stopped by the barn at Pimlico Race Course

<< Safina rolls; Jankovic ousted in Madrid
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Russian Dinara Safina was among Friday's quarterfinal winners, while former top-ranked star and U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic came up a loser at the $4.5 million Madrid Open, a French

<< Who Will Win the Preakness?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The questions are obvious. Can Rachel Alexandra become the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924? Will Mine That Bird duplicate his mind-blowing Derby stretch run to nab the Triple Crown's middle jew

<< Astros-Cubs game rained out
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The opener of a three-game set between the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field was postponed due to the forecast of inclement weather throughout the afternoon and evening. The scheduled

RSL returns to Rio Tinto to take on Wizards >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake returns home for a Major League Soccer fixture vs. the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Utah club is hoping that it can rebound from an 0-1 loss at Chivas

Hoops hope to stop the bleeding at home vs. Seattle >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas returns home hoping to end a three- game losing streak when it hosts the Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer action on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park. The Hoops (1-6-1) are currently las

Red Bulls aim to stymie streaking Dynamo at Giants Stadium >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo square off at Giants Stadium in Major League Soccer action on Saturday after both clubs earned impressive league wins a week ago. New York is coming off

President Obama welcomes Phillies to White House >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Members of the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies were honored by President Barack Obama on Friday, during a visit to the White House. Obama praised the Phillies for being a team t

Unbeaten Chicago needs win at Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire are the lone undefeated in MLS, but with just two wins in eight games, midfielder John Thorrington said, "these ties are starting to feel like losses." Chicago (2-0-6) sits just third in the Ea

NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.