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Jimenez outlasts Westwood for Dubai title

Golf Betting Lines

02/07/2010 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Angel Jimenez didn't play great golf in Sunday's playoff, but did enough to defeat Lee Westwood and win the Dubai Desert Classic.

Jimenez netted three pars in the extra session and the last one was enough to topple Westwood, last year's Race to Dubai winner.

Jimenez and Westwood, two of four third-round co-leaders, headed to the par- four ninth at the Emirates Golf Club for the third playoff hole. Westwood had good looks at victory on both previous holes and Jimenez did his share of scrambling, but they were even on No. 9.

Westwood found the fairway off the tee at the ninth, while Jimenez missed the short grass in the left first cut. Jimenez came up short and right with his approach, but Westwood was almost a club short and nearly met a watery problem.

Jimenez chipped to four feet and Westwood pitched to six feet. Westwood missed his par putt and Jimenez drained his for his 16th European Tour victory and ninth since he turned 40.

"I feel so proud to win this trophy. I like the golf course, I like the ambience and I like the people and I am very happy," said the 46-year-old, who was a runner-up twice in this event.

Thongchai Jaidee, the third of four third-round co-leaders, had a one-over 73 and missed the playoff by a single stroke at minus-10.

Martin Kaymer, who won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship two weeks ago, posted a two-under 70 and shared fourth place with Edoardo Molinari, who had a 71 on Sunday. The pair finished at nine-under 279.

That wasn't quite enough to get into the sudden-death session between Jimenez and Westwood.

Both playoff combatants had even-par 72s on Sunday and finished regulation tied at 11-under 277. Jimenez birdied the 17th and Westwood the 18th to put the two into a sudden-death playoff.

Westwood appeared to have the advantage on the first playoff trip through the par-five 18th. Jimenez laid up short of the water, while Westwood knocked it just left of the green. Jimenez nearly rolled into the pond with his third, but was safe and actually got up and down for par. Westwood had 10 feet for the birdie and the win, but played too much break and it was back to the tee for the second playoff hole.

If the first extra hole was advantage Westwood, the second time around in sudden death it was absolutely his for the taking. Jimenez drove into the rough and once again had to lay up, only this time he had 200 yards for his third. Westwood's fairway-metal second rolled over the back and Jimenez' third found a bunker.

Westwood hit an average chip and left himself with 15 feet downhill for birdie. Jimenez blasted out to 12 feet, so Westwood stepped over his putt in great shape. He missed, but tapped in for par and had to wait for Jimenez to make his to extend the playoff.

"The Mechanic" poured his par save into the middle of the cup and it was off to the par-four ninth and eventually the winner's circle for the 46-year-old Spaniard.

"I made a very good putt on the second hole of the playoff on the 18th that kept me going then I had a putt to win," said Jimenez. "My last win was in 2008 in the PGA (BMW PGA Championship) and it proves the old guys like me can win."

Jimenez had an average day in windy conditions on Sunday. With several players, including Westwood, Jaidee and Alvaro Quiros, on top of the leaderboard, Jimenez plodded along.

He made bogey at the sixth, then went birdie-bogey immediately after the turn. Jimenez still trailed and didn't move in front until his third birdie in four rounds at the 17th.

Westwood caught him with a birdie on the 18th in the final group.

The final 54-hole leader to finish on Sunday was Quiros, a runner-up last week in Qatar. Quiros owned the lead for a good portion of the back nine until three late bogeys led him to a three-over 75.

Quiros shared sixth place with last year's winner Rory McIlroy, who managed a one-over 73 in the final round. McIlroy and Quiros came in at eight-under-par 280.

Tom Watson, 60, played his first European Tour event since 1993 and was brilliant on Sunday. He shot a four-under 68 and tied for eighth with world No. 10 Henrik Stenson and Gregory Bourdy. Both Stenson and Bourdy had 68s as well on Sunday and the trio was knotted at minus-six.

"I'm obviously very happy with how I played today," said Watson. "It was a good week. I've enjoyed it very much. It was a learning experience here in Dubai.

NOTES: Amateur Matteo Manassero had a one-under 71 on Sunday and tied for 31st at minus-one...Last week's winner in Qatar, Robert Karlsson, struggled to a four-over 76 and fell into a tie for 44th at plus-one...Next week is a new event on tour, the Avantha Masters in India.

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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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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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 MySportsbook.com’s “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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