Els and Schwartzel share first at Doral

Golf Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els was joined atop the leaderboard by fellow South African Charl Schwartzel after Saturday's third round of the WGC- CA Championship.

Els, the second-round leader, managed a two-under 70 at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, while Schwartzel, the first-round leader, fired a five-under 67 on Saturday. The pair is knotted at 12-under 204.

Padraig Harrington, like Els, a three-time major winner, bogeyed the Blue Monster 18th on Saturday. That hiccup cost him a share of the lead, but his five-under 67 has him alone in third at minus-11.

Robert Allenby carded a one-under 71 and is fourth at 10-under 206.

The field is chasing a pair of South African co-leaders, who did most of their damage on the front nine Saturday.

Schwartzel birdied the first and third holes, then rattled off back-to-back birdies at five and six. The last birdie at six tied him with Els, who was one-under after birdies at one and five and a bogey at two.

Els rolled in a nine-foot birdie putt at the sixth to move ahead by one, but Schwartzel, playing in the group ahead of Els, hit a fat shot out of a bunker to lose a stroke at seven.

Els unfortunately couldn't take advantage. His approach came up short of the green and he could no better than seven feet with his third. The Big Easy missed the par putt, but was still one clear of his younger friend.

Both players birdied the par-five eighth to keep Els a stroke in front. Two holes later, Els knocked his third to seven feet and converted the birdie effort to move two clear.

At the next par five, the 12th, Els missed a makeable birdie putt and at the next hole, the par-three 13th, had a four-footer for par go all the way around the hole and stay out.

"I was really starting to look good," acknowledged Els. "The ball horse-shoed out of the hole. That put some doubt in my mind down the stretch, which wasn't nice."

Schwartzel himself made a pair of amazing pars at 13 and 14 to keep his momentum going. At the short, par-four 16th, Schwartzel drove into a greenside bunker and converted an eight-foot birdie putt to match Els in the first.

Els hit into a bunker at the 16th and his sand shot stopped three feet from the hole. His swipe at it badly pushed the ball to the right and it stayed above ground.

The pair was knotted in the lead with Harrington, who three-putted from 40 feet at the last to fall one behind.

Schwartzel made a routine par from the right rough at the Blue Monster, then Els two-putted from 25 feet to set up the final-round pairing of the veteran and the kid.

"Obviously going to be a fun day playing with Ernie," said Schwartzel. "I've played quite a few rounds with him. I always enjoy playing with him. It actually helps my rhythm looking at him."

The two have a long history despite the 15-year age difference.

Els used to golf with Schwartzel's father and when Schwartzel didn't get into the field at last week's Honda Classic, he stayed with Els.

On Sunday, the two are adversaries. One is a certain Hall of Famer with three major titles. The other won twice this year on the European Tour and is primed for a breakthrough in a significant championship.

"You know you can win," said Schwartzel. "You still have to play the same golf down the stretch."

Bill Haas shot a two-under 70 and is fifth at nine-under 207, which is one better than Martin Kaymer, who fired a 66 on Saturday to get into sixth place.

Matt Kuchar (67), Paul Casey (68), Vijay Singh (70) and Soren Hansen (71) are knotted in seventh place at minus-seven.

NOTES: Defending champion Phil Mickelson managed an even-par 72 on Saturday, but grimaced and clutched his elbow at the end of his round. He released a statement saying basically it was a stinger and he should be fine...Els has one WGC title and that came at the 2004 American Express Championship.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “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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