Goydos remains in Texas Open lead

Golf Betting Lines

05/15/2009 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Goydos recovered from an opening bogey to fire a five-under 65 on Friday and remain in the lead after two rounds of the Texas Open.

Goydos, who shared the first-round lead with Justin Leonard, moved in front by three shots at 12-under-par 128.

Leonard, the three-time Texas Open champion, shot a 68 and slipped into a tie for second place with Scott Sterling (63), John Mallinger (64), Mathias Gronberg (65) and Ted Purdy (67) at nine-under 131.

Kent Jones (65), Fredrik Jacobson (66) and Brian Davis (67) share seventh place at eight-under 132.

J.P. Hayes fired a 62 to tie Stephen Ames (67), Greg Owen (68) and Marc Leishman (69) at seven-under 133.

Goydos began his round on the 10th hole with a bogey.

"[I] really only had one mediocre shot all day, and that was on the first hole," he said. "I made bogey, and after that I played reasonably well."

Goydos went on to make three birdies on the back nine at La Cantera's Resort Course. He rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt at No. 17 to earn a share of the lead.

He then took the lead by himself with a nine-foot birdie putt at No. 1, moving to 10-under. Birdies at six and nine gave him his three-stroke advantage.

Goydos, a two-time PGA Tour winner, has a good history at this event, having posted five top-20 finishes in the last 12 years.

His 2009 season began amidst tragedy following the sudden death of his ex- wife, Wendy, in January. Goydos, who cares for their two teenage daughters, took two weeks off following her passing.

On Friday, he likened having the lead to being the pace car.

"We're going to go out and play two more rounds of golf, but the tournament's going to be in front of me tomorrow, which is kind of cool," said Goydos.

"And this is why you play. If I wasn't comfortable where I am right now, I need to find another profession. This is why we play, practice and endure rough weeks, so we learn something, to improve and get better. And tomorrow is going to be another chapter in that learning process of becoming a better player."

The highest-profile name among the five players tied for season place is Leonard, who is looking to become the first four-time winner in tournament history.

The Dallas native was five shots worse than his opening-round 63 after collecting four birdies and two bogeys Friday.

"A couple of good shots was the only difference between yesterday and today," said Leonard.

Mallinger tied Goydos for the lead at 10-under with a miraculous chip-in eagle at the 14th. From a spot near the cart path, he threaded his ball between a tree and a TV tower, skipping it across the length of the green and into the hole.

But he soon found himself in some unescapable trouble. At the 16th, Mallinger sent an errant drive into the bushes and walked off with a bogey, falling two shots behind Goydos.

Mallinger, who has never won on the PGA Tour, is coming off a tie for third place at last week's Players Championship, his best finish of the season.

"Once you start getting that confidence and start making some putts, that's kind of how it goes," he said.

Former world No. 1 David Duval was within a shot of the lead before hitting his drive into a bush and taking a double-bogey at No. 11. Duval made two more bogeys and shot a 69 to fall seven shots back at five-under 135.

"My confidence is catching up with how good my golf game is," said Duval, a 13-time PGA Tour winner whose last victory was the 2001 British Open.

Defending champion Zach Johnson was also at five-under 135 after posting a 67.

The cut line fell at one-under 139.

Among the players who missed the weekend was Lance Ten Broeck, who carded an even-par 70 in the morning, then caddied for Jesper Parnevik in the afternoon.

Playing with borrowed clubs after being added as an alternate before the first round, Ten Broeck finished 36 holes at one-over 141.

"It's something I always wanted to do," he said about playing and caddying in the same tournament. "I don't think anybody's ever done it before ... in the same PGA TOUR event. So I was happy I was able to do it this week. I wasn't going to pass that up."

Parnevik shot a 74 and also missed the cut -- three shots worse than his caddy.

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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.