Diaz remains tied for Jamie Farr lead

Golf Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - Sylvania, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Laura Diaz birdied four of the last six holes Friday to remain tied for the lead after two rounds of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

Diaz carded a four-under 67 to complete two rounds at 11-under-par 131, where she shared the lead with Sarah Kemp, who fired an eight-under 63 Friday.

Morgan Pressel, who shared the first-round lead with Diaz and Song-Hee Kim, shot three-under 68 to complete two rounds at minus-10.

Seon Hwa Lee also fired a 63 to move into a share of fourth at nine-under-par 133. She was joined there by Jiyai Shin (67) and Natalie Gulbis (65).

Michelle Wie remains close to the lead after posting a two-under 69. She shares seventh at minus-eight, while women's world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa (68) is tied for 13th at seven-under-par 135.

Diaz played a steady round starting on No. 10 at Highland Meadows Golf Club. She parred her first 12 holes before making birdie on the par-four fourth for the second day in a row.

After a par on five, Diaz birdied six and seven, from 15 feet and three feet respectively, to get within one of the lead. She closed with a 12-foot birdie putt at the last to join Kemp at 11-under.

"I didn't make any birdies on my front side, but I just tried to stay patient out there," said Diaz, whose last win was at the 2002 Corning Classic. "I haven't been in place to be looking at the scoreboard in the last several months, so I really just was trying to stay in my own world."

Kemp also started on the back nine and birdied the 10th from 12 feet out. She gave that stroke back with a bogey on the par-four 12th. Kemp bounced back with a six-foot birdie putt on the 14th and made the turn at minus-five thanks to a birdie on No. 18.

The Australian, who was in the third group out in the morning wave, dropped in back-to-back birdies from the second. After a par on the third, Kemp poured in four consecutive birdies from the fifth, all from inside 12 feet, to jump to 11-under.

"I just tried to stay in the moment. I knew I was playing good," Kemp admitted. "My putter was amazing. I don't know how many putts I had, but I don't think it was many. I just tried to have fun, and tried not to think about how many birdies I was making."

Wie was joined in seventh at eight-under-par 134 by Eunjung Yi (66), Kyeong Bae (64), Lindsey Wright (68), Kris Tschetter (67) and Suzann Pettersen (69).

Ochoa shares 13th with Hee-Won Han (66), Soo-Yun Kang (66), Jane Park (66), Allison Hanna-Williams (68), Jee Young Lee (69), Jin Joo Hong (67) and Kim (71).

The cut line fell at two-under-par 140 with 83 players moving on to the weekend. Among those who missed the cut were Stacy Lewis (141), Stacy Prammanasudh (142) and In-Kyung Kim (142).

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.