Awesome final round gives Stenson Players Championship

Golf Betting Lines

05/10/2009 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Stenson sucked all of the drama out of an interesting final pairing between Tiger Woods and Alex Cejka on Sunday.

With the final twosome struggling in the final round, Stenson fired a flawless, six-under 66 to become the first Swede to win The Players Championship.

Stenson finished at 12-under 276 and won the title by four strokes over Ian Poulter, who managed a two-under 70, at the Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.

"It was a nice day's work," said Stenson, who collected his second PGA Tour win after the 2007 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. "I played well all week and managed my game really well and myself more than anything. Obviously, it pays off."

Woods never mounted any kind of charge in the final round and bogeyed two of his first four holes to immediately drop out of contention. He netted three birdies and two bogeys the rest of the way.

Woods equaled his worst score when playing in the final pairing on Sunday with a one-over 73. The difference was, in the three previous occasions Woods shot a 73 in the final round, he still won the championship.

Not on Sunday.

Woods took eighth alone at minus-five.

"Just a long, frustrating day," said Woods. "I thought I was doing a pretty good job of getting it around."

Stenson, who was ranked ninth in the world before the start of the tournament, completed an epic turnaround on Sunday.

His five-stroke comeback in the final round matched Justin Leonard's record from 1998 and all totaled, Stenson completed a 13-shot overall difference between himself and the third-round leader.

Cejka took a five-shot advantage into Sunday and fell apart quickly. He finished with a disappointing seven-over 79.

"I think I played a little better than my score showed today," said Cejka. "I was doing my thing. The iron play was a little too aggressive. Maybe a little patient next time."

John Mallinger and Kevin Na both posted two-under 70s on Sunday to share third at seven-under 281. Jim Furyk (69), Brian Davis (71) and Ben Crane (72) tied for fifth at minus-six.

With no one really playing well on Sunday, it left the door open for Stenson.

Cejka struggled immediately. Through his first six holes, the German had three bogeys and a double-bogey and surrendered the lead to Crane, who was two-under thanks to back-to-back birdies at one and two.

Woods was one-over through six and showed he'd be no serious final-round threat.

Stenson sat patiently and waited for his opportunity. He parred his first six holes, then ran home a 16-foot birdie putt from the fringe at the seventh. That birdie got Stenson within one of Crane's lead, but trouble loomed for Crane.

At the eighth, Crane missed the green with his tee ball and ran his second shot five feet past the stick. He missed that par save coming back and fell into a tie for first with Stenson.

The tie didn't last long.

Stenson reached the green in two at the par-five ninth. He lagged his 50- footer inside three feet and tapped in for birdie and the outright lead. That was an advantage Stenson never relinquished the rest of the way.

The Swede recorded his next birdie at the next par five, the 11th. His second fell into a greenside bunker, but he blasted out to six feet and made the birdie try. Stenson was nine-under for the championship and two clear of the field.

Stenson sank a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-three 13th and Crane made bogey. That bogey knocked Crane out of contention, but several players were three back at minus-seven.

Poulter converted a six-footer for birdie at the 15th to close the gap to two. Stenson, in the group behind Poulter, hit a nine-iron approach to two feet and kicked in the short putt to reclaim his three-stroke cushion.

One hole later, Stenson landed on the putting surface in two and rolled his eagle try down to two feet. He holed the birdie putt for a four-shot lead with two to play.

Those two, however, are the island 17th and the demanding 18th with water down the left.

Stenson played safely away from the flag at 17 and two-putted for par. At the last, he hammered a drive down the middle and knocked his second 20 feet shy of the flagstick.

Stenson hit a safe putt to a foot. He tapped in for the par and his second win in the U.S.

"It's an honor to win it," said Stenson. "It feels like a major championship. I'm going to take a lot of good things with me into the majors this year."

Stenson became the first champion to card a bogey-free round on Sunday since Davis Love III in 2003. One other stat to illustrate Stenson's path to victory was that he missed only two fairways on the weekend.

Cejka's 79 dropped him into a tie for ninth at minus-four. The first players out on Sunday, Aaron Baddeley (66), Vijay Singh (67), Tim Clark (69) and David Toms (70) joined Cejka eight off the lead.

Sergio Garcia, the 2008 champion, shot a three-under 69 and tied for 22nd at minus-two.

Phil Mickelson, who won two years ago, finished with a double-bogey and a bogey for a four-over 76. He finished in a group tied for 55th at three-over 291.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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