Hanson leads, but Race to Dubai still up for grabs

Golf Betting Lines

12/08/2011 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only two of the 58 players in this week's field at the Dubai World Championship have a chance to win the money title, but that didn't stop Peter Hanson on Thursday.

Hanson tied a Jumeirah Golf Estates course record with an eight-under 64 and leads by one after the opening 18 holes of the European Tour's season-closing event.

Coming off a third-place finish in Hong Kong and ranked 16th in the Race to Dubai, Hanson had eight birdies -- including six on the back nine -- to grab a one-stroke lead over early leader Paul Lawrie.

"It's one of the best rounds I've ever played, especially feeling-wise," Hanson said. "Everything seemed to be right."

The story of the week, however, centers around the final pairing of Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy, ranked one and two both in the world rankings and Race to Dubai rankings. McIlroy needs to win this event to have any shot at overtaking Donald in the Race to Dubai, and he finished his opening round at six-under 66 to give himself a shot.

"I've given myself a really good start to build on, and there's still a lot of golf to play," McIlroy said. "I'm going to have to play really well the next three days to give myself a chance to win, and that's what I'm focused on."

Donald, however, had a dreadful finish with three straight bogeys from the 14th in a round of even-par 72. He needs a ninth-place finish to win the money crown, but sits in a share of 26th at the moment.

"(I'll) just stick to the process of picking good targets," Donald said. "I'll go work on it on the range and get back at it tomorrow."

Should Donald claim the money title -- still a very likely scenario -- he will become the first player to win it on the European and PGA Tours in the same year. He was close to securing that distinction last week before McIlroy managed to win the Hong Kong Open and keep his hopes alive.

Donald and McIlroy both figure to take home a good chunk of change this week regardless of the result, as the top 15 finishers in the Race to Dubai split a large bonus pool; the winner and runner-up will each take home over $1 million.

Early on, it looked as if Donald would create enough of a cushion that he could cruise to the money title. The world's top player recovered from an opening bogey to post three birdies in four holes, including a 25-footer at the third.

McIlroy, meanwhile, also had three birdies in the first five holes, but a double-bogey at the second left him one behind his playing partner.

"Maybe the two mistakes -- they were more mental mistakes," McIlroy said of the early troubles. "They were maybe something I wouldn't make if I were fresh, but I stuck to the task of shooting the best score I could."

On the eighth, Donald hit a seven-foot birdie putt, while McIlroy missed the green in regulation and settled for bogey to create a three-shot gap. On the back nine, however, the roles reversed.

McIlroy opened the final nine with a birdie at the 10th to get to one-under, and he birdied the par-three 13th to move to within one of Donald. For whatever reason, Donald's driver abandoned him at that point, and he hit drives into the bushes on both the 14th and 15th en route to consecutive bogeys.

"It was a mixture of both halves," Donald said. "I played very nicely in the front nine, thought I was in control, and I just kind of lost it. Poor tee shots on 13, 14 and 15. I think this course can do that to you. The way this course is, there's a lot of hazards in the middle of the fairway."

Donald dropped to minus-one, while McIlroy birdied the 14th to move to three- under for the day.

It continued to get worse for at No. 16 for Donald, who hit his drive into a fairway bunker to lead to another bogey. McIlroy was able to run home a long birdie putt on the same hole to create a four-shot gap at four-under.

The reigning U.S. Open champ continued to put on a display and make his intentions known at No. 17 with a curling 12-foot birdie putt, his fourth in a five-hole span.

He landed in the rough with his tee shot on the last, but recovered to make a 15-footer for birdie and a round of 66. Donald parred the 18th to shoot a 72.

"I holed some really nice putts coming in, which helped," McIlroy said. "I just stayed patient. I hit some good shots. I just kept giving myself chances on the back nine, and, lucky enough, holed some nice putts."

Hanson's front nine was solid, but unspectacular with only a pair of birdies and nary a bogey. On the back nine, though, Hanson looked like the player who contended last week in Hong Kong.

The four-time European Tour champ went six-under on the back nine, including birdies on each of the first four holes, and missed a short birdie putt at the 18th that would have given him the course record.

Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champ, also had a flawless round, and he and Hanson have a small cushion on McIlroy at the moment.

NOTES: Defending champion Robert Karlsson shot a one-over 73...This is the third time this event has been held. Lee Westwood, who also shot a 73, won the inaugural tournament...Ross Fisher, who shot a four-under 68, holed his approach at the par-four 15th for eagle. It was the only eagle all day...Y.E. Yang withdrew after four holes, reducing the field to 57 players.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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