Villegas alone in first at PGA National

Golf Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - Palm Beach Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Camilo Villegas posted a three-under 67 on Saturday to take sole possession of the lead after the third round of the Honda Classic.

Villegas finished 54 holes at 11-under 199 and is three strokes clear at PGA National.

Vijay Singh, 1999 champion, had a one-under 69 on Saturday and is tied for second place with Australian Nathan Green, who carded a three-under 67 in round three. The pair is knotted at eight-under 202.

George McNeill fired a four-under 66 and shares fourth with Matt Every, who managed a one-under 69 on Saturday. The duo finished at minus-six.

This has been a whirlwind week for the leader.

Villegas started the week in his native Colombia to host the Nationwide Tour event being staged there. He returned in time for Thursday's first round and grabbed a piece of the second-round lead after a Friday 66.

"It got me in a good mood. Even though it's been a long week, it was awesome," said Villegas of his early-week trip.

On Saturday, Villegas parred his first two holes, but kicked in a short birdie putt at the par-five third. He made it two in a row thanks to another short birdie putt at the fourth and three holes later, ran home a 30-footer for birdie.

Villegas was 11-under par and three shots ahead. He made a 21-footer for birdie at the ninth to move four clear, but struggled immediately after he made the turn.

Villegas couldn't get up and down from a bunker at the 10th, but got the stroke back after a 19-foot birdie putt at 11. He missed the green and an eight-foot par save at 12.

Green got to nine-under with a tap-in birdie at 15, then Villegas three-putted for bogey from almost 40 feet at the 14th. His lead was only a stroke, but Villegas played a tough hole brilliantly to extend his cushion.

At the 16th, Villegas hammered his drive down the fairway and hit a great approach to 10 feet. He sank the birdie putt to move two ahead, then when Green bogeyed the last, Villegas reclaimed his three-shot lead.

He parred the last two and took the 54-hole lead for the second time on tour. The other time Villegas was in front after three rounds was the 2008 BMW Championship. He went on to win that event and the Tour Championship for his only two victories on tour.

Most observers believe Villegas should have more trophies on the mantle, but he's philosophical about it.

"It's all about attitude," said Villegas, who was third at the WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship and the second-round co-leader last week in Phoenix. "Last year, even though I played 27 tournaments, I only missed three cuts and made the cut in every major. I felt I should have played a little better. I decided to look at the good side of it."

Anthony Kim shared the lead with Villegas after the second round, but bogeyed his last two holes in round three and shot a three-over 73. He is tied for sixth place with Michael Connell, who had a one-under 69 and joined Kim at five-under 205.

J.B. Holmes (66) and Graeme McDowell (71) are knotted in eighth place at minus-four.

NOTES: Sam Saunders, the grandson of Arnold Palmer, posted his third straight one-under 69 and is tied for 10th at three-under par...Nearby fires left PGA National a little cloudy, but play was never stopped.

Wwwyehey Golf Betting News

<< Former PGA Tour winner Pate leads Bogota Open
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former PGA Tour winner Steve Pate had a five-under 66 Saturday to take a two-shot lead after three rounds of the Nationwide Tour's Bogota Open. The 48-year-old Pate birdied five of his last 11 hol

<< No. 25 Xavier downs St. Bonaventure
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Crawford scored 22 points to lead 25th-ranked Xavier to a 93-72 win over St. Bonaventure in the regular-season finale for both teams at Cintas Center. Jamel McLean poured in 15 points for the M

<< Juve returns to top four
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus moved back into the top four in the Serie A table on Saturday as Fabio Grosso scored in the 68th minute of a 2-1 Juve win over Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi. Diego put the visitors in f

<< Awesome Act gets Gotham Stakes victory
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Post-time favorite Awesome Act, ridden by Julien Leparoux, scampered away down the stretch to capture Saturday's $250,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. The 1 1/16-mile Gotham is the final local p

<< NAC halts PSV's unbeaten run
Breda, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSV Eindhoven suffered its first league defeat of the season on Saturday at NAC as Robert Schilder scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute. Orlando Engelaar put PSV in front after 18 minutes, bu

Stanford finishes off perfect Pac-10 slate >>
Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kayla Pedersen had 23 points and Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 22, as No. 2 Stanford beat California, 63-48, to wrap up their first undefeated Pac-10 season since 2002. Ogwumike added 14 rebounds and Pederse

Real Madrid joins Barca on top >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Van der Vaart's stoppage-time goal gave Real Madrid a 3-2 comeback win over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, while Barcelona could only manage a 2-2 draw with Almeria, leaving the two

Packers retain OT Clifton >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers have re-signed offensive tackle Chad Clifton, keeping the stalwart lineman that has started for the team since 2000. Terms were not released, but the deal was originally repo

Sun Belt Conference Tournament Recaps >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Sherrer hit a jumper with four seconds left to lead the ninth-seeded South Alabama Jaguars to a 52-51 victory over the eighth-seeded Florida Atlantic Owls in the first round of the Sun Belt Co

Pitt routs Rutgers to close out regular season >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilbert Brown poured in a game-high 19 points while pulling down six rebounds, as the 17th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers destroyed the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 83-54, in the regular-season finale for both cl

2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.