Tiger two behind Olesen in Abu Dhabi

Golf Betting Lines

01/27/2012 - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods posted a three- under 69 Friday to move within two strokes of the lead after two rounds of the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Woods, who is playing this event for the first time, had five birdies and two bogeys in his second round. He ended 36 holes at five-under-par 139 and is tied for fourth place.

Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen fired a five-under 67 to move into the lead. He finished two rounds at seven-under-par 137 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Olesen is in his second full season on the European Tour and is still searching for his first victory on that circuit. He did have three second- place finishes last season.

Matteo Manassero had the low round of the day as he fired a seven-under 65. That helped him jump into a share of second place at minus-six. He was joined there by Gareth Maybin, who carded a two-under 70 on Friday.

Woods was joined in fourth place by first-round co-leaders Rory McIlroy and Robert Karlsson, who both shot 72 in round two, as well as Paul Lawrie (69), Robert Rock (70) and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (71).

World No. 1 Luke Donald managed an even-par 72 in the second round. He finished two rounds at one-under-par 141, where he was joined by former British Open champion Ben Curtis (71) and six others.

Two-time defending champion Martin Kaymer had a better round on Friday, but he still missed the cut by four shots. Kaymer posted a 73 to finish at six-over- par 150.

Woods opened with a six-foot birdie putt on the first, but gave that stroke back when he failed to save par from a greenside bunker on the par-four third.

After four straight pars, Woods got up and down from a bunker for birdie on the eighth. He birdied the 11th for the second straight round, and came right back with a four-foot birdie putt on No. 12 to move to minus-five.

Woods inched within one of the lead with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 15th. After driving into the rough on No. 16, Woods muscled his second shot into a greenside bunker. He again failed to get up and down.

That bogey dropped him two strokes off the lead, and that's where Woods ended after a pair of two-putt pars on the final two holes.

"I thought I played well. A lot of the things Sean [Foley] and I are working on are starting to feel very comfortable," Woods said of his swing coach. "But it's tough out there, the rough's getting deeper and more lush."

Olesen got off to a flying start with three birdies over the first four holes. He birdied the first, second and fourth, all for the second straight day.

He stumbled to a bogey on the fifth to slip back to minus-four. The 22-year- old Olesen poured in three straight birdie efforts from the eighth to soar into the lead.

Olesen got to eight-under with a birdie on No. 12, then parred five in a row before faltering to a bogey at the last.

"I really like this course. It's very tough and everything is good about it," Olesen said. "You need to be straight, you need to be a good putter, you need to be good all around your golf game, so I think it's a great test of golf."

NOTES: World No. 2 Lee Westwood battled through a sore neck to card his second straight even-par 72...The cut line fell at two-over-par 146 with 69 players advancing to the final two rounds...Among those missing the cut with Kaymer were Colin Montgomerie, Jason Day, Edoardo Molinari, Todd Hamilton, Alvaro Quiros and reigning British Open champion Darren Clarke.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

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Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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