Fisher flirts with 59, takes Irish Open lead
Golf Betting Lines
07/30/2010 - Killarney, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Fisher fired a 10-under 61 on Friday to grab sole possession of first place after the second round of the Irish Open.
Fisher finished 36 holes at 12-under 130 and is three strokes clear at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club.
Francesco Molinari posted a five-under 66 on Friday and is alone in second at minus-nine.
Two Irish stars made big moves in the second round.
World No. 8 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland shot a three-under 68 and moved into a tie for third place at seven-under 135.
"I'm only five back going into tomorrow. If I get off to a fast start, hopefully I can close the gap on Ross a little bit," said McIlroy, who mixed six birdies and three bogeys. "It was quite frustrating to be honest. It seemed like every time I made a birdie, I made a bogey and it sort of halted me in my tracks."
Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington carded a four-under 67 and is part of the large group tied with McIlroy at minus-seven. Much like McIlroy, Harrington wasn't completely satisfied with his round.
"I didn't play anywhere near as well as I played yesterday," acknowledged Harrington. "I drove it superbly yesterday and drove it poorly today. I'm very happy that my short game is good."
But they have work to do to catch Fisher.
The Englishman opened with a two-under 69 on Thursday and parred his first two holes on Friday. Fisher caught fire starting at the third and birdied six holes in a row.
"I got off to a steady start, a couple pars on the first two, and then the putter caught fire really," said Fisher, who was eight-under for the championship after the turn. "I had a nice little run."
Fisher parred the 10th, then went on another spectacular run. He birdied his next four holes, including a 25-footer at the 13th, and was 10-under through 14.
Naturally, thoughts of 59 popped into Fisher's head.
"It was obviously a shame that it came to an end on nine, but I just kept on hitting good shots and got on to a little patch on the back, as well," said Fisher, who has won each of the last three seasons on the European Tour. "I had a chance on 15 from eight feet; unfortunately I pulled it."
Fisher parred his final four holes and lost his chance at becoming the first player to shoot a 59 on the European Tour.
"All I wanted to do was give myself chances coming in the last four holes, and I gave myself four good looks at birdie. Unfortunately I didn't make them so I have to be satisfied with 61," said Fisher, who held a piece of the lead at some point in all four majors last year. "It's pretty flawless golf to be fair."
Anders Hansen (68), Seung-yul Noh (69), Brett Rumford (69), Gonzalo Fernandez- Castano (69), Michael Hoey (69), David Dixon (68) and Richard Green (70) joined McIlroy and Harrington in third at minus-seven.
Defending champion Shane Lowry, who won this title in a playoff as an amateur last year, fired a six-under 65 on Friday to move into a tie for 24th at three-under 139.
NOTES: Fisher just missed the 36-hole record at this championship. Patrik Sjoland established the mark of 129 in 2000 and Lowry matched it last year...U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, made the cut on the number at even-par 142...Kenneth Ferrie, Jose Manuel Lara and Sam Little withdrew on Friday...First-round leader David Howell struggled to a four-over 75 and fell to three-under par.
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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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