Gal leads suspended Wegmans LPGA
Golf Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sandra Gal fired an eight-under 64 and held a one-shot lead Thursday when the rain-delayed first round of the Wegmans LPGA was suspended due to darkness.
Jiyai Shin stood alone in second place at seven-under 65, while Becky Lucidi was on the course at six-under through 15 holes when play was halted at 8:35 p.m. (et).
The round was delayed for almost three hours in the middle of the day because of inclement weather. When players returned to the course at 5:30 p.m., there were only about three hours of daylight remaining.
Those who didn't finish their rounds will return to Locust Hill in the morning.
Major winner Morgan Pressel was among the players who finished their rounds before the weather delay hit just after 2:30 p.m. The 2007 Kraft Nabisco champion shot a four-under 68 to lead a five-way tie for sixth place.
"Grinded it out today," Pressel posted to her Twitter page before the delay.
Gal, on the other hand, coasted.
The 24-year-old from Germany made her first trip around the 6,300-yard layout without a bogey, posting a career-low score on the LPGA Tour. Her previous best was a 65 in the first round of the Corning Classic last month, where she posted her first top-10.
Her day started on the back nine, where Gal made five birdies in a row from the 11th to the 15th. She made another birdie at the 17th, giving her a 31 around the turn.
Gal's birdie run was interrupted by the rain.
"It was not nice," said Gal, "but then I said I'll just take it as positive and start a fresh round and see how low we can go after that. I think that mind set kind of helped me for the back nine."
After making birdie putts that totaled 40 feet on her first nine holes, Gal drained two long attempts -- a 12-footer at No. 1 and a 15-footer at No. 9 -- to get into the clubhouse with the lead.
"A really fun day," she said.
Shin, the reigning Women's British Open champion, also played her first round without a bogey. She made three birdies in her first four holes Thursday, then four more on the back nine.
Last year, Shin, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, became the first non- LPGA Tour member to win three events. She has already picked up a fourth title this season -- when she is considered a rookie.
Shin simplified her game after the rain delay.
"The fairways and greens were softer, and the wind was gone," said the 21- year-old Korean.
Cheyenne Woods, the 18-year-old niece of Tiger Woods, played in her first event as a professional and shot a three-over 75. Cheyenne is entering her second year at Wake Forest.
"The difference is definitely the crowds, the media and the competition is a lot tougher," she said of her pro debut.
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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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