Willis leads Transitions Championship

Golf Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Palm Harbor, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Willis, a local resident playing on a sponsor's exemption, shot a six-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Transitions Championship.

Defending champion Retief Goosen, Jonathan Byrd, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, 2005 winner Carl Pettersson and Jeff Maggert, who got into the field on Thursday when Vijay Singh withdrew, are knotted in second place at four-under 67.

"I was debating whether to go on ahead and come on over and I just took the late flight last night," said Maggert.

The leader is a man who lives about 45 minutes away from the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club.

Willis was in the second group out Thursday morning and didn't get off to a great start. He parred his first two, but found trouble with his approach at the par-four third. Willis "double-crossed" a five-iron and the ball went left of the putting surface. He couldn't get up and down for par, but reclaimed the lost shot when he was able to pull off the cut five-iron shot and sank a 20- footer.

Willis' only other front-nine birdie came at the long, par-three eighth. He hit a five-wood 35 feet past the hole, but drained the long birdie putt to head to the back nine at one-under.

On the second nine, Willis caught fire immediately. He chipped in for birdie on the 10th, then laid up at the par-five 11th. Willis converted a four-footer for birdie and made it three in a row thanks to a 15-footer at the par-four 12th.

At the par-five 14th, Willis' third shot stopped 15 feet from the stick. He rolled in the birdie putt to reach four-under par for the championship.

Willis' final birdie came at the par-four 16th. His approach landed short of the green, but bounced up to 15 feet. Willis holed the birdie and that would be enough for the first-round lead.

"I was fortunate enough to get off early before the wind really started kicking up," said Willis, who is staying at his own house this week. "I was constantly putting at birdie, so made it pretty easy."

Willis is back on the PGA Tour after a few years away. He finished 12th on the 2009 Nationwide Tour money list to get his card back, although this week he's playing on a sponsor's exemption.

"It's always been one of my favorite tournaments and always looked for the opportunity to be able to play here," said Willis, who won in Tucson in 2001. "It was nice enough of them to give me an exemption into the field, so actually I found out on the way down to the Honda that I was getting an exemption, which freed me up pretty good at the Honda, even though my weekend scores didn't show that."

Willis finished in 74th at the Honda after an 80-79 weekend. His best finish in 2010 was a tie for 26th at the Bob Hope Classic, but he's missed only one cut in five starts.

Former PGA Champion Steve Elkington, Ross Fisher, Jeff Quinney and J.B. Holmes are tied for eighth place at three-under 68.

NOTES: Singh, who won this title in 2004, pulled out minutes before his tee time with a back injury...British Open champion Stewart Cink struggled to a seven-over 78 on Thursday, but that was five shots better than young Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa, who had a 12-over 83 and is last...Ishikawa graduated from high school last weekend...Goosen had other things on his mind Thursday. It was his grandmother's 100th birthday. "Unfortunately I can't be there for the party this weekend, but it's nice to see she got to that age."

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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.