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08/26/2010 - Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing his best golf this year, Tiger Woods shot a six-under 65 Thursday to tie Vaughn Taylor for the first-round lead at The Barclays.
Woods played in the first group out in the morning wave and racked up seven birdies and just one bogey in the PGA Tour playoffs opener.
"I just played today," Woods said.
Of course, it was the first competitive round for the world No. 1 since his divorce was made public on Monday, ending nine months of speculation about where he and Elin Nordegren stood as a couple in the wake of his sex scandal.
While he wouldn't say that a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, Woods seemed to hint that the turmoil in his personal life played as much a part in his recent on-course struggles as his swing problems.
"I think it's all of the above," he said.
Shaking free of those struggles, at least for a day, Woods took his first lead on the PGA Tour since the second round of last year's Tour Championship after shooting his best round in six career Barclays starts.
The Tour Championship is exactly what Woods is trying to reach. He entered the playoffs ranked 112th on the points list and needs to finish inside the top 57 at Ridgewood to make the 100-player field for next week's Deutsche Bank Championship.
After that, the fields are reduced to 70 players for the BMW Championship and 30 for the playoffs finale at the Tour Championship. Last year, only seven players ranked outside the top 30 at the beginning of the playoffs made it all the way to the last event.
Woods, a two-time FedEx Cup champion, could mathematically move to No. 1 in the standings with a victory this week.
"I figure if I win I should be OK," he said.
Taylor, who stands 38th in the FedEx Cup rankings, overcame an early bogey at No. 3 with seven birdies the rest of the way. He birdied four of his last six holes to join Woods in the early lead.
With his tour card locked up and sitting in a good position to make at least a couple more playoff fields, Taylor said everything else is just "gravy."
"Obviously (I) want to finish as high as I can on the FedEx and the money lists to get in all the majors next year and things of that nature. So it's pressure off, but also a little bit of pressure to reach your goals," he said.
Ryan Palmer cooled off after shooting a seven-under 28 on the front nine. He made a double-bogey at the 10th, a birdie at the 13th and closed with a bogey at the 18th to shoot a 66 and share third place with Brian Gay and Adam Scott, who also bogeyed his last hole to fall out of a share of the lead.
Davis Love III, Camilo Villegas and Stewart Cink led a large group at 67 that also included defending champion Heath Slocum, whose one-shot victory last year was a shocker over Woods, Ernie Els, Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington.
Els, the FedEx Cup leader, opened with a 71 on Thursday, while Stricker, who is second in points, had a 70.
Phil Mickelson is the next highest-seeded player in the field after Jim Furyk's Wednesday disqualification for missing the pro-am. Currently No. 4 on the points list, Lefty never got anything going in a round of 72.
Mulling over another swing change -- it would be his fourth new swing on tour -- Woods played in the first group off No. 1 and opened with a 15-foot birdie putt.
"It was a good ball-striking day," he said. "Nice to have control. I didn't warm up very well initially. Was struggling a little bit. But fixed it, and I was committed to it all day."
Taking advantage of a soft course and calm conditions, Woods rattled off three more birdies on the front nine, making the turn with a four-under 31. He drove the green at the short par-four fifth and two-putted for one of those birdies.
"You had to get it today, especially with the wind being down early and then we had fresh greens," Woods said. "It was good to be out early."
He made his only bogey at No. 12, hitting his approach into a bunker. But he bounced right back with a six-foot birdie putt at the 13th and three-footer for birdie at the 14th.
Woods knocked his final approach to seven feet at the 18th, closing with a birdie for his best score of the year.
The 65 snapped a streak of 11 consecutive rounds in the 70s for Woods going back to the second round of the British Open. It was just his second sub-70 score in his last 18 rounds.
"It's exciting to hit the ball flush like this again. It's something I've been missing all year," said Woods. "I haven't hit it flush. And it felt good to hit the ball and shape it both ways and really hit it through the wind.
"I've hit so many shots this year that haven't been hit flush enough to get through the wind. But today I was doing it all day."
NOTES: Woods, who has yet to win this season, took his first 18-hole lead since the 2009 PGA Championship, where he famously finished second to Y.E. Yang...Woods is 13-12 when holding at least a share of the first-round lead on the PGA Tour. He is winless in his last three opportunities, however, dating back to a victory at the 2006 CA Championship.
<< Nationals introduce top overall pick Harper
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals officially
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The Nats and Harper agreed to ter
<< Roma's Adriano sidelined with thigh injury
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma striker Adriano will likely miss the start
of the Serie A season with a thigh injury, the Italian club revealed Thursday.
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yet
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Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - USC and Texas, the participants in the 2006
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"USC versus Texas is a classic match-up and I'm sure fans from bot
<< Chelsea could walk to Champions League final
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea is just a few miles from its first
Champions League title. Getting there, even after receiving an easy group play
draw Thursday, remains the elusive last step in the club's incredible journey.
Sinc
Saban: Talks on agent issue continue >>
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Alabama coach Nick Saban says talks are ongoing in seeking a solution to the problem of rule-breaking agents.Saban said Thursday evening that there have been ``several conference calls'' with other coaches, the NFL, the NFL Pl
Miller leads in Tennessee; Daly one back >>
Farragut, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Miller posted a six-under 66 on Thursday
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major champion lurks close behind.
John Daly, the 1991 PGA Champion and 1995 Bri
Reyes leaves Thursday's game >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes left
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Pujols fastest to reach 400 HRs >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert
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plateau when he went deep on Thursday.
Pujols hit an opposite-field solo blast to right fiel
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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