Allen leads Senior PGA by one

Golf Betting Lines

05/23/2009 - Beachwood, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Allen, who is making his first Champions Tour start, carded a three-under 67 Saturday to grab a one-shot lead after three rounds of the 70th Senior PGA Championship.

Allen, a PGA Tour regular who hasn't won since 1998 on the Nationwide Tour, completed 54 holes at three-under-par 207.

Tom Kite and Jeff Sluman both owned a piece of the lead during the third round, but stumbled late. Kite shot a one-under 69, while Sluman managed an even-par 70 as they share second place at minus-two.

Former Masters champion Larry Mize was also in the mix, but was derailed by three bogeys and a double-bogey on the back nine. Mize carded a one-over 71 as he was joined in fourth place at one-under-par 209 by Gil Morgan (70) and Tim Simpson (68).

Second-round leader Ross Drummond faltered to a six-over 76 that dropped him into a share of 16th at plus-two at Canterbury Golf Club.

Allen had a very steady round until catching fire on the back nine. He birdied the second from just over 15 feet out to move to minus-one, but gave that shot back as he bogeyed the ninth after parring six in a row from the third.

The 50-year-old parred the first four holes of the back nine as well. He was four shots back on the 14th, but started to make his move with a seven-foot birdie putt there.

Allen chipped his third to the par-five 15th within two feet and he kicked that in for birdie. He followed with another up-and-down birdie on the par- five 16th to get to three-under.

He parred the final two holes to get into the clubhouse at minus-three and it was good for the 54-hole lead as Sluman, Mize and Kite all stumbled late in their rounds.

"I seem like I'm playing really well on the front nine, but I just can't get any birdies out of it. All the putts seem to lip out," admitted Allen. "My expectations coming in were definitely to be competitive and to win. These guys are great players and they have beat me for a long time, but maybe it is my turn now. I don't know if I'm going to win or not, but I felt like I should definitely be competitive here."

Kite, whose first of 10 Champions Tour wins was a major (the 2000 Tradition), birdied the third and ninth to climb to minus-three and a share of the lead.

The 59-year-old parred the first five holes of the back nine. He moved into the lead at four-under with a two-putt birdie on the par-five 15th. After a par on 16, he missed the par-three 17th well right.

Kite dumped his chip into a bunker, but got up and down for bogey. He also bogeyed the last to end one back.

"I'll tell you what, it's a hard golf course and those last couple of holes are really hard," Kite admitted. "It is a pretty sadistic finish those last couple of holes. But all in all, I really feel like I'm playing well. I really like the way I'm striking the ball and I'm hitting a lot of greens in regulation."

Sluman, the 1988 PGA champion, birdied the second, but faltered to a bogey on the par-four fourth to dip to minus-two. He birdied the ninth to gain a share of the lead at minus-three.

After Kite pushed the lead to four-under, Sluman matched him there with a birdie on the 14th. However, he bogeyed 16 and 18 to drop into a share of second.

"I just have to drive it better. I kind of said the last two days I honestly don't know where it's going off the tee," stated Sluman. "The golf course is in wonderful condition, the type of golf course that if you're driving it well, you love to play, kind of right up my alley. But it's not up anybody's alley when you're kind of wild off the tee."

Joey Sindelar and Bruce Fleisher both posted one-under 69s to move into a share of seventh at even-par 210. They were joined there by Jay Don Blake (71). Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer, Joe Ozaki, Don Pooley, Mark McNulty and Chris Starkjohann are one shot back at plus-one.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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