11/10/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia birdied the second playoff hole Monday to defeat Ryder Cup teammate Oliver Wilson and win the HSBC Champions.
Garcia closed with a four-under 68 to finish at 14-under-par 274. Wilson, who led after the third round, posted a two-under to join Garcia at minus-14 and force the playoff.
On the first extra hole, No. 18, Garcia and Wilson both two-putted for par.
They played the 18th again and Wilson had nearly the same putt as he did the first time around. Wilson missed the 15-foot birdie putt left of the hole.
Garcia was 12 feet out on the back fringe. He rolled the putt in for birdie and his eighth European Tour win.
The Monday finish was needed after Friday's play was completely washed out and there was a long delay Saturday as well.
"It's been a long week. Finally we got two nice, decent days to play. It was great," said Garcia, who has won twice in the last three events. "I think that was my fourth playoff this year. I think I was 2-2, so I'll take that."
Adding to the significance, Garcia now leads the Race to Dubai standings and passed Phil Mickelson to become the second-ranked player in the world.
"I'm so proud to win. No. 2 in the world, so I am very happy," Garcia said. "Great week. It feels awesome to be the first leader to the Race to Dubai. I guess that will go down in history. It's always nice to achieve something like that."
Wilson, who hasn't won on the European Tour, was again a tough-luck loser. He finished second four times last year and with this loss drops to 0-3 in playoffs on the European Tour.
Peter Hanson eagled the 13th and birdied the 16th to tie for the lead. He closed with a six-under 66 to tie for third at minus-13. He was joined there by former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (70).
Henrik Stenson ended alone in fifth at 11-under-par 277 after a final-round, one-under 71. Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel shared sixth at minus-10.
Wilson led by one at the start of the final round and parred his first four holes over two days. He stumbled to a bogey on the fifth to slide into a share of the lead with Mickelson at 11-under.
The Englishman pitched his third to three feet at the eighth and kicked that in for birdie. He stood at 12-under and was one shot clear of Garcia.
Garcia birdied the second on Sunday, but stumbled to a bogey on three before play ended on Sunday. He returned to Sheshan International Golf Club on Monday and slipped two back with a bogey on the fifth.
The Spaniard rebounded with a birdie on the seventh and made it two straight with a three-foot birdie putt on eight.
Garcia rolled in a seven-footer for birdie on nine to make it three in a row and join Wilson at minus-12.
Wilson parred five straight from the ninth, while Garcia parred four in a row from the 10th. Garcia briefly took the lead with a short birdie putt on the par-five 14th.
However, Wilson also birdied 14 to forge at tie at 13-under. For the week, Garcia was five-under on the 14th with an eagle and three birdies, while Wilson played the hole in four-under with four birdies.
Wilson reclaimed the lead when he sank a nine-foot birdie effort on the 16th. Garcia tied him at 14-under with a six-foot birdie putt at 18. Wilson got up and down for par from a bunker on 17, then two-putted from long range at 18 to force the playoff.
Mickelson, who won this title last year, shared eighth with Prayad Marksaeng at nine-under-par 279. Mickelson shot one-over 73, while Marksaeng closed with a two-under 70.
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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 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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