Thompson claims first Nationwide win

Golf Betting Lines

06/10/2007 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Thompson shot a one-under 70 on Sunday to win the Rex Hospital Open, holding off a charging Bob Burns to claim his first Nationwide Tour victory in wire-to-wire fashion.

Thompson finished at 16-under 268, good enough for a two-shot win after Burns bogeyed the 18th hole. It was Thompson's first win in six chances as the 54- hole leader on the Nationwide Tour.

"It is hard to put into words," said Thompson, who claimed $81,000 for the win. "It has always been a dream of mine to win on the Nationwide Tour. To finally get this win is huge."

Burns took a penalty on the final hole and made bogey when a birdie could have sent the tournament into a playoff.

Looking for his third Nationwide Tour win and first since 1998, the onetime PGA Tour winner closed with a three-under 68 to take second place alone at 14- under 270.

"I had risk or reward on that last shot," said Burns, who went for the green with a five-wood from 240 yards out at the 18th, putting it into the water.

"I had second place wrapped up. But from the tenth hole on, I knew if I got close I was going for it on the last hole."

Rick Price had a four-under 67 and finished in third place at 12-under 272.

Garrett Willis shot the round of the day by two strokes with a bogey-free, seven-under 64 that vaulted him from a tie for 26th place overnight into fourth place at 11-under 273.

Marc Turnesa (67), D.A. Points (67) and Tommy Biershenk (69) shared fifth place one shot further back at 274.

Thompson opened with rounds of 64 and 65 this week, then cooled off on the weekend with a 69-70. He came within two shots of tying the tournament scoring record.

Prior to this week, his best finish this season was a tie for fifth place at the Melwood Prince George's County Open last month.

"I wouldn't say it has been a struggle, but it has been a journey to get to this point and finally win," said Thompson, who was making his 120th career Tour start. "Every time I've been in contention I've played pretty solid, but I've never had that five- or six-under round to finish up with."

Sunday, he didn't either. But 70 was good enough.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.