Van den Berg wins on Sunshine Tour

Golf Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ulrich van den Berg shot an even-par 72 on Friday, but it was enough to capture the Vodacom Business Origins of Golf event.

Van den Berg finished at 14-under 202 and won by a stroke at Humewood Golf Club.

Second-round leader Daniel Greene struggled to a four-over 76 on Friday and came in second place in his pursuit for a first victory on the Sunshine Tour.

Greene held a two-shot lead on the 17th hole, but landed his third in a pot bunker and played out sideways. He gave himself 40 feet for par, but three- putted for a double-bogey.

The two were tied for first, then van den Berg lipped out a three-foot par putt on the 18th hole. Greene pulled his drive at 18 and knocked his second into another pot bunker. He blasted out to 22 feet, but left his par putt four feet short.

Greene had to make his four-footer for bogey to force a playoff, but he missed to the left giving van den Berg his first win on the circuit in almost three years.

"It would have been nice to have seen that putt go in and I could have won it rather than Daniel lose it," van den Berg said of his putt on 18. "I feel a bit sad for Daniel because I have been in that situation before, and it really makes you feel empty. But I'm sure he will be in this position again, and he'll win."

Doug McGuigan shot a four-under 68 and took third at minus-11.

Dion Fourie (67), Alan Michell (69) and Jean Hugo (71) shared fourth at 10- under 206.

Wwvirtualvegas Golf Betting News

<< Redskins sign first-round pick Williams
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have signed their first-round draft pick, offensive tackle Trent Williams. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Washington Post reports it to be worth $60 million over six

<< Redskins sign No. 4 overall pick Trent Williams
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -The Washington Redskins have reached an agreement with No. 4 overall pick Trent Williams on a six-year, $60 million contract.Williams plans to sign the deal in the morning and will then take part in Friday's practice at training c

<< AP source: Masoli accepts invite to visit Ole Miss
Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has accepted an invitation from Mississippi coach Houston Nutt to visit the school this weekend, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.Masoli made the decision early Friday

<< AP source: Masoli invited to Ole Miss this weekend
Mississippi coach Houston Nutt has invited former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to visit the school this weekend, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.Masoli is expected to decide by Friday morning whether he

<< AP source: Masoli invited to visit Ole Miss
A person familiar with the situation says Mississippi coach Houston Nutt has invited former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to visit campus this weekend.Masoli is expected to decide by Friday morning whether he'll visit Oxford. The person spoke t

Knicks' Stoudemire in Israel to trace Hebrew roots >>
JERUSALEM (AP) -NBA star Amare Stoudemire says he has come to Israel to explore whether he has Jewish heritage.He tells The Associated Press on Friday that he believes he has ``Hebrew roots'' through his mother, Carrie.The five-time All-Star who rec

Bruins sign Blake Wheeler after arbitration award >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have signed forward Blake Wheeler to a one-year contract after the two sides went to arbitration earlier this week. According to the Boston Globe, Wheeler was awarded a $2.2 million deal f

Unpredictable tournament sets up USA-Cuba in quarters >>
Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After six exciting days and 30 hard- fought games of round-robin competition, the 2010 International Baseball Federation World Junior Baseball Championship is set to begin the medal round. Anything but pre

NBA Atlantic Division Off-Season Grades >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlantic Division had only one team finish with a winning record last season (Celtics), and although some members have improved since then, it looks like it will be pretty weak once again. Let's take a look a

Tigers bring up Frazier; designate Larish for assignment >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have purchased the contract of outfielder Jeff Frazier from Triple-A Toledo and opened a roster spot for the slugger by designating infielder Jeff Larish for assignment. Frazier was hitti

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.