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Choi takes 1-shot lead in Sweden

Golf Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi took the lead Friday at the Scandinavian Masters with a five-under 67 in the second round.

Choi finished 36 holes on the Stadium Course at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club with a nine-under 135, moving one shot ahead of Richard S. Johnson (66).

British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen (70) and Rafa Echenique (69) were another stroke further back at seven-under 137, while Robert-Jan Derksen (67) and Richard Green (71) were tied at 138.

Choi started on the 10th tee and shot a 31 on the back nine, including an eagle at the par-five 15th. He also had three birdies before the turn, then another at the first hole.

But Choi three-putted at No. 4, taking the first of three bogeys he made on the front side of the course. He mixed in two more birdies for a 36 to take the lead.

A seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, Choi remained in Europe after missing the cut last week at the British Open. He said he feels more comfortable with his swing this week, one of the reasons he's scored better on another hard course.

"It was very difficult in the morning against the wind," said Choi, who captured his only European Tour win at the 2003 German Masters. "Today my goal was a couple under par ... because the golf course is very difficult."

Johnson negotiated it without a bogey, picking up two birdies on the front nine and four more on the back to climb within one of the lead.

"Turned out to be a really nice round. I actually struggled off the tee today compared to yesterday, but it really worked out nice. I holed out really well and attacked it when I could," said Johnson, who ended at eight-under 136.

Oosthuizen, of course, is coming off a seven-shot win at St. Andrews for his first major championship. He was one of three 18-hole leaders after shooting a 67 on Thursday despite finding little time to sleep during the week.

On Friday, Oosthuizen was done in by a double-bogey at the par-three 17th -- his eighth hole -- where he hit into the water. He shot a 36 on the back nine, then came away with a 34 on the front side to pull within two shots of Choi.

"I made a few thinking errors, stupid mistakes. I think there was a bit of tiredness showing there," said Oosthuizen. "I just made a few bad putts."

Scottish Open winner Edoardo Molinari (71) shared seventh place with Wilhelm Schauman (66) at five-under 139.

NOTES: The cut line fell at one-over 145. Defending champion Ricardo Gonzalez made the weekend at even-par 144...Choi's last win on the PGA Tour came at the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii.

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What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

  • There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.

    The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:

    Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots

    Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21

    The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.

    Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.

    Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).

    Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.

    And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.