Rock takes lead before storms overtake South Africa
Golf Betting Lines
01/13/2012 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Rock shot a four-under 67 on the West Course in his second round to grab a one-stroke lead as storms washed out Friday's play at the Joburg Open.
After a four-hour delay on Thursday prevented the first round from being completed at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, thunderstorms came through again on Friday and disrupted play further. The first round was completed Friday morning, but second-round play is far from finished.
The round was halted at 7:37 a.m. (et) and eventually called for the day and will resume at 11:45 p.m. (et) with several players yet to tee off. Saturday's weather calls for a chance of more thunderstorms, so it remains to be seen whether the tournament will see 72 holes.
Rock followed his impressive seven-under 65 on the more difficult par-72 East Course with a four-under on the par-71 West Course to total 11-under 132. He's looking to build off his first European Tour victory last year at the Italian Open, but may be caught by the time the cut is made.
Right behind him are Jbe Kruger and Branden Grace, both of whom shot 67s on the East Course and five-under 66s on the West Course Friday to get to 10- under 133. Michiel Bothma (66) sits tied for fourth at nine-under with George Coetzee, who is the top player out on the course at minus-nine with 12 holes remaining.
First-round leaders Damien McGrane and Jamie Elson can still retain that title with good second rounds; McGrane sits at seven-under through three holes on the East Course, while Elson has yet to tee off on the same course.
Although Rock leads, he bucked the trend of the East playing more difficult by posting a worse score on the West Course.
Rock started his tournament on Thursday with an eagle, and began Friday's second round with an eagle at the second hole to quickly get to nine-under. He bogeyed the eighth before a birdie at the ninth kept him at that number around the turn.
A bogey at No. 12 dropped Rock to eight-under, but he followed with three consecutive birdies to move atop the leaderboard. Grace would have finished at 11-under as well, but a bogey at the last dropped him one behind.
Two-time defending champion Charl Schwartzel completed 36 holes at three-under 140 after a three-under 68 on the West Course, but still has a lot of ground to make up if he's to become the sixth European Tour player to win the same tournament three years in a row.
NOTES: Currently, Sunday's forecast calls for no precipitation...South African Retief Goosen is seven-under through six holes of his second round on the East Course.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
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17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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