Hietala wins playoff for Cox Classic title
Golf Betting Lines
08/03/2008 - Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Hietala parred the first playoff hole Sunday to defeat overnight-leader David Branshaw and win the Cox Classic at Champions Run.
The win was Hietala's second on the Nationwide Tour. His other victory came at the 2005 Louisiana Open.
Hietala posted a two-under 69 on Sunday to match Branshaw, who tallied four back-nine bogeys en route to a two-over 73. The pair finished regulation at 19-under 265 and headed back to No. 18 for the extra session.
At the first playoff hole, the pair was on opposite sides of the fairway, but Hietala was in a divot. Branshaw played first and clobbered his approach over the green, Hietala mishit a low bullet into the right fringe.
Branshaw had a terrible lie, but pitched four feet past the hole. Hietala ran his third to a foot and tapped in for the par.
Branshaw pulled his four-footer, giving Hietala his first win in almost three years.
"I'm speechless," said Hietala. "God, what a struggle. What a feeling."
Branshaw led Hietala by four shots at the start of the final round. Branshaw only made two birdies on the front versus three from Hietala, so at the turn, the margin was three.
Hietala, playing one group ahead of Branshaw, drained a six-footer for birdie at the par-five 10th. Branshaw drove into a bush and could not save par, cutting the lead to a single stroke.
Hietala bogeyed both 11 and 12. Branshaw three-putted both holes for bogey, his third in a row, but the margin was still one shot. Hietala bogeyed No. 14 and Branshaw had a two-shot lead with three to play.
At the par-five 17th, Hietala drove into the right rough up against a hill. He choked down on his club and somehow reached the green in two. Hietala, the second-round leader, two-putted for birdie.
Behind Hietala, Branshaw hit his tee ball into a greenside bunker at 16. He blasted out to eight feet, but missed the putt and dropped himself into a tie for the lead with Hietala at 19-under par.
Hietala hit a terrible second shot from the fairway at 18 right of the putting surface. He hit a flop-shot to three feet and converted the par save to get in at minus-19.
Branshaw had an eight-iron for his second shot at the par-five 17th, but pulled it long and left. His chip ran 10 feet past the stick and Branshaw failed to hole his birdie effort for the lead.
Branshaw found the right rough off the tee and got a free drop after his feet were on the cart path. His second came up about 45 feet short of the flagstick, giving him an unlikely birdie putt for the win.
A two-putt par and a playoff seemed like the best option for Branshaw, but a pair of three-putts on the back nine may have loomed his mind. He had a difficult ridge to negotiate and left his birdie putt for the win nine feet short.
Branshaw needed the putt and converted it to force the playoff, but the trophy ultimately went to Hietala.
"I didn't know he dropped three or four shots until I looked at the board on 16," admitted Hietala. "I knew that stretch of holes was playing tough. I played with Branshaw yesterday. He played great and hats off to his game this week."
Skip Kendall (67), Garth Mulroy (69) and Alex Prugh (67) shared third place at 16-under 269.
Ricky Barnes (65), Jeff Klauk (66), Casey Wittenberg (67), Gary Christian (68), last week's winner in Ohio Bill Lunde (69) and Vance Veazey (74) tied for sixth at minus-15.
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Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
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