Grace tops stars for 2nd win in a row on European Tour
Golf Betting Lines
01/22/2012 - George, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Africa's Branden Grace toppled two of his home country's golfing icons, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, in a playoff Sunday to win the Volvo Golf Champions, his second win in a row on the European Tour.
Grace birdied the first playoff hole to best Els and Goosen. He earned his first tour victory a week ago at the Joburg Open and that got him into this exclusive event, reserved for European Tour players who won European Tour events in the last year.
Sunday's win at The Links at Fancourt had to be extra special for Grace considering he came through the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. Perhaps even more amazing than two wins in the three events on the 2012 European Tour schedule, is that Grace came through tour Q School just last month.
Grace, a third-round co-leader, overcame a rocky start on Sunday that included a double-bogey at three and a bogey at four. He tallied five birdies the rest of the way for a two-under 71.
Els played the last 11 holes in five-under par and signed for a six-under 67 on Sunday. Goosen was alone in the lead until an errant drive at nine led to a double-bogey and he dropped a shot at 12. He rebounded with an eagle, three birdies, all in the last four holes, to shoot a three-under 70.
The trio finished regulation at 12-under 280 and headed back to the par-five closing hole at Fancourt.
Grace and Goosen both found the short grass off the tee at 18, but Els pulled his drive into the left rough. The Big Easy had to lay up with his second and both Grace and Goosen landed in the front right portion of the green.
Els' third stopped 15 feet from the flagstick, giving him a decent chance at birdie. Goosen stubbed his chip, while Grace lagged his eagle try close. Goosen failed to make birdie, and with Grace in close, the pressure belonged to Els.
His birdie putt stayed above ground and Grace tapped in for birdie and his second win in as many weeks and a healthy, albeit early, lead in the Race to Dubai.
"I'm really ecstatic," said Grace. "It's a dream come true to win such a big event - pretty much the best tournament I've played in so far."
Third-round co-leader Nicolas Colsaerts bogeyed the last to fall out of a possible playoff. He managed a one-under 72 and finished fourth at 11-under par.
Masters champion Charl Schwartzel also had a 72 on Sunday and came in fifth at minus-10.
European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal enjoyed a nice showing this week. The Hall of Famer shot an even-par 73 on Sunday and was sixth at eight- under 284.
"At certain moments in the round it looked a little bit like the old days," said Olazabal.
NOTES: This event was reserved not just for winners on last year's schedule, but also current tour members under the age of 50 with more than 10 victories are also invited...That is how Goosen and Olazabal got into the field...Next week is the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in the United Arab Emirates, where Martin Kaymer has won the last two years...Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Kaymer and Tiger Woods are expected to make their season debuts.
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BALTIMORE RAVENS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, 3:00 P.M. (ET)
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Indiana uses strong second half to top Penn State >>
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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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