08/16/2008 - Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pettersson carded a four-under 66 Saturday to maintain his lead after three rounds of the Wyndham Championship.
Pettersson, who set the new 36-hole scoring record here and matched the PGA Tour's record for lowest opening 36 holes, smashed the tournament's 54-hole scoring mark with his three-day total of 19-under-par 191.
The Swede broke his countryman Jesper Parnevik's record. Parnevik set the old mark of 195 in 1999. Pettersson's 191 total was two off the tour record for lowest opening 54-hole score.
Scott McCarron holed out for birdie on the 18th at Sedgefield Country Club to shoot six-under 64 and move into second place at 17-under-par 193.
Briny Baird fired an eight-under 62 to jump into a share of third place at minus-13. He was joined there by Garrett Willis (69) and Kevin Streelman (67). Willis needs a solo third-place finish or better to make it into the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Pettersson opened with four straight pars as McCarron climbed within one of the lead thanks to three consecutive birdies from the second. However, Pettersson knocked his second shot within five feet at the par-five fifth.
The Swede sank that eagle putt to jump to 15-under. He drained a 15-footer for birdie at the seventh to push his lead to four strokes.
Pettersson cruised around the turn with four straight pars. At the par-three 12th, his tee shot came to rest nine feet from the cup.
He ran that birdie putt home to briefly push his lead to five shots. McCarron responded with a birdie on 13 to get back within four.
Pettersson three-putted for bogey from within four feet at the par-five 15th and suddenly his lead was just two as McCarron birdied the 16th.
The 30-year-old Pettersson responded with a birdie on the par-three 17th as his tee shot at the par-three stopped four feet from the cup.
McCarron, who is playing on a medical exemption after missing last year due to elbow surgery, holed out for birdie from a greenside bunker at the last to get in at 17-under.
"I was in a really tough spot there, I had kind of a downhill bunker shot and downhill lie," McCarron explained. "I told my caddie if I made it I would do a snow angel, then I made it and chickened out. But it was a great shot and I was happy to finish that way."
Pettersson had a chance to respond with a birdie of his own, but his 21-foot birdie effort stayed above ground. He tapped in for par and his fifth 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. He is 2-2 in the other four events in which he lead after 54 holes.
"It was nice, I had a lot of support out there," said Pettersson, who played college golf at North Carolina State. "I played really good out there. I'm a little disappointed with my putter. But I felt like I played really good and handled myself well.
Pettersson moved into this area in high school and has lived here ever since.
"Yeah, it would be something special," Pettersson said of a potential win here. "When I was in high school, I used to come out here and watch the pros and dream about playing in this tournament. It would be something special to win here tomorrow."
McCarron, who carded six birdies in a bogey-free round, is going for his fourth PGA Tour win, but first since the 2001 BellSouth Classic.
"I'm really happy to be out here playing and playing well," McCarron said. "I'm having a lot of fun and this is a great golf course. I've made a lot of putts this week."
McCarron is also looking to secure his spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which start next week. He is 139th on the points list and is on track to finish inside the top 144 on the points list.
Scott Sterling (64), John Riegger (67), Kent Jones (65) and Bob Sowards (68) are tied for sixth at 11-under-par 199. All four need big finishes to move into the top 144 as they are rank as high as 168th, Sterling, and as low as 217th, Sowards, on the current points list.
Those four were joined at minus-11 by Jerry Kelly (68), Tim Clark (68) and John Senden (67), who are all into the playoffs already.
Rich Beem helped his cause in hopes of making the playoffs with a seven-under 63 Saturday. He jumped into a share of 13th at 10-under-par 200. He is currently 166th on the points list and needs a strong finish to make the playoffs.
Lower down the leaderboard, Davis Love III did not help his cause in the making the playoffs as he only shot one-over 71 and is tied for 63rd at minus- three. He is currently 150th on the points list and needs a great round Sunday.
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Chivas USA's Marsch could be out 2 months with fractured jaw >>
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Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds reinstated first
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The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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