Thompson moves in front at Rex Hospital Open

Golf Betting Lines

06/09/2007 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Thompson, one of three overnight leaders, carded a six-under 65 on Friday to move into sole possession of the lead after two rounds of the Rex Hospital Open.

Thompson missed the 36-hole tournament record by a stroke at 13-under-par 129. Jimmy Green posted a 128 en route to a runner-up finish to Brian Bateman in 1998.

Bob Burns fired an eight-under 63 and is alone in second place at minus-10. Rick Price shot a three-under 68 to come in at third place at nine-under-par 133.

Thompson flew out of the gate with a 20-foot birdie putt at the first and a 25-footer for birdie at two. He added another long birdie putt, this time from 35 feet at the fourth.

He closed his front nine with a 15-foot birdie putt at the eighth and made the turn at 11-under par for the championship.

Thompson parred his first three holes on the second nine, then converted a five-foot birdie putt at the par-five 13th. He dropped a stroke when he three- putted for a bogey at the par-three 14th.

Thompson parred Nos. 15 and 16, then closed his round in style. He drained a pair of 10-foot birdie putts at the 17th and 18th holes to grab his three-shot lead.

It was definitely the putter that propelled Thompson to the lead. He needed only 27 putts on Friday and admitted the flat stick is working.

"I made some great putts, especially those first few holes," said Thompson. "My putter feels great. It's going exactly where I'm looking. The putts on those first four holes were dead center. They didn't have a chance of missing the hole."

Burns birdied three of his first four holes after he started on the back nine. He sank a 45-footer for birdie at the 16th to suddenly find himself at minus- six.

On his second nine, Burns rattled off four birdies in a row from the third, including two 12-footers and a pair of five-footers. All totaled, Burns moved up 26 places on the leaderboard from the first round.

"Anytime you shoot a 63, there's some luck involved," admitted Burns. "It's fun to play golf that way every now and then. It's nice to get a round like this under your belt."

Tom Carter, one of the three first-round co-leaders, only managed a one-under 70 and is tied with Tommy Biershenk, who posted a 65 on Friday. The duo is knotted at eight-under-par 134.

Michael Letzig, the other overnight leader, shot an even-par 71 and is tied for sixth with Ron Whittaker (70), Matt Hansen (64) and Phil Tataurangi (68) at minus-seven.

The 36-hole cut came at two-under-par 140 and Brenden Pappas will not get his name into the Nationwide Tour record book. He could have become the first player in tour history to successfully defend a title, but shot a three-over 74 on Friday to finish at plus-two.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.