Flanagan headed to PGA thanks to comeback win in Rochester

Golf Betting Lines

08/19/2007 - Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Flanagan roared from behind Sunday with a seven-under 63 to overtake James Driscoll and win the Xerox Classic.

Flanagan ended the tournament at 10-under-par 270, one stroke clear of Driscoll, who coughed up a four-stroke lead in the final six holes. Driscoll closed with a one-over 71 to finish at minus-nine.

"My finish to last season wasn't that great so I worked hard in the off season. I wanted to come out and fulfill my potential," said Flanagan, who picked up $108,000. "I said to my caddie at Q School last December that I was going to come out here and win three. I guess I did it. It took until August, but I did it."

The 23-year-old Flanagan earns an instant promotion to the PGA Tour as this was his third win of the season. Earlier this year, he won the Henrico County Open and the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs. In 2003, Jason Gore was the last to earn the Battlefield or three-win promotion.

With the FedEx Cup playoffs starting next week, the first PGA Tour event Flanagan is eligible for is the Turning Stone Resort Championship, which takes place September 20-23.

"I guess I'll take some time off," said Flanagan of his plans. "I'm looking forward to getting out there and playing the rest of the year."

Jason Day, who is No. 2 on the money list, closed with a one-under 69. Day ended alone in third at minus-seven while David McKenzie, Scott Parel and Justin Bolli were one shot further back at six-under-par 274.

Driscoll was playing steady golf as he was two-under for his round through 11 holes. The birdies he carded on the third and 11th moved him to 12-under par, four clear of Flanagan at Irondequoit Country Club.

Flanagan, who was playing three groups ahead of Driscoll, eagled the par-five third to start his round. He rolled in a seven-footer for birdie on nine, then chipped in for birdie at 10 to move to seven-under.

The Australian birdied the 12th to get within three of Driscoll after his birdie at 11. The gap was down to two as Driscoll could not save par from a greenside bunker on the 13th.

Flanagan pulled within two strokes as he drained a 30-foot birdie try at 16. He parred the 17th, before converting a birdie putt from over 20 feet at the last to get in at 10-under.

With his group on the clock for slow play, Driscoll faltered on the 16th. He three-putted from the fringe for double-bogey to slide one behind Flanagan.

Driscoll knocked his second over the green at the 17th, but saved par from 18 feet. Needing birdie at the last for force a playoff, Driscoll dropped his approach 18 feet below the hole.

With Flanagan on the driving range staying loose, Driscoll's birdie putt came up short and right of the cup. He tapped in for par to finish second for the second time this season as Flanagan was congratulated on the range.

"I can't believe I won today that's for sure. I didn't think I could quite get there from seven back, but I shot seven-under and that is what I wanted to do," Flanagan stated. "I played average on the front nine and had that lucky shot on three and made eagle there, then had a good birdie on nine. I got lucky again on 10 and things just went right for me."

David Mathis stumbled to a two-over 72 Sunday to end alone in seventh at five- under-par 275. Fran Quinn was one stroke further back at minus-four after closing with 67.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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