Teenager Seung-yul Noh wins Malaysian Open

Golf Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seung-yul Noh got up and down for birdie on the final hole Sunday to fend off K.J. Choi and win the Malaysian Open by a single stroke.

The South Korean Noh shot four-under 68 and completed his first European Tour title at 14-under-par 274.

"I first won on the Asian Tour in 2008, but I struggled last year, so to win early in this year I am very happy," Noh stated. "Coincidentally, when I was playing a practice round with K.J. earlier in the week he asked me when my last win was and when I told him it was in 2008 he said, 'Isn't it about time you won?' For it to happen this week, I couldn't think of a better situation."

Choi also birdied the last to post three-under 69, which left him at minus-13.

Rhys Davies and Kiradech Aphibarnrat shared the lead entering the final round at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, but closed with one-under 71s to share third place with Soren Hansen (70) at 12-under-par 276.

With as many as six different players owning a piece of the lead during the final round, Noh made a late move to grab the win.

Noh chipped in for birdie on the first to grab a share of the lead. He fell behind as he parred the next three holes, but again moved into a share of the lead with a birdie on the par-five fifth.

The South Korean parred five in a row from the sixth before a birdie on No. 11 gave him a piece of the lead with Choi and Aphibarnrat.

Noh fell one behind as he faltered to a bogey on the par-four 13th. He showed his mettle though with a birdie on 16 to regain a share of the lead. Choi then bogeyed the 17th to give Noh the lead by himself.

Choi fought back with his first birdie of the week on the par-five closing hole to match Noh at minus-13.

The 18-year-old held off Choi, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, with a four-foot birdie putt at the last to claim his first European Tour win.

"I'm not disappointed at all. I played well and tried my best," said Choi. "Hats off to Seung-yul, he played well and had a fantastic round. I'm happy with how my game has improved and I have a lot to look forward to."

Danny Willett closed with back-to-back rounds of four-under 68 to end alone in sixth place at 11-under-par 277. Thongchai Jaidee (72) and Johan Edfors (71) were one stroke further back at minus-10.

NOTES: Anthony Kang, the 2009 champion, finished at even-par 288 after posting a 72 on Sunday...Two-time champion Arjun Atwal carded a three-under 69 Sunday to share 28th place at minus-three...The European Tour heads to the United States next week for the WGC - CA Championship, where Phil Mickelson is the defending champion...The following week the tour is in Morocco for the Hassan II Golf Trophy, where Ernie Els won last year.

Wwwracing-live Golf Betting News

<< Webb blows away field at ANZ Ladies Masters
Gold Coast, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karrie Webb, who led by one entering Sunday's final round of the ANZ Ladies Masters, fired a course-record 11-under 61 to blow away the field for a six-stroke victory. Webb completed her seventh AN

<< Redskins sign OL Hicks
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins bolstered their offensive line by signing veteran guard Artis Hicks on Saturday. The deal is reportedly for three years and worth as much as $9 million. Hicks has played for

<< Buckeyes top Wisconsin in Big Ten semifinals
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis scored 29 points and went 4-of-7 from three-point range in leading 10th-ranked Ohio State to an 82-73 win over Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. Jantel Laven

<< Sharks rally in third to down Blue Jackets
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Nabokov made 21 stops, and San Jose rallied in the third period to take a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at HP Pavilion. Dany Heatley and Joe Pavelski each had a goal for the Sharks, who h

<< Montreal doubles up Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Gionta and Benoit Pouliot each had a goal and an assist in Montreal's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Tomas Plekanec and Dominic Moore also scored for the Canadiens, who bounced back from a

Vokoun stops 31 in win over Carolina >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun's 31 saves set the tone for Florida's 4-1 victory to snap the Carolina Hurricanes' seven-game win streak at Bank Atlantic Center. Kamil Kreps scored twice, including an empty-net goal,

Youzhny sends Russia into Davis Cup quarters >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikhail Youzhny crushed Somdev Devvarman in Sunday's first reverse singles rubber to send host Russia into the 2010 Davis Cup quarterfinals. Youzhny's win gave the Russians, who ultimately prevailed 3-2, an

Spartans can claim share of Big Ten title with win over Wolverines >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bitter Big Ten Conference rivals close out the regular season against each other this afternoon in East Lansing, as the Michigan Wolverines come calling on the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans. Michigan

Illinois welcomes No. 15 Wisconsin to Champaign >>
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In desperate need of a win, the Illinois Fighting Illini seek an upset of the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers today in a Big Ten showdown at Assembly. At 10-7 within the conference, Illinois is already guarante

Shockers battle Panthers for MVC Tournament crown >>
St. Louis. MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gunning for their second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship, top-seeded Northern Iowa takes on second-seeded Wichita State in the title game this afternoon at the Scottrade Center in St.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.