Cejka leads by five; gets Sunday pairing with Tiger

Golf Betting Lines

05/09/2009 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If Alex Cejka is going to earn his first PGA Tour victory on Sunday, he will have to contend with his playing partner before all else.

That would be Tiger Woods.

Cejka only managed an even-par 72 on Saturday, but it was enough to extend his cushion to five shots over Woods and five other players after the third round of The Players Championship at the Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.

Cejka, who birdied the last to finish at 11-under 205, will now be paired with Woods in Sunday's final group in his quest to get his first win inside the United States.

While Cejka may not have the PGA Tour victory yet, he's certainly no slouch. He owns four European Tour titles, and three of those came with at least a piece of the 54-hole lead.

This isn't Cejka's first third-round lead on tour. He shared a piece of the 2001 British Open third-round lead before a final-round 73 left him in a tie for 13th, six behind eventual winner David Duval.

His five-stroke advantage is the largest third-round lead in Players Championship history and Cejka may need all of those strokes come Sunday afternoon.

Woods is the most intimidating player in the sport and six weeks ago, toppled Sean O'Hair down five at the beginning of the final round at Bay Hill. Five shots is the largest comeback in tournament history and Cejka has not visited the winner's circle in almost seven years, so he could be shaky.

No matter what, this should make for an interesting Sunday.

"If you want to win a big event like this, you have to beat everybody," acknowledged Cejka. "It doesn't matter who you play with. It's going to be a challenge tomorrow. I've played with him before. He's the best golfer in the world and we'll see what I can match."

Woods posted a two-under 70 to finish at six-under 210 and was joined in second by two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (71), Jonathan Byrd (71), Ben Crane (72), Henrik Stenson (73) and Ian Poulter (75).

Woods was only one-under par through his first 10 holes, then found trouble with a drive at the par-five 11th. His tee ball landed against a tree and Woods was forced to go left-handed with his second shot.

He was just trying to hit it back in the fairway, but with an inverted club face and a surprisingly proficient technique, Woods knocked it back into play.

"I don't have a problem hitting shots left-handed," said Woods. "I actually hit it too good and I was stymied there for my third shot."

Unfortunately, Woods couldn't save par at 11, but he got the stroke back at the next hole with a short birdie putt. The best in the game drove into a bunker at 15 and failed to make par. He took advantage of the next few holes to get back into contention.

At the par-five 16th, Woods knocked it on the green in two and lagged his 45- footer inside two feet. He birdied that hole, then delighted the crowd with a nine-iron tee ball to eight feet at the famous 17th.

Woods made that, then sank a spectacular par from the right rough at 18 to give himself a chance on Sunday.

"This is basically our fifth major, and that's how it's playing. It's playing just like a major championship," said Woods, who has not finished inside the top 10 since his only win here in 2001. "It's fast, it's hard, it's dry. And you just have to keep plodding along."

That's exactly what Cejka did on Saturday.

He made four pars in his first four holes and he had to scramble for some. At the fifth, Cejka rolled in a 14-foot birdie putt to get to 12-under par, but found trouble before the turn.

At the par-four seventh, Cejka three-putted from 35 feet for a bogey and two holes later, at the par-five ninth, Cejka made a mess of the hole and missed a nine-footer for par.

That bogey still left Cejka one ahead and he got it together at the par-five 11th. He knocked his second in a greenside bunker, then blasted out to four feet. Cejka converted the birdie putt and sank a six-footer for birdie at 12 to reclaim his three-stroke cushion.

That margin didn't last long.

Cejka missed a five-foot par save at the 13th and a 10-footer at 14, but was still two ahead thanks to mistakes by his closest competitors, most notably Stenson, who bogeyed three of his last five, and Kevin Na.

Na got within three after an eagle at 16, but back-to-back bogeys at 17 and 18 dropped him down the leaderboard.

Cejka was comfortably ahead. He made a curious decision at the par-five 16th with a poor lay-up, but survived with a par. He was four in front and made a two-putt par at the island 17th.

At the last, Cejka hit a spectacular shot to five feet. He calmly rolled in the birdie putt to match the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history.

"Every birdie is important out here, but I'm very pleased with the way I finished," said Cejka, who defected from Communist Czechoslovakia with his father when he was nine years old. "I went out there and tried to enjoy today's round and not really think too much ahead."

A Poulter birdie at the last would have put him in the final pairing Sunday, but now it'll be Cejka and the world's best golfer. It will be Cejka's biggest stage and he seems poised to prevail with a calm approach that worked on Saturday.

"My goal is to take it out there and take it easy," he said. "Wait for my chances."

Na had an eagle, four birdies, five bogeys and a triple-bogey for a round of 74. He is tied for eighth with Brian Davis (71) and John Mallinger (74) at minus-five.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera, who complained of pace of play problems with partner Na, posted a five-over 77 and fell into a tie for 28th at two-under 214.

Phil Mickelson shot a one-under 71 and is part of a group knotted in 41st at minus-one. That puts the 2007 champion two ahead of the 2008 winner, Sergio Garcia, who could only muster a one-over 73 on Saturday.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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