Goya, 20, gets first European Tour win

Golf Betting Lines

03/22/2009 - Porto Santo, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Estanislao Goya held off Callum Macaulay to win the Madeira Islands Open on Sunday, closing with a two-over 73 in the final round to claim his first European Tour victory.

Goya, a 20-year-old Argentine who was the top money winner on the Latin American tour last year, escaped with a one-shot win over a hard-charging Macaulay despite making a double-bogey on the 16th hole.

The young winner finished four rounds at Porto Santo Golfe at six-under 278 -- one of just eight players to finish under-par on the tough Seve Ballesteros- designed course.

"I am so happy to have made one of my dreams come true," Goya said.

Macaulay fired a seven-under 64 to climb from a tie for 10th into solo second place at five-under 279. His final-round score was almost 10 shots better than the day's average -- due almost entirely to a stunning back-nine finish.

The 25-year-old Scotsman birdied eight of his last nine holes -- including six in a row to end the round -- to shoot a 28 on the back side.

Amazingly, Macaulay was 11 shots off the lead when reached the No. 10 tee.

"I'm over the moon with [the finish]," he said. "I certainly couldn't do any more than I did over the back because it's not an easy golf course."

Wil Besseling (69) and Damien McGrane (72) shared third place at four-under 280, while Anthony Wall (67) finished fifth at three-under 281 and Michael Hoey (72) took sixth at two-under 282.

Thomas Aiken (71) and Joakim Haeggman (72) were the only other players to shoot under-par, finishing at one-under 283.

Goya, making just his sixth European Tour start, carried a three-shot lead into the final round and looked to be in charge of the tournament after he birdied No. 1 on Sunday.

A double-bogey at the third hole gave him a wake-up call, but Goya birdied the sixth and then strung together a series of pars that left him even-par for the round through 12 holes.

Goya's bogey at the 13th was offset by a birdie at the 14th, and he still appeared in control despite Macaulay's birdie streak. But a double-bogey at the 16th left Goya with only a one-shot lead.

Luckily for the youngster, Goya managed to par his remaining two holes for the win and a two-year exemption on tour.

"I want to be one of the best players in the world and this is one of the steps that I have to take to do that," said Goya. "It's amazing that I have my tour card for the next two years and a win here in Madeira. It was just over a year ago that I was thinking how much I would love to play in Europe and here I am now having won -- it has happened so quickly."

Macaulay, making only his fifth start after earning a tour card at Q-school, tied the course record with his 64. His back-nine 28 was one stroke shy of the tour record.

"To come back in 28 is unbelievable, really. I don't think I have ever done that at my home course, never mind here on The European Tour," said Macaulay.

"It's a great result for me, and it will certainly help the confidence. I always felt that I could compete out here if I played my best and I suppose this just confirms that. It's brilliant to have finished second and I can go to the next two tournaments with a lot of belief in myself."

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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