11/09/2008 - McKinney, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Bettencourt birdied the 72nd hole Sunday to earn not just the victory at the Nationwide Tour Championship, but also the money title.
Bettencourt shot a two-under 69 on Sunday and won the trophy with a total of 17-under 267. It was his second win of the year after titling in Oregon in mid-September.
Bettencourt earned $180,000 for the win and that vaulted him past Brendon de Jonge for the money title. Bettencourt was in the mid-90s on the money list this summer, but the win in Oregon, a runner-up in his last start at the Miccosukee Championship and this title gave him the No. 1 spot.
"It's a dream come true," said Bettencourt, who passed a kidney stone earlier in the week. "I started the year off slow. It's something you work for your whole life."
Jeff Klauk fired a six-under 65 on Sunday and took second place at 16-under 268.
Bryce Molder, an overnight co-leader, bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes to shoot an even-par 71. He tied for third place with Colt Knost, who carded a six- under 65, at minus-15.
Despite the late miscues, Molder became the only player to break into the top 25 on the money list at this tournament. The top 25 earned PGA Tour cards for next year, but Molder needed a par on his last to pocket his card.
Chris Tidland was 25th heading into the week. He only managed a one-under 70 on Sunday and tied for 42nd at minus-two. That finish dropped Tidland to 28th on the final money list and on the outside looking in for his tour card.
David Branshaw posted a three-under 68 in the final round to jump into a tie for 11th at minus-10. Unfortunately, it was not enough of a leap and he took the dreaded 26th place on the money list.
"I couldn't have done anything better," acknowledged Branshaw. "I wouldn't have done anything differently."
Bettencourt was in trouble early with a double-bogey at the opening hole. He got back into the lead after three consecutive birdies from the fourth and moved one ahead of Molder with a birdie at the par-five ninth.
Molder, who birdied the eighth to draw even with Bettencourt, birdied No. 10 to tie the pair for first. Bettencourt grabbed the lead with a birdie at 13, but fell back into a tie after a drive into the water at 14 led to a bogey.
Bettencourt and Molder both bogeyed the 16th and were suddenly joined in the lead by Klauk, who snuck up the leaderboard thanks to six birdies, including two at his last four holes.
Molder fell one behind after he could not save par from a bunker at the 17th. Bettencourt parred 17 and was tied for first with Klauk and one clear of Molder.
Bettencourt drove into the right rough, but had a good lie. Molder, now needing at least a bogey to get his card, laid up with his second. Bettencourt hit his second well right of the target, but still on the putting surface.
Molder made his par for his card, which left the stage for Bettencourt.
He had close to 80 feet for his eagle and ran his putt almost six feet past the cup. Bettencourt holed the gutsy putt for the win and the money title.
"It was a tough two-putt," said Bettencourt. "I knew if I could two-putt, I'd move up to No. 1, which is a huge advantage for next year. I'm excited. It's pretty cool."
Peter Tomasulo shot a two-under 69 and took fifth at minus-14. He will be off to the PGA Tour, while Garrett Osborn also posted a 69 for sixth, but did not finish high enough on the money list.
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Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their “supplements” to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this won’t be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a “truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit.” And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. “The plug-necked yahoos on your team,” you can say, “will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.”
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesn’t focus only on your opponent’s team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Where’s your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, “I’ll try to type slower for you next time.” Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, don’t just conclude by saying your opponent is a “twerp who drafts like my grandmother.” Say that your opponent is a “sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars.” By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You won’t be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, I’m sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
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