Golf Tidbits: Haas becoming Captain Clutch

Golf Betting Lines

02/23/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Haas showed off his short game at the Tour Championship last fall, and he put on another display last weekend.

Haas doesn't get nearly the credit that others do, but if I needed someone to get up and down from off the green, I wouldn't hesitate to choose him to get it done for me.

On the second playoff hole last weekend at Riviera, Haas was the one that got up and down for birdie and the win on the drivable par-four 10th.

It wasn't PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley, nor was it Phil Mickelson, owner of one of the best, if not the best, short games on the PGA Tour.

Granted, Bradley and Mickelson's failure to get up and down for birdie had more to do with where they hit their drives than it did with their poor chip shots.

It was Haas who showed off not just a deft touch, but also a sense of how to play the shot that gave him the best chance of a win.

He must have learned that from his father, Jay, or his great uncle, Bob Goalby. Jay has 24 combined wins on the PGA and Champions tours, and Goalby has 13 more titles, including the 1968 Masters.

They surely schooled Bill on the art of playing the proper shot. If he didn't show that at the Tour Championship, he did last weekend at Riviera.

His blast out of the water, with spin on it, at East Lake last year was the shot of the year in many people's eyes. Saving par from in the water, not only saved him a stroke or two, but that up and down propelled him to victory in both the Tour Championship and the FedExCup.

Last weekend, instead of going for the pin, Haas played his chip to the fat part of the green. By doing that, his worst-case scenario was a two-putt par, or an unlikely three-putt bogey.

Neither came to fruition as he buried the 40-footer for birdie and the win.

In his seventh season on the PGA Tour, Haas has all but locked up a spot on his first Ryder Cup team and has climbed to 12th in the world rankings.

Not only have solid genes helped Haas' rise toward the top, but his great touch around the greens also has fueled him.

THE BATTLE FOR NO. 1

Luke Donald's first-round loss Wednesday at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship opened the door for Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood in the race for the top spot in the world rankings.

McIlroy and Westwood can take over the No. 1 spot from Donald if they win the Match Play. Donald's loss makes it seven straight years in which one of the four top seeds has lost in the first round of the Match Play.

Without a dominant lead like Yani Tseng's atop the Rolex World Rankings or Tiger Woods' cushion atop the rankings circa 2000-01, Donald's 1.45 average point lead could be wiped out because of Wednesday's loss.

Donald, McIlroy and Westwood are the only three who could be the top-ranked player in the world come Monday, but with several big events on the horizon, it's not out of the question the top spot could change hands multiple times in the next seven weeks.

Among the biggest events in the near future are another WGC event, the Cadillac Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Masters.

Woods has won those three events a remarkable 16 times combined, but he is too far behind in the rankings to ascend back into the top spot in the world even if he wins all three.

If someone wins those three events, they would earn approximately 4.5 average ranking points. Taking into account the current rankings, that means anyone in the top in 11 in world could climb to the top of the rankings with a magical run of golf.

Though it isn't likely that someone will win all three, that doesn't mean Donald, McIlroy and Westwood won't exchange place several times in the coming weeks.

MINI-TIDBITS

- FedEx renewed its contract as sponsor of the FedExCup earlier this week. The deal runs through 2017 and is more proof that PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem continues to do wonders for the tour. With the economy far from fully recovered, Finchem has been able to maintain and, in some cases, add new sponsors despite the down economy. I'd say he's earning his $5 million salary.

- I think J.B. Holmes has already sewn up the Comeback Player of the Year award after four events, thanks in part to his share of eighth last week at Riviera. I don't care that he has missed two cuts and five of his 13 rounds this year have been over par. He's coming back from brain surgery last fall.

- Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has asked Augusta National officials if he can have a cookout for the champions dinner, with himself as the chef. That's a cool idea there, Charl, but I'd rather sit in the dinner room talking with all the legends at the dinner.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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