Fisher flirts with 59, takes Irish Open lead

Golf Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Killarney, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Fisher fired a 10-under 61 on Friday to grab sole possession of first place after the second round of the Irish Open.

Fisher finished 36 holes at 12-under 130 and is three strokes clear at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club.

Francesco Molinari posted a five-under 66 on Friday and is alone in second at minus-nine.

Two Irish stars made big moves in the second round.

World No. 8 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland shot a three-under 68 and moved into a tie for third place at seven-under 135.

"I'm only five back going into tomorrow. If I get off to a fast start, hopefully I can close the gap on Ross a little bit," said McIlroy, who mixed six birdies and three bogeys. "It was quite frustrating to be honest. It seemed like every time I made a birdie, I made a bogey and it sort of halted me in my tracks."

Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington carded a four-under 67 and is part of the large group tied with McIlroy at minus-seven. Much like McIlroy, Harrington wasn't completely satisfied with his round.

"I didn't play anywhere near as well as I played yesterday," acknowledged Harrington. "I drove it superbly yesterday and drove it poorly today. I'm very happy that my short game is good."

But they have work to do to catch Fisher.

The Englishman opened with a two-under 69 on Thursday and parred his first two holes on Friday. Fisher caught fire starting at the third and birdied six holes in a row.

"I got off to a steady start, a couple pars on the first two, and then the putter caught fire really," said Fisher, who was eight-under for the championship after the turn. "I had a nice little run."

Fisher parred the 10th, then went on another spectacular run. He birdied his next four holes, including a 25-footer at the 13th, and was 10-under through 14.

Naturally, thoughts of 59 popped into Fisher's head.

"It was obviously a shame that it came to an end on nine, but I just kept on hitting good shots and got on to a little patch on the back, as well," said Fisher, who has won each of the last three seasons on the European Tour. "I had a chance on 15 from eight feet; unfortunately I pulled it."

Fisher parred his final four holes and lost his chance at becoming the first player to shoot a 59 on the European Tour.

"All I wanted to do was give myself chances coming in the last four holes, and I gave myself four good looks at birdie. Unfortunately I didn't make them so I have to be satisfied with 61," said Fisher, who held a piece of the lead at some point in all four majors last year. "It's pretty flawless golf to be fair."

Anders Hansen (68), Seung-yul Noh (69), Brett Rumford (69), Gonzalo Fernandez- Castano (69), Michael Hoey (69), David Dixon (68) and Richard Green (70) joined McIlroy and Harrington in third at minus-seven.

Defending champion Shane Lowry, who won this title in a playoff as an amateur last year, fired a six-under 65 on Friday to move into a tie for 24th at three-under 139.

NOTES: Fisher just missed the 36-hole record at this championship. Patrik Sjoland established the mark of 129 in 2000 and Lowry matched it last year...U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, made the cut on the number at even-par 142...Kenneth Ferrie, Jose Manuel Lara and Sam Little withdrew on Friday...First-round leader David Howell struggled to a four-over 75 and fell to three-under par.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

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