Johansson claims first win in 10 years

Golf Betting Lines

08/05/2007 - Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Per-Ulrik Johansson cruised to his first victory in a decade on Sunday, closing with a five-under 67 in the final round of the Russian Open Golf Championship to win by six shots.

Johansson posted four consecutive rounds in the 60s at Le Meridien Moscow Country Club to beat by one shot the tournament scoring record set last year by Alejandro Canizares.

The 40-year-old Swede finished at 23-under 265, six shots better that Robert- Jan Derksen of The Netherlands. It was his sixth career European Tour victory, but first since he won twice in 1997.

"It is tough when you haven't won for that long, but the most important thing is that you still have to play when you get into a position," said Johansson. "You can't think about winning because you can't control the other people, so I am very pleased with the way I did that."

Derksen, who began the day four shots behind Johansson, shot a three-under 69 in the final round, but never had a chance. He ended alone in second place at 17-under 271, his best finish in two years.

Alan McLean had a 68 and was third at 16-under 272. Dawie van der Walt (67) and Adam Gee (70) were three shots further back at 275.

Johansson shot a 62 in the second round to take the lead, which he never relinquished. He closed with back-to-back 67s, the second one coming in a flawless effort Sunday that included five birdies and 13 pars.

He made his first four birdies on the front nine, added a fifth at the 11th hole, then coasted to the win with seven consecutive pars.

"I focused on every shot and the only time my mind wandered away a little bit was in the middle of the round when I was thinking about speeches and stuff," said Johansson. "But I kicked myself and said, 'No, no, think only about the present,' and it really worked."

Johansson's only hiccup in the last three rounds was a double-bogey on his ninth hole Saturday. He also made a bogey in the first round, but the rest of his tournament looked like this: one eagle, 24 birdies and 45 pars.

It was a stunning return to form for a player who in 1997 became the first Swede ever to play on two Ryder Cup teams. His last win came that same year: at the Smurfit European Open on August 24, 1997.

"I have played some good golf since then, but I haven't played this well so I am very, very pleased," he said.

Johansson was making just his third start this season. He earned a European Tour exemption until the end of the 2009 season.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


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