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12/12/2011 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was another big year for the European Tour as one tour regular took over the top spot in the world rankings and three other members won their first major championship.
Luke Donald won three times and moved to the top of the world rankings for the first time in his career. He grabbed a stranglehold atop those rankings, thanks in part to five worldwide titles.
Three members won the first three majors, meaning European Tour regulars won six consecutive majors dating back to 2010. Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer were the three big winners last year.
When the calendar changed to 2011, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlory and Darren Clarke each won their first major.
Schwartzel broke through at Augusta, where McIlory had the third-round lead. As McIlroy was struggling mightily on the back nine, Schwartzel broke through a crowd of eight players. Schwartzel finished with four straight birdies to close out his round and take the green jacket.
Not to be undaunted, McIlroy fired four rounds in the 60s in a dominating win at the U.S. Open at Congressional. Clarke closed the British Open with an even-par 70, but it was enough for a three-shot win at Royal St. George's.
Eleven players combined for 24 wins in the season's 54 events, which started at the end of 2010.
No matter the year, 2010 or 2011, the European Tour is on a big upswing and with all of its young talent, more good things are on the horizon.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- The steady Englishman
As it did on the PGA Tour, the money title came down to the final tournament. And, as he did in the United States, Luke Donald sealed the deal on the final day.
Donald garners Player of the Year status courtesy of his three victories and his winning the Order of Merit.
The world No. 1 needed a top-nine finish to fend off U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy for the money title. McIlroy's only hope was to win the season-ending Dubai World Championship.
Battling the final two days with a virus, McIlroy was unable to backup his opening-round 66 with another low round and wrapped up the event with three straight 71s to share 11th.
Donald, on the other hand, started with an even-par 72 and closed with back- to-back 66s to end alone in third.
That gave Donald an easy win in the Order of Merit, by over a million euros. It also meant the 34-year-old was the first player to ever top both the European Tour and PGA Tour money lists in the same season.
Donald had just 13 starts on the European Tour, actually six if you extract the four majors and three World Golf Championship events.
However you look at it, Donald was the model of consistency. He missed just one cut and finished outside the top 11 one other time.
The world's No. 1 player carded three titles, two seconds, a third and a fourth. His lone missed cut happened to be at the British Open. And that is the only knock on Donald to this point in his career -- he hasn't won a major.
Two majors gave us his two worst results of the year. The other two majors? Donald shared fourth at The Masters and tied for eighth at the PGA Championship.
For the season, Donald teed it up 25 times on the European and PGA Tours. He missed only three cuts and took over as the top player in the world.
Donald might not be the longest hitter, he might not even hit it the straightest, but he gets the ball in the hole as quick, if not quicker, than any other player in the game right now.
You can expect more of the same in the years to come as Donald is just reaching his peak.
Others in the conversation for Player of the Year were McIlroy, former PGA Champ Martin Kaymer, reigning Masters winner Charl Schwartzel and the resurgent, Thomas Bjorn.
TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR -- Johnnie Walker playoff
There were plenty of good choices for the tournament of the year, but call me a sucker for big playoffs.
The Johnnie Walker Championship was the biggest playoff of the year, featuring five players -- Thomas Bjorn, George Coetzee, Mark Foster, Pablo Larrazabal and Bernd Wiesberger.
Okay, so these guys might not be household names, but a big playoff is a big playoff. Coetzee and Wiesberger were both going for their first title, Foster his second and first since 2003, Larrazabal his third and second of the year, and Bjorn was aiming for his 12th victory, and also his second of 2011.
The group would play the par-five 18th at Gleneagles until a winner was crowned. Wiesberger stumbled to a bogey the first time through and was out. Larrazabal made bogey the second time around and was done.
The remaining trio picked up their play as they all made birdie the third time. Bjorn and Coetzee made birdie again on the fourth playing of the hole, but Foster tripped to a bogey and was out.
It came down to the final two. On the fifth extra hole, Bjorn stuffed his third shot within three feet and had the clear advantage. After Coetzee missed his 40-foot birdie effort, Bjorn rolled in his putt for the victory.
It was the 12th victory of his career, and he followed with lucky No. 13 the following week. The titles may also help Bjorn play his way onto the European Ryder Cup team for the first time since 2002.
SHOT OF THE YEAR -- Clarke's eagle
It is rare for a front-nine eagle to mean so much to a single player, but in Darren Clarke's case it provided the breathing room he needed.
In the final round of the British Open, Phil Mickelson was trying to chase down Clarke as both players were looking to win the prestigious title for the first time.
Mickelson delivered an eagle effort on the par-five seventh to join Clarke in the lead.
Clarke responded as a true champion would. Three groups later, he also made eagle on No. 7 to regain a two-stroke cushion. It was that putt that gave Clarke the edge he needed.
He parred nine in a row after that and saw his lead grow to four shots. Bogeys on the final two holes did nothing but trim Clarke's winning margin in his first major championship conquest.
Sure, it wasn't as sexy as Miguel Angel Jimenez banking a shot off the wall at the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews, but the putt gave Clarke the advantage he needed to grab the Claret Jug.
ROOKIE OF YEAR -- A Young Dane
Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and Scotland's Scott Jamieson were two of the top rookies on the European Tour in 2011 after gaining their tour cards through the Challenge Tour.
Olesen gains the nod as Rookie of the Year after finishing 11 spots higher in the Order of Merit with about 114,000 more euros than Jamieson.
Jamieson did tally five top-10 finishes, but missed the cut in 10 of his last 14 starts, including six in a row at one point.
Olesen had one less top-five finish, but three of his top-fives were ties for second place. He also had a bad stretch late in the year, missing nine cuts in a 12-tournament span starting at the British Open.
The soon-to-be 22-year-old Olesen finished one shot back at the Italian and France Opens, and those big paychecks pushed him ahead of Jamieson for Rookie of the Year honors.
GOOD YEAR
- McIlroy had more top-fives and more top-10s than Donald, but ended second in the Order of Merit, despite winning the U.S. Open and Hong Kong Open. Nevertheless, it was an outstanding season for the Ulsterman.
- Kaymer had wins in his first and next-to-last starts. In between, he posted six top-10 finishes. The German took second to Donald at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, but struggled in the majors. He missed the cut in two of the four and his share of 12th at the British was his best finish in a major a year after he won his first. No denying his third-place finish in the Order of Merit though.
- Schwartzel broke out of a pack of eight golfers, including Tiger Woods, to win the Masters. He did so by making birdie on each of the last four holes. The South African was the first to birdie the last four holes to win the title at Augusta. He also won the Joburg Open and finished inside the top-16 in eight of his 10 starts on the European Tour after the Masters victory.
- Bjorn snapped a nearly four-year winless drought in 2010. He picked up three more titles this year, including back-to-back victories at the Johnnie Walker Championship and European Masters.
- Anders Hansen was the only player in the top-10 in the Order of Merit that didn't win this year. That doesn't mean it was a bad season though. Hansen posted three seconds and two thirds in 22 events. The Dane remains winless since the 2009 Joburg Open, but he is continuously knocking on the door for sure.
BAD YEAR
- Nick Dougherty teed it up 32 times this season, but earned just $10,600 as he made just one cut. The three-time winner on the European Tour last won in 2009 at the BMW International Open. Since that victory, he has made the cut in just 23 of 70 starts.
- Jeppe Huldahl led the tour in starts with 35, but that didn't mean it was a lucrative year for the Dane. He made 10 cuts and earned over 131,000 euros. However, he ended 158th in the Order of Merit and did not retain his tour card for next year.
- Markus Brier, a two-time winner on tour, missed the cut in two of his last three starts and failed to keep his tour card for 2012 by 426 euros.
- Ross Fisher earned his fourth tour win in 2010, but failed to post a top- five finish in 24 starts this season.
- Keith Horne made 16 cuts in 33 events, but didn't have a single top-10 finish.
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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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