Karlsson, Jeev Milkha Singh and Romero lead suspended PGA
Golf Betting Lines
08/07/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Karlsson of Sweden and India's Jeev Milkha Singh both posted rounds of two-under 68 on Thursday and share the lead with Andres Romero during the suspended first round of the PGA Championship.
A one-hour, 25-minute weather delay set play back and 18 players still need to finish their first rounds. They will return to the South Course at Oakland Hills 8:00 a.m. (et) Friday to finish the first round.
Romero is two-under par through 16 holes.
Sergio Garcia, Sean O'Hair, Billy Mayfair and Ken Duke share fourth at one- under 69.
"I putted good. I chipped good. I hit a lot of good shots into the greens -- and you know, one-under par on this course, I'm thrilled with it," said Garcia.
Phil Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Champion, overcame bogeys at his first two holes to shoot an even-par 70.
"I'm just happy to have shot even-par today," acknowledged Mickelson. "I think that after the start, bogeying the first two holes, I thought it was pretty good to hang in there, fight and make some birdies, because there were a lot of holes that were tough to get to."
Mickelson tallied three birdies and two bogeys the rest of his first nine to make the turn at plus-one, but perhaps his best shot was a chip-in par at the par-three 13th.
Mickelson rolled in a 15-footer for birdie at four, then converted a four- footer for birdie at five to get into red figures for the championship. Unfortunately for Mickelson, he bogeyed his final hole, the 257-yard, par- three ninth, but is still pleased.
"I'll gladly take it," said Mickelson.
He is only two behind the co-leaders, one of whom has enjoyed quite a major season.
Karlsson is the only player to post top-10 finishes in all four majors this season, but he's not resting on an impressive record in golf's most important events.
"To forget about those three top eights, that's the most important thing," Karlsson said when asked about expectations. "This is a new event. This has nothing to do with the other three."
Karlsson, like Mickelson, got off to a terrible start on Thursday. He hit a cart path over the green and walked off the first with a double-bogey six.
That would be one of his last mistakes.
Karlsson birdied three in a row from the second, including a two-putt from 60 feet at two, a four-footer at the third and a 12-footer at No. 4. The tall Swede drained an 18-foot birdie putt at six and knocked a seven-iron to tap-in range to set up birdie at the eighth.
A 10-foot birdie putt at 11 got Karlsson to four-under par for the championship, but back-to-back bogeys from the 14th dropped him into a share of the lead.
"It was great," said Karlsson. "The greens were absolutely perfect, so once I rolled a couple in, just keep going, so it was good."
Singh also made a mess early on with a bogey at the first. He atoned for the error in style with a five-foot eagle putt at the second and Singh got to minus-two with a nine-foot birdie putt at the fifth.
Singh dropped shots with bogeys at seven and 10 to fall back to even-par. At the 15th, Singh hit his seven-iron approach to kick-in range and got back under par for the championship.
He grabbed his share of first with a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-three 17th.
And Singh is doing all of this with a bad ankle.
"Obviously the ankle does hurt at certain positions because it's a hilly golf course and especially the slopes," said Singh, who has won in Austria and Japan in the last two months. "I try to watch that whenever I'm walking."
Romero, who was in the hunt for the British Open last year, collected his first birdie at the par-five second hole. He birdied eight to get to two- under, but a bogey at the treacherous ninth sent him to the back nine at minus-one.
He birdied the next par-five, the 12th and parred his last four to finish off his day in a share of the lead. With a good morning, Romero could get sole possession of first, but with the 238-yard, par-three 17th and demanding closing hole, staying in the lead would be a nice feat.
Mickelson was joined in eighth place by two-time winner this year Anthony Kim, Ryan Moore, Rod Pampling, Charlie Wi, Brian Gay, Michael Allen and 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera.
Padraig Harrington, winner of the last two British Opens, birdied his first three holes Thursday, but slipped a bit. He finished with a one-over 71 and is part of a group tied for 16th, with, among others, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and J.B. Holmes.
Vijay Singh, a two-time PGA Champion and the winner of last week's WGC- Bridgestone Invitational, struggled badly on Thursday. He managed a six-over 76 and is tied for 92nd.
Kenny Perry, a pre-tournament favorite with three wins this year, withdrew after his round due to an eye injury.
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers signed veteran guard Jason Williams, who had been with the Miami Heat. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 32-year-old Williams joins his fourth
<< Report: Florida TE Ingram has torn ACL
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Florida senior tight end
Cornelius Ingram has reportedly torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his
left knee, effectively ending his 2008 season.
According to Sporting News, Ingra
<< Red Sox minor leaguer suspended
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball suspended Boston Red
Sox minor leaguer Victor De La Cruz 50 games after the pitcher tested positive
for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor
League
<< Favre officially joins Jets
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Favre officially joined the New
York Jets Thursday in a press conference before the team's preseason game in
Cleveland.
Favre was traded to the Jets for a 2009 conditional draft pick. Acc
<< Veteran D Hill headed to Switzerland
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former NHL defenseman Sean Hill signed a one-
year contract to play for Biel of the EHC Swiss hockey league on Thursday.
Hill played in 35 games for the Minnesota Wild last season, scoring twice with
seven as
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wil Nieves and Willie Harris drove in two runs apiece to give the Washington Nationals a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies, sweeping Thursday's doubleheader at Coors Field. Odalis Perez (5-8) won
PGA Championship First Round News & Notes >>
Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite the fact they share a
surname, there is no relation, whatsoever, between Jeev Milkha Singh and Vijay
Singh.
"In the practice rounds I can hear a lot of people say, 'Oh, I think he
Blumenherst continues to roll at U.S. Women's Amateur >>
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amanda Blumenherst rolled to a pair of wins
Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the 108th U.S. Women's Amateur at
Eugene Country Club.
Blumenherst, the NCAA Player of the Year and last year's r
Lions upend Giants with late field goal >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Kitna threw for 106 yards on 6-of-7 passing
with a 20-yard touchdown strike to Roy Williams on Detroit's first series, as
the Lions used a late 41-yard Eddie Johnson field goal to down the defending
Super B
Tolles fires 62 to lead Wichita Open >>
Wichita, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Tolles fired a nine-under-par 62 Thursday
to grab a one-stroke lead with the first round of the Wichita Open suspended
due to darkness.
Tolles' 62 missed both the course record and the 18-hole tourname
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.