Karlsson and Jeev Milkha Singh share early PGA lead
Golf Betting Lines
08/07/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Karlsson of Sweden and India's Jeev Milkha Singh are the co-leaders after the early wave of players during the first round of the 90th PGA Championship.
Karlsson and Singh both posted rounds of two-under-par 68 Thursday at the tough South Course at Oakland Hills.
Padraig Harrington, who won his second consecutive British Open last month, birdied his first three holes to move into the lead at three-under. The Irishman has played six holes in his first round.
Sergio Garcia, Sean O'Hair, Billy Mayfair and Ken Duke are in the clubhouse at one-under 69.
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 237-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."
Kilmarnock, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kilmarnock has completed the signing of Italian midfielder Manuel Pascali on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee from Parma. The 26-year-old had impressed while on trial at Rugby
<< CFL Previews - Week 7 (August 7-8)
Toronto, Ontario (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (3-3) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (1-5)
DATE & TIME: Thursday, August 7, 7 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: These are indeed difficult times in Hamilton.
The Tiger-Cats are tied for last in
<< Nats place Dukes on disabled list
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals placed outfielder
Elijah Dukes on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a strained right calf.
The move is retroactive to August 3.
Dukes, 24, is currently batting .264 with si
<< Karlsson is a major factor
Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Who is the only player to
register a top-10 finish in each of the season's first three major
championship?
That would be the tall Swede, Robert Karlsson.
He tied for eight
<< Rays acquire P Bradford
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays acquired reliever
Chad Bradford from the Baltimore Orioles Thursday in exchange for a player to
be named later.
Bradford, 33, was 3-3 with a 2.45 earned run average in 47 relief
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Wright's two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning pushed the New York Mets over San Diego, 5-3, in the finale of a three-game set from Shea Stadium. Nick Evans knocked in a pair o
West Ham's Bellamy will miss start of season >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham United striker Craig Bellamy will
miss the opening weeks of the new Premier League season due to a hamstring
injury.
The 29-year-old Wales international suffered renewed injury problems
Phils acquire veteran P Eyre >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired
veteran reliever Scott Eyre from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for minor league
pitcher Brian Schlitter.
The left-handed Eyre, 36, had appeared in only 19 game
Mutu signs extension with Fiorentina >>
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu is delighted
to have pledged his long-term future to the Italian club, having been linked
with a move away from Florence this summer.
The 29-year-old was a target for bo
Pennington released by Jets >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have released quarterback
Chad Pennington on Thursday in the wake of the team signing future
Hall of Fame signal-caller Brett Favre late Wednesday night.
"I appreciate everyth
Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .