Colsaerts starts strong at Volvo Golf Champions

Golf Betting Lines

01/19/2012 - George, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired a nine-under 64 on Thursday to take the opening-round lead of the Volvo Golf Champions event.

He owns a four-stroke cushion after round one at the par-73 Links at Fancourt.

The field is an exclusive one with only winners from last year's European Tour schedule, winners from the first two events of 2012 and current tour members under the age of 50 with more than 10 victories.

Last week's Joburg Open winner Branden Grace, Thomas Aiken and Tom Lewis share second place at five-under 68.

Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen, David Horsey and Joost Luiten are tied for fifth at four-under-par 69.

Everyone is chasing Colsaerts, a Belgian who gained entry into the field this week thanks to his victory at last year's China Open.

Colsaerts broke into red figures with a 12-foot birdie putt at the second, then dropped a shot four holes later. He polished off his front nine with consecutive birdies at eight and nine.

Those back-to-back birdies before the turn kicked off an amazing run. He birdied 10 and 11 for four birdies in a row, then, after a par at the 12th, birdied the 13th.

Colsaerts parred the 14th hole, but got into the clubhouse in grand style.

He knocked his approach to six feet to set up birdie at the 15th. Colsaerts drained a putt of similar length for birdie at No. 16 and tallied his third straight birdie at the par-three 17th.

Colsaerts, now three shots ahead at eight-under par, two-putted from 35 feet at the par-five closing hole to sign for his nine-under 64.

"This is probably the best of my life. It's a serious test of golf," said Colsaerts. "I think the longest putt I holed was from 12 feet on the second."

Colin Montgomerie, in the field this week due to his career wins total, shot a three-under 71 and is knotted in ninth place with Matthew Zions.

The tournament is without a defending champion. Paul Casey won last year, but is out of action for at least two months after he dislocated his right shoulder in a snowboarding accident in Colorado.

Reigning British Open champion Darren Clarke only managed a one-over 74 and is tied for 24th, while last year's Masters winner, Charl Schwartzel, struggled to a two-over 75 on Thursday.

NOTES: Colsaerts led the European Tour in driving distance two years ago...This was not Colsaerts' lowest round on tour. He fired 62s in Indonesia in 2005 and the Netherlands two years ago, but both came on par-70 layouts...Ernie Els, who is still not eligible for the Masters, shot a two- under 71.

Wwwldelta Golf Betting News

<< Kvitova, Sharapova, Serena reach 3rd round in Oz
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Petra Kvitova and former Australian Open champions and former world No. 1s Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams posted second-round wins Thursday at the Australian Open. The Wimb

<< No shortage of storylines for this Super Bowl
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sibling rivalries have always made for great tales. Think Cain versus Abel. Romulus and Remus. Marcia and Jan. So the prospect of brotherly warfare as the backdrop for Super Bowl XLVI should bring some add

<< Djokovic, Murray, Hewitt move on in Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's champion Novak Djokovic and runner-up Andy Murray were among Thursday's second-round winners, as was home favorite Lleyton Hewitt, who beat an injured Andy Roddick at the Australian Open.

<< Djokovic, Murray, Ferrer advance at Aussie Open
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's champ Novak Djokovic and runner-up Andy Murray, as well as fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer, were each winners on Thursday, advancing to the third round of the Australian Open. Djokovic

<< Djokovic, Ferrer advance at Aussie Open
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's champ Novak Djokovic and fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer were both winners on Thursday, advancing to the third round of the Australian Open. Djokovic, the tournament's top seed, rolled

Rockets aim to move above .500 against reeling Hornets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets will aim to climb above .500 for the first time this season when they resume a three-game homestand by hosting the struggling New Orleans Hornets. The Rockets won the opener of the residency and their f

Surprising Jazz entertain Mavs in Salt Lake City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah, perhaps the most surprising team in the Western Conference, will aim to continue its stellar play at home against the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. After starting the season 0-2 the Jazz have rattled off ni

No. 15 Virginia heads south to take on Georgia Tech >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - ACC rivals square off in Atlanta tonight, as the 15th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers tangle with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Virginia is enjoying a tremendous season to this point, logging wins in 14 of its fi

Penn State plays host to No. 22 Illinois >>
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to an ugly start in Big Ten Conference play, the Penn State Nittany Lions now have to deal with the arrival of 22nd-ranked Illinois to Happy Valley tonight. Outside of a 65-45 thumping of Purdue a c

Waves hope to crash down on 24th-ranked Gaels >>
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams heading in drastically different directions when it comes to competing in the West Coast Conference meet in Moraga, California tonight, as the Pepperdine Waves take their best shot against the 24th-ranked

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.