Colsaerts joined in first in Netherlands

Golf Betting Lines

09/10/2010 - Hilversum, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First-round leader Nicolas Colsaerts only managed an even-par 70 on Friday, but it was enough to share the lead with Shiv Kapur after two rounds of the KLM Open.

Colsaerts and Kapur, who posted a two-under 68 in round two, finished 36 holes at eight-under 132 and are one stroke ahead of three players at Hilversumsche Golf Club.

Former British Open champion Todd Hamilton, who lost his playing status on the PGA Tour this year, carded a three-under 67 and is tied for third place with Christian Nilsson (65) and Jean-Francois Lucquin (67). The trio is knotted at seven-under 133.

PGA Champion Martin Kaymer returned to competitive golf for the first time since his major breakthrough last month and shot his second consecutive three- under 67.

The German headlines a logjam in sixth place at minus-six.

"I am playing well. I just need to the putts to drop," said Kaymer. "The same thing happened in the PGA Championship actually, I didn't make a lot of putts for the first couple of days but I tried to be patient and collect my pars and keep giving myself chances for birdies which I did and then they started to drop over the weekend."

These players, and the whole field, are chasing a pair of winless golfers on the European Tour.

Colsaerts began on the ninth tee Friday and made bogey right away. He got the stroke back with a birdie at 12, but a bogey at the 13th dropped him back to seven-under par for the championship.

Colsaerts missed the green at the par-three 15th, but chipped in for the birdie to get back to even for the round and eight-under for the tournament. He birdied the par-five 18th and made it two in a row around the turn with a birdie.

He was then alone in the lead at 10-under par, but disaster struck at the par- four sixth. Colsaerts lost his ball in the tall grass and walked off with a double-bogey six.

"We had to wait a while on the tee and I didn't have the same rhythm but at the end of the day I just didn't hit a good drive and it went left into the long stuff," said Colsaerts. "But I did well to make a par with the second ball because it is a tough hole so a double with losing a ball was as good as I could do. I could easily have dropped another shot and then you are in trouble."

Colsaerts got one shot back with a birdie at the seventh. He was back in front by himself, but missed the green at eight, chipped to 10 feet and failed to convert his par putt.

That bogey dropped him into a tie with Kapur, who finished his round Friday morning.

Kapur parred his first seven holes in round two then canned a 12-foot birdie putt at the eighth. He birdied the par-five 12th for the second time in as many rounds.

Kapur was eight-under par, but bogeyed the par-three 15th. He clawed back into first with a 25-foot birdie putt at the 17th, another hole he's birdied in both rounds.

"I hit the ball quite well -- I suppose you could always have a couple of shots better," said Kapur. "It would have been nice to birdie the 18th but overall I am happy."

Joost Luiten (69), Jeev Milkha Singh (65), Danny Willett (67), Brett Rumford (65), Daniel Vancsik (66), David Horsey (67) and Ignacio Garrido (67) matched Kaymer at six-under 134.

NOTES: British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen carded a three-under 67 and made the cut on the number at even-par 140...Defending champion Simon Dyson missed the weekend by a stroke...Barry Lane, Anthony Wall, Marcel Siem and Simon Khan all withdrew.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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