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.

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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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