Derksen goes low for lead in Paris

Golf Betting Lines

07/01/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert-Jan Derksen fired an eight-under 63 on Thursday to take the opening-round lead of the Open de France at Le Golf National.

Defending champion Martin Kaymer, Alejandro Canizares and Frenchman Jean van de Velde, famous for blowing the 1999 British Open, are knotted in second place at five-under 66.

Van de Velde's presence on the leaderboard is something of a shock. The 44- year-old is no longer an active player with any status on the European Tour. He is playing on a sponsor's exemption this week and despite the great start, is still cautious.

"I have no expectations whatsoever, even now. Especially now," said Van de Velde, who is ranked 1,175th in the world. "But we will see -- you never know with a Frenchman."

It's a Dutchman the field will have to worry about.

Derksen began on the 10th tee Thursday and collected his first birdie of the round at the par-three 11th. He parred his next two, then caught fire starting at the par-five 14th.

Derksen knocked his third shot to a foot to set up the easy birdie putt. He played his approach to five feet to set up his second birdie in a row and polished off his third consecutive birdie from four feet at the par-three 16th.

The two-time European Tour winner poured in a 15-footer for birdie at the 18th to make the turn in just 30 strokes.

"It was great, starting out it's never too easy," said Derksen. "I birdied 11 and made a very good par on 13, that was important, and birdied most of the holes coming in. Difficult holes, but played them very well."

Derksen continued his fine form with a birdie at one, which gave him a one- shot lead over the players at five-under.

Derksen closed his round with birdies at six and the nine to move three clear after just one round.

"I hit fairways and hit them very close," said Derksen. "Didn't make any mistakes and played good, gave myself chances and made a few putts.

"I've been playing really good actually. At the start it was very difficult -- I didn't have the confidence and now I do have the confidence. If I can keep this up I can definitely be in contention."

Danny Lee, Scott Strange, Marcel Siem, Robert Rock and Jyoti Randhawa are tied for fifth place at four-under 67.

The tournament got a boost on Thursday just by the fact that two top-10 players in the world teed off.

Lee Westwood, ranked third in the world, had what doctors thought might have been a blood clot. He was cleared and shot a one-under 70, which is good for a share of 30th.

Ian Poulter, who is No. 8, developed an infection after a bug bite, but he posted a one-over 72.

NOTES: Jose Maria Olazabal played for the first time since last October. The two-time Masters champion was battling rheumatic pains and shot an 11-over 82 on Thursday...Kaymer beat Westwood in a playoff last year...Louis Oosthuizen withdrew on Thursday.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The 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)

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