Johnson, Day share Deutsche Bank lead

Golf Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Johnson and Jason Day both fired eight- under 63s to share the lead after the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

With Hurricane Earl bearing down on the Northeast coast, players were able to lift, clean and place their golf balls. There was an 80-minute weather delay when one of the outer rain bands of the storm pounded the course.

The leaders played alongside Ryan Palmer, who carded a seven-under 64. That group combined for 26 birdies and three bogeys.

"It was one of those days that if you get off to a good start it kind of breeds momentum," Johnson explained. "But we all got off to a good start, so it just kind of catapulted our day. We all birdied the first hole, and it fed into the remainder of the day."

Palmer was joined in third place by Charley Hoffman, Rory McIlroy, Ryan Moore, Hunter Mahan, Brian Davis, D.J. Trahan and Geoff Ogilvy, who was minus-eight through 14 holes, but posted two bogeys and a birdie the rest of the way.

Defending champion Steve Stricker opened with a 65 and is tied for 11th.

World No. 1 Tiger Woods bogeyed four of his first five holes, but bounced back with three birdies over his final 11 holes to post one-over 72. That left him tied for 87th in the 99-player field.

"I just didn't have it today," admitted Woods, who won this title in 2006. "I wasn't really doing what I was supposed to be doing out there swing-wise, and then wasn't releasing the putter blade out there and was dragging it a little bit. It was a bad day all around."

Johnson and Day started on the 10th tee Friday at the TPC Boston. Johnson chipped in from over the green, while Day knocked his second shot within tap- in range.

The 34-year-old Johnson came right back with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 11th.

Day rolled in a 12-footer on the 13th to join Johnson at minus-two. Day also birdied the 15th to get to three-under.

Both players converted back-to-back birdie efforts from the 17th. Johnson joined Day at minus-five with a 10-foot birdie putt on the first. At the par- five second, both Johnson and Day got up and down for birdie.

Day followed with a birdie on the third, but he bogeyed the short par-four fourth. The Australian bounced back with a seven-foot birdie putt on the fifth.

Johnson poured in a 28-footer on No. 5 to match Day at minus-seven.

Day traded a bogey for a birdie from the sixth. Johnson was the first to get to minus-eight as he rolled in a six-foot birdie putt at No. 8.

"I probably didn't hit it quite as well as those guys. I hit it fine, I didn't put myself in trouble, but I putted beautifully," said Johnson, who claimed his seventh PGA Tour win earlier this year at the Colonial. "This is probably the easiest the golf course can play, so I'm not taking anything for granted right now. I'm excited about the remainder of the week."

Day sank a 10-footer for birdie on the ninth to join Johnson in the lead after the first round.

"There's a lot of deep scores out there. It was out there today," stated Day, who earned his first tour win at the Byron Nelson the week before Johnson won at Colonial. "I'll probably try and put this round behind me and just focus on the next round and one shot at a time out there."

NOTES: Eighty-three of the 99 players in the field broke par in the opening round...There are 25 players within three strokes of the lead...Day and Johnson have combined to go just 1-for-7 when holding the first-round lead, and that one victory was Day's earlier this year at the Byron Nelson Championship...The top 70 on the FedExCup points list after this event will move on to the BMW Championship.

Gambbling Golf Betting News

<< Reds' Cabrera comes off DL
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds have activated shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the 15-day disabled list. Cabrera hasn't played since August 2 because of a strained left oblique. The 35-year-old was batting .260 with

<< Murray cruises into third round in New York
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Andy Murray was an easy straight-set winner on Friday in second round action at the 2010 U.S. Open. Murray needed under 1 1/2 hours to dispatch Jamaican Dustin Brown 7-5, 6-3, 6-0, i

<< Giants activate P Ray
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have activated reliever Chris Ray off the disabled list. Ray, who missed 14 games with a right intercostal strain, has gone 3-0 with a 5.40 earned run average in 20 appearances

<< Georgia's Ogletree suspended one game following arrest
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia freshman safety Alec Ogletree has been suspended for one game following an arrest last Friday on a theft charge. "Certainly it's an unfortunate sequence of events," said Georgia head coach Mark Ric

<< Browns place Hardesty on IR, waive six
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns placed rookie running back Montario Hardesty on injured reserve Friday in addition to waiving six players. Hardesty, a second-round pick out of Tennessee, left the Browns' prese

Strasburg has successful surgery >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg underwent successful season-ending ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery on Friday. The procedure, more commonly known as Tommy Jo

Royals activate Bannister, Hochevar; Kendall has surgery >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals activated pitchers Brian Bannister and Luke Hochevar from the disabled list, and catcher Jason Kendall underwent successful surgery to repair his right shoulder. Bannister was o

Dodgers activate Furcal from DL >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have activated shortstop Rafael Furcal from the 15-day disabled list. The 32-year-old switch hitter is penciled into the leadoff spot for the Dodgers Friday night as the

Bucks sign Hobson >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks signed second-round draft choice guard Darington Hobson to an undisclosed contract on Friday. Hobson, the 37th overall pick in this year's draft, averaged 16.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3

Kentucky gets second Truck Series date in 2011 >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR announced on Friday that Kentucky Speedway will host a second Camping World Truck Series race during the 2011 season. The Thursday, July 7 event will mark the 10th race on next year's tr

MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.