Delahoussaye leads by two in Canada

Golf Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brent Delahoussaye fired an eight-under 62 Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of the Canadian Open.

Delahoussaye's 62 at St. George's Golf & Country Club matched the tournament's 18-hole scoring record. Leonard Thompson, Andy Bean and Greg Norman all shot 62 at Glen Abbey, while Hunter Mahan also carded a 62 at Angus Glen North.

"I am shocked. I mean I knew I was playing well, and I didn't even really know how many under I was at one point," Delahoussaye admitted. "I just kind of kept going and kept trying to make birdies. I am a little shocked that it's the tournament record and the course record."

Vance Veazey and Brock Mackenzie both shot six-under 64 and share second place. Hunter Mahan headlines a group of nine players tied for third at minus- five.

With a slightly different setup this week, players are starting on the first and ninth tees at St. George's.

Delahoussaye started his round on the ninth and reached the green in two with a three-iron and drained the eagle effort. Delahoussaye came right back with a short birdie putt on the 10th to quickly get to minus-three.

The 28-year-old birdied the 12th, but gave that stroke right back with a three-putt bogey on the 13th. After three straight pars, he birdied the 17th to head to the front nine at minus-four.

Delahoussaye got within one of the lead with a birdie on the second. He poured in three consecutive birdies from the fifth to jump into the lead.

"The key was hitting fairways. I figured the rough was going to be thick, after my practice round," Delahoussaye stated. "I just figured if I could keep it in the fairway I could still get it around the greens. I hit a lot of fairways today and the putter got hot. I made a bunch of putts, to be honest."

Delahoussaye hasn't had a lot of success this year on the PGA Tour, as he has made just three cuts in nine tries and his best finish was a share of 53rd at the Byron Nelson Championship. That stands as his best career PGA Tour finish.

"I've played bad all year, to be honest," Delahoussaye said. "I've been hitting it well, but I was just getting in my own way."

Veazey also started on the ninth and he got his round going right there with a birdie. He rolled in a 15-foot birdie effort on the 11th and followed with another birdie on the 12th.

The 45-year-old, who has won four Nationwide Tour events, parred the final six holes of his opening side.

Veazey sank an eight-foot birdie effort at the first and followed with a 15- footer at the second. He tripped to a bogey at the third, but erased that mistake with a 20-foot birdie effort at the sixth.

Veazey closed with a birdie on the eighth to get in at minus-six.

"The putter was the key ingredient to the score. You have to hit good shots into the greens because they have slope," Veazey said. "I had a lot of good looks today with the putter. So I think that's the key to playing well here is obviously putting it in the fairway, and then you have got to make putts."

Mackenzie was even-par through six holes with a pair of birdies and bogeys. He birdied the eighth and followed with an eagle on No. 9. Mackenzie birdied 10 and 11 to get to five-under. His final birdie was on the 16th.

Mahan was joined in fourth at five-under 65 by Rich Barcelo, Dean Wilson, Daniel Chopra, Charley Hoffman, Jimmy Walker, Spencer Levin, Steve Wheatcroft and Brian Stuard.

NOTES: Veazey's 64 matched his career-low round on the PGA Tour...Defending champion Nathan Green is tied for 37th after opening with a two-under 68...World No. 8 Paul Casey, the highest ranked player in the field, also carded a 68...Robert Garrigus and Brian Davis withdrew after their rounds.

Mlifw Golf Betting News

<< City coach Mancini interested in Donovan
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini admitted he is interested in United States and Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan. Donovan played 10 games on loan at Everton last season and had two goals i

<< McCoy in fold with Browns
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed quarterback Colt McCoy, a third-round draft pick. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports McCoy and the team's other third-round selection, guard Shawn Lauvao, bo

<< Kaye leads in Ohio with course-record 63
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Kaye fired a course-record, eight- under 63 Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA

<< Thrashers re-sign Pavelec
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers announced they have re- signed goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to a multi-year contract. Exact terms of the contract were not provided, per team policy. The 22-year-old appeared in 42 game

<< Trial date hearing in Bonds case to be held Friday
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A hearing has been set for Friday to determine a trial date in the Barry Bonds perjury case. Bonds faces several counts of making false statements under oath to a federal grand jury during

Newcastle adds former Everton midfielder Gosling >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newly-promoted Newcastle signed former Everton midfielder Dan Gosling to a four-year contract on Thursday. Gosling, 20, is the second addition for Newcastle ahead of its return to the Premier League

Jol turns down Fulham job >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham will have to look elsewhere for a new manager after Martin Jol turned down the chance to return to the Premier League. The former Tottenham boss has decided to stay in charge of Ajax af

Hanley commits future to Blackburn >>
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn has handed teenage defender Grant Hanley a new five-year contract. The Scotland Under-19 captain made his Premier League debut in the final game of last season against Aston Villa and is

Mulumbu signs extension with West Brom >>
West Bromwich, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has committed his future to West Brom after penning a new three-year contract. The 23-year-old DR Congo international made 46 appearances and scored three goals i

Paul to meet with Hornets Monday, trade rumors swirl >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul will reportedly sit down with management of the New Orleans Hornets on Monday, when he's expected to express his wishes to be traded. Several media outlets, inc

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.