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.

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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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