Green leads by one at halfway stage in Austria

Golf Betting Lines

06/08/2007 - Vienna, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Richard Green posted a six-under 65 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the BA-CA Golf Open at Fontana Golf Club.

Green completed 36 holes at 11-under-par 131. Martin Erlandsson remained in second place as he shot a three-under 68 to get to minus-10.

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (65) is tied for third place at nine-under-par 133 with Swedes Steven Jeppesen (66) and Pelle Edberg (66).

Green got off to a flying start with three birdies over the first four holes. After a pair of pars, he gave a shot back with a bogey on the par-three seventh.

The 36-year-old Green rebounded with birdies on eight and nine to grab a piece of the lead at minus-nine. After pars on the next two holes, he birdied the 12th from eight feet out to move one clear of the field.

Green slipped back into a share of the lead with a bogey at 14. He bounced back with a birdie on 15 and closed with a two-putt birdie on the par-five 18th to end at 11-under.

"I decided to take Robert Karlsson's advice last year and came to Fontana for the first time, played well and fell in love with the place," Green said. "The course fits my game well, just as Robert predicted. I feel very comfortable, its almost like playing at home."

Green is looking to snap a 10-year winless drought as his last title came at the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic.

"I've got to lift that monkey off my back," admitted Green. "I won the Australian Masters in 2004, which was a great achievement, but I would really love to win on the European Tour again. It's been 10 years since Dubai and I will certainly keep trying."

Erlandsson stumbled out of the gate with a bogey on the 10th. He atoned for that mistake with birdies at 12 and 15. He dropped another stroke at 17 to make the turn at minus-seven.

The Swede, who missed seven straight cuts to open the season, caught fire around the turn. He birdied the first, then three straight birdies from the third gave him the lead at 11-under.

Erlandsson, however, tripped to back-to-back bogeys from the sixth to drop back to nine-under. He birdied the ninth, his last, to end one back.

Garry Houston matched the course record with his eight-under 63 Friday. He jumped into a share of sixth place at seven-under-par 135 with David Park, Jarmo Sandelin and Graeme Storm. France's Gregory Havret stands alongside Shaun P. Webster, Richard Finch and Tom Whitehouse in 10th at minus-six.

The cut line fell at even-par 142 with 68 players advancing to the weekend. Among those missing the cut were Darren Clarke and 2006 champion Markus Brier at 143, as well as Costantino Rocca (145) and Colin Montgomerie (147).

Sport-lines Golf Betting News

<< Anaheim picks up where it left off
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim kicked off the month of June by winning five of their first six games. The Angels began the winning streak by taking three out of four games from the Baltimore Orioles, with their lone loss o

<< Tribe maintaining lead in AL Central
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't the prettiest of weeks for the Cleveland Indians, but the team was able to keep its stronghold on the top spot in the American League Central. After splitting a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers last weeke

<< It'll be Federer vs. Nadal once again in French final
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ten-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and reigning two-time French Open titlist Rafael Nadal will meet in a blockbuster final at Roland Garros for a second straight year here on Sunday. The top-seede

<< Tigers sluggin' out wins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For fans of pitching duels, the 2007 Detroit Tigers may not be the best team to watch. While Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman continue to mow down opposing hitters, it has been Detroit's offense that has carried

<< Culpepper leaves Dolphins minicamp
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Embattled Miami Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper left the team's final minicamp practice of the spring on Friday. The Miami Herald reported that Culpepper, who asked for his release on Thursday

Royals continue to falter >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While it's still early in the 2007 season, the only chase the Kansas City Royals are involved in is the one to avoid owning the worst record in the majors. Thanks to the Texas Rangers, the Royals are safe in that departmen

Bailey set to make major-league debut >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Highly-touted pitching prospect Homer Bailey will make his major league debut on Friday after Cincinnati purchased his contract from Triple-A Louisville. Bailey, who is considered one of the to

Galaxy putting pieces together for Dallas contest >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy have played the fewest games of any team in Major League Soccer this season, but the club has already been forced to rearrange its lineup because of injuries and international absence

Nationals don't have much to rely on >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maybe the Washington Nationals should have re-signed Alfonso Soriano in the offseason after all. While the former Nationals outfielder is enjoying a solid season with the Chicago Cubs, his former team is strug

Belmont Stakes - Curlins race to lose >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A field of seven will go postward on Saturday for the 139th running of the Belmont Stakes. Curlin, winner of the Preakness, is the morning line favorite, followed by Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun and t

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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