Clarke leads at Loch Lomond

Golf Betting Lines

07/08/2010 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Clarke posted a six-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf Club.

Clarke is riding a hot wave. He captured the unofficial JP McManus Pro-Am earlier in the week as he is trying to get one of the final spots in next week's field at the British Open Championship at St. Andrews. A top-five finisher this week who is not otherwise exempt gets into the field next week.

"I'm a bit of a confidence player," said Clarke, who finished second at the 1997 British Open. "I've been on tour for a long time. Of course I'd love to qualify for next week. My focus is playing this week and playing as well as I can and if that gets me into the Open, then fantastic."

Edoardo Molinari, Graeme Storm and Damien McGrane are knotted in second place at five-under 66.

John Daly, 18-year-old Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa, Stephen Gallacher, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Hedblom, Bradley Dredge and Johan Edfors are tied for fifth at four-under 67.

This being the final tune-up for next week's Open Championship is one of many storylines in place this week at Loch Lomond.

Phil Mickelson, the Masters champion, is No. 2 in the world, but a win on Sunday or a solo runner-up would give Mickelson his first-ever No. 1 spot in the world rankings.

Mickelson will have some work to do to get to that coveted perch. He managed an even-par 71, and that was with a double-bogey from the brush at 14, and is tied for 44th.

Also at even-par is 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, who is making his first start since earning his first major title last month at Pebble Beach. He was careful not to be too excited about his return after a three-week celebration.

"There were a few good swings in there and a few champagne swings as well," joked McDowell.

But after Thursday, the story was Clarke.

He birdied two of his first five and added another at No. 7 to reach three- under par. Clarke knocked his approach to 10 feet to set up birdie at the ninth to get him one off the early lead.

Clarke joined first place with a birdie at the par-five 13th. He took sole possession of the lead thanks to a five-footer for birdie at the very next hole.

Clarke parred his remaining holes and in a driving rain toward the very end of his round. He is a leader

"Obviously I played nicely all day," said Clarke. "I gave myself lots of chances. As you can see from the scoring, it was pretty tough out there. All in all, very pleased with it."

NOTES: Two-time winner Ernie Els shot a two-under 69...Gregory Havret, who was second to McDowell at Pebble Beach and also returned to the European Tour Thursday, shot a one-under 70. He won this title in a playoff over Mickelson in 2007...Defending champion Martin Kaymer had a 71 in round one...Reigning PGA Champion Y.E. Yang struggled to a one-over 72.

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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
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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.

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