Derksen goes low for lead in Paris

Golf Betting Lines

07/01/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert-Jan Derksen fired an eight-under 63 on Thursday to take the opening-round lead of the Open de France at Le Golf National.

Defending champion Martin Kaymer, Alejandro Canizares and Frenchman Jean van de Velde, famous for blowing the 1999 British Open, are knotted in second place at five-under 66.

Van de Velde's presence on the leaderboard is something of a shock. The 44- year-old is no longer an active player with any status on the European Tour. He is playing on a sponsor's exemption this week and despite the great start, is still cautious.

"I have no expectations whatsoever, even now. Especially now," said Van de Velde, who is ranked 1,175th in the world. "But we will see -- you never know with a Frenchman."

It's a Dutchman the field will have to worry about.

Derksen began on the 10th tee Thursday and collected his first birdie of the round at the par-three 11th. He parred his next two, then caught fire starting at the par-five 14th.

Derksen knocked his third shot to a foot to set up the easy birdie putt. He played his approach to five feet to set up his second birdie in a row and polished off his third consecutive birdie from four feet at the par-three 16th.

The two-time European Tour winner poured in a 15-footer for birdie at the 18th to make the turn in just 30 strokes.

"It was great, starting out it's never too easy," said Derksen. "I birdied 11 and made a very good par on 13, that was important, and birdied most of the holes coming in. Difficult holes, but played them very well."

Derksen continued his fine form with a birdie at one, which gave him a one- shot lead over the players at five-under.

Derksen closed his round with birdies at six and the nine to move three clear after just one round.

"I hit fairways and hit them very close," said Derksen. "Didn't make any mistakes and played good, gave myself chances and made a few putts.

"I've been playing really good actually. At the start it was very difficult -- I didn't have the confidence and now I do have the confidence. If I can keep this up I can definitely be in contention."

Danny Lee, Scott Strange, Marcel Siem, Robert Rock and Jyoti Randhawa are tied for fifth place at four-under 67.

The tournament got a boost on Thursday just by the fact that two top-10 players in the world teed off.

Lee Westwood, ranked third in the world, had what doctors thought might have been a blood clot. He was cleared and shot a one-under 70, which is good for a share of 30th.

Ian Poulter, who is No. 8, developed an infection after a bug bite, but he posted a one-over 72.

NOTES: Jose Maria Olazabal played for the first time since last October. The two-time Masters champion was battling rheumatic pains and shot an 11-over 82 on Thursday...Kaymer beat Westwood in a playoff last year...Louis Oosthuizen withdrew on Thursday.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.