Aiken leads European Tour opener

Golf Betting Lines

01/05/2012 - East London, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Africa's Thomas Aiken fired a nine-under 64 on Thursday to take the opening-round lead of the Africa Open, the first event on the 2012 European Tour schedule.

Aiken, last year's Open de Espana winner, is one shot clear at the par-73 East London Golf Club.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, who had the honor of hitting the first tee shot in the 2012 Race to Dubai, and fellow South African Jaco Ahlers are tied for second at eight-under 65.

In fact, players from the home country are doing quite well.

Michael Du Toit and Dean O'Riley, both South Africans, share fourth with Welshman Phillip Price at seven-under 66.

Aiken played in the same group with Goosen on Thursday off No. 9 (due to course logistics, the second wave of players went off nine, instead of 10). Aiken broke into red figures in spectacular fashion. He hit a good two-iron to the par-five 11th green for his second shot and holed the eagle putt.

Aiken birdied 16, 17 and 18 to head to the first tee at five-under par. He went lower thanks again to the two-iron. Aiken got to a par-five third green in two with that trusty club, and once again, made eagle.

"I have had that two-iron for seven years and it is the only club from my old bag that conforms with groove regulations," said Aiken. "I find it very versatile and it is one of my favorite clubs. I had 230 yards to the hole on the third, and a similar yardage on 11. Managed to get the yardage right and I hit two perfect shots."

Aiken parred the fourth after his second eagle of the round, but got to nine- under par thanks to back-to-back birdies at five and six. He parred his last two holes for a somewhat surprising first-round lead.

"I wasn't really expecting that after two weeks without touching a club," admitted Aiken. "It was a great morning this morning -- early start, and the scoring conditions were good. It was out there for the taking and luckily I hit some really good shots and made putts.

"I really enjoyed the round today. This is not the longest course, but it bites if you go askew. Anything off the line on this course is pretty much a reload off the tee, which makes it a thinking man's course. There are a lot of risk-and-reward holes -- a couple of drivable par fours and tricky par threes -- and I think that a lot of new courses lack that challenge."

Maarten Lafeber, Charles-Edouard Russo, Richard Bland, JJ Senekal, Danny Willett and Shaun Norris share seventh place at six-under 67.

NOTES: Defending champion and former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen is in the mix after a four-under 69 on Thursday...Aiken has won several times on the South African Tour, which is co-sponsoring this championship...Aiken, Goosen and Peter Hedblom, the third member of the group, combined to go 18- under par in round one...Last year's Race to Dubai winner and world No. 1 Luke Donald, is not on hand this week.

Mysportsbooks Golf Betting News

<< Red Bulls sign defender Borrajo
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York signed former academy player Jonathan Borrajo on Thursday. Borrajo, 24, most recently played for Hamarkameratene of Norway. He played 36 games for the club. "We believe that Jonathan is

<< Short-handed Bucks visit weary Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kings will resume a torturous stretch of three games in three nights when they return to Sacramento for a date with the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks. The Kings have been routed during the first two games of the span, l

<< Blackhawks make return to Philly to battle Flyers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blackhawks ended a 49-year championship drought the last time they played in Philadelphia. Chicago will return to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since that memorable night in 2010, as it battles the Flyers

<< Aztecs get another breather in clash with visiting Hawks
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the midst of a six-game homestand at Viejas Arena, the 24th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs kick off the new calendar year against the Hawks of San Diego Christian College tonight. San Diego State, which sti

<< Wolverines and Hoosiers meet in clash of ranked Big Ten foes
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Top-25 teams collide in Bloomington this evening, as the 16th-ranked Michigan Wolverines take on the 12th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten action at Assembly Hall. John Beilein's Wolverines are

Columbus signs Chile midfielder Mirosevic >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew have signed Chile midfielder Milovan Mirosevic to a multi-year contract, pending receipt of his P-1 work visa. Mirosevic, 31, has played 25 matches for Chile, most recently appearing in

Federer reaches final four in Doha >>
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The great Roger Federer secured a spot in Friday's semifinals at the season-opening $1.024 million Qatar Open. The three-time overall and reigning champion Federer was tested by eighth- seeded Italian An

Timbers sign Richards as homegrown player >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Timbers have signed forward Brent Richards as the club's first homegrown player. Richards, 21, joins the Timbers' first team after three years with the club's development team, the Portland Tim

Bombers name Buchko new president and CEO >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have named Garth Buchko as the team's new president and chief executive officer. Buchko becomes the 39th president in team history and has an extensive background as a s

Line of Scrimmage: Ravens ready to rule AFC roost >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After years of being blocked by a treacherous course, the Baltimore Ravens finally have a clear path to a championship, though it's a window of opportunity that may not be wide open for very long. The fir

Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

MySportsbook.com is the Internet’s largest online sportsbook site serving customers in more than 80 countries worldwide. Founded in 1997, MySportsbook.com was the first sports book to introduce reduced margin wagering, using a -105 pricing model that gives bettors up to 50% better value on wagers than traditional bookmakers. With low minimum bet requirements and the highest maximum limits on the Web, MySportsbook.com has earned an industry leading reputation for providing consistent value to the player, professional customer service and the quickest payouts online. Fully licensed and regulated in Antigua and the UK, the company offers a secure environment for sports betting, horse racing and online casino games.

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