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.
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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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