Daly off to flying start at British Open

Golf Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Daly has played golf all over the world the last few years in search of his form that helped him earn five PGA Tour victories.

Daly came from out of nowhere to win the 1991 PGA Championship and that helped kick start his career. In 1995, he needed extra holes to claim his second major championship title at the British Open.

At St.Andrews in 1995, Costantino Rocca made a miraculous birdie from the Valley of Sin on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Daly.

Daly birdied the second playoff hole, while Rocca three-putted for bogey. The Italian tried to force a shot close to the hole on 17 and found the Road Hole bunker. Three shots later, Rocca finally was out of the sand, but also out of the championship.

Daly won the playoff by four strokes. It was his second major championship title, but last victory until the 2004 Buick Invitational.

The 44-year-old has made the cut in eight of his 14 worldwide starts this year, yet hasn't finished inside the top-20 all season.

He made one start on the Nationwide Tour, in his home state, and posted his best finish of the year there when he tied for 22nd.

Daly flew out of the gate Thursday at St. Andrews with birdies on one and two. After a birdie on the sixth, he poured in four straight birdie chances from the eighth to jump to seven-under.

He settled in with five pars in a row from the 12th. At the Road Hole, No. 17, Daly hit a huge drive down the fairway off the tee, but missed the green to the right. He pitched to eight feet, but missed on the left edge.

And that was the story of Daly's back nine. He had 12 feet for birdie on 15, but missed. At the 16th, his 10-footer slid by the right edge.

His bogey on 17 dropped him to minus-six and into a share of the lead at the time. Daly's drive at the last was close enough to the green that he was able to putt his second.

That putt got within 10 feet of the hole, but Daly again was unable to covert as his birdie effort at the last lipped out to give him his fourth 66 of the season.

The last time Daly shot 66 at the Open Championship was in 1993, in the second round at Royal St. George's. It also matched his career-low in a major.

Daly also posted a 66 at the 1997 PGA Championship.

With near-perfect scoring conditions early in Thursday's first round, Daly exited the course in second place and on pace for his best finish in a major since sharing 15th at St. Andrews in 2005.

Wwwcrockfordscasinos Golf Betting News

<< Angels need offense for second-half AL West race
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -After Torii Hunter spent the past 48 hours shaking hands, hosting parties and generally serving as the Angels' unofficial host of the All-Star game, the Los Angeles outfielder was more than ready to get back to his day job.``I

<< McGwire confident Cardinals' offense will take off
ST. LOUIS (AP) -Mark McGwire needs no reminders that the St. Louis Cardinals' offense sputtered into the All-Star break in his first season as hitting coach.While waiting for the hitters to take off under his tutelage, the one-time home run king is

<< Ichiro depressed by another lost Mariners season
SEATTLE (AP) -Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki is dumbfounded, even depressed at the turn of fortunes his team has taken.Ken Griffey Jr. is gone, driven home to retirement in Florida. Cliff Lee is gone, too, traded to division-rival Texas instead

<< With Yost, Royals looking at better days to come
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -The first thing Dayton Moore told Ned Yost was that his chances of becoming Kansas City's permanent manager would be considered at the end of the season, along with other candidates.Now it must be tempting for Kansas City's ge

<< Rockets retain Lowry
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets have retained the services of guard Kyle Lowry after matching Cleveland's offer to the restricted free agent guard. Houston general Manager Daryl Morey said on

NBA's West has plea hearing on Md. weapons charges >>
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West is scheduled to appear in court in Maryland for a plea hearing stemming from his 2009 arrest for carrying weapons and speeding on a motorcycle.A spokesman for Prince George's County S

McIlroy posts record-tying 63 at St. Andrews >>
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rory McIlory said the thought crept into his head on 17 that he could set or match the low round in a major. He missed his four-footer for birdie on 17, but closed with a three-foot birdie put

Golf Tidbits: Which 50-something will make a run at the British? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Open returned to the Old Course at St. Andrews this week for the 28th time. No course has hosted more Open Championships. In keeping with the vintage of the historic venue, the story of the las

McIlroy posts record-tying 63; Woods four back >>
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rory McIlory said the thought crept into his head on 17 that he could set or match the low round in a major. He missed his four-footer for birdie on 17, but closed with a three-foot birdie put

Pierce makes it official, re-signs with Celtics >>
BOSTON (AP) -The Boston Celtics have re-signed captain Paul Pierce.The club made the official announcement Thursday, six days after a team official said it had reached an agreement to keep the star forward.The Boston Herald had reported that the con

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.