Finch leads by one at Gleneagles

Golf Betting Lines

08/26/2010 - Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Finch opened with a six-under 66 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

Four of Finch's fellow Englishmen are tied for second place at minus-five. Gary Boyd, Richard Bland, David Lynn and Robert Rock share second with Scotland's Stephen Gallacher.

The European Ryder Cup team will be finalized after Sunday's final round. Several players are fighting for the last two automatic spots or trying to play well enough so that captain Colin Montgomerie will add them to the team.

Miguel Angel Jimenez and Peter Hanson have the final two spots on that team at this point, but could be bumped off. Hanson is tied for 18th at three-under 69. Jimenez, who passed up a family commitment to play this week, is one stroke further back at minus-two.

Simon Dyson, one of the players that could play his way onto the team, opened with a 68. He and Francesco Molinari, who is also at minus-four, headline a group of 11 players tied for seventh.

Ross McGowan, who was hoping to play his way onto the team, or at least play well enough to gain a captain's pick, had to withdraw after shooting 77 due to a shoulder injury. Molinari secured a spot on the European Ryder Cup team with McGowan's withdrawal.

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the team now, but I've got a few years left in me, so hopefully I'll make it in a couple of years' time," McGowan stated. "I'm pretty gutted. I had a great opportunity to make the team after having such a good finish to last year."

Finch got his round going with a birdie on the second. After four straight pars, he converted back-to-back birdie chances from the seventh to move to three-under par.

The Englishman ran off five straight pars from the ninth before dropping in his fourth birdie of the day at the par-four 14th.

Finch grabbed a share of the lead with a birdie on 16, then moved atop the leaderboard with a birdie at the last.

"The scorecard doesn't really tell the whole story I suppose, but to go bogey- free was quite remarkable," said Finch, who won twice during the 2008 season.

"I took the slightly scenic route at times, and I'm delighted with the result. Six-under par anywhere is a great score. I think I was one-under after five holes, and I one-putted every hole to get to that point and thought I was going to be in for a long, difficult day."

Lynn also had a bogey-free round with five birdies and 13 pars. Rock and Gallacher carded six birdies and a bogey. Bland mixed nine birdies and four bogeys through his round, while Boyd had four bogeys, an eagle and seven birdies.

NOTES: Defending champion Peter Hedblom posted a three-under 69 and is tied for 18th...David Drysdale and Rafa Echenique both withdrew during their rounds.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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