Karlsson and Jeev Milkha Singh share early PGA lead

Golf Betting Lines

08/07/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Karlsson of Sweden and India's Jeev Milkha Singh are the co-leaders after the early wave of players during the first round of the 90th PGA Championship.

Karlsson and Singh both posted rounds of two-under-par 68 Thursday at the tough South Course at Oakland Hills.

Padraig Harrington, who won his second consecutive British Open last month, birdied his first three holes to move into the lead at three-under. The Irishman has played six holes in his first round.

Sergio Garcia, Sean O'Hair, Billy Mayfair and Ken Duke are in the clubhouse at one-under 69.

Phil Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Champion, overcame bogeys at his first two holes to shoot an even-par 70.

"I'm just happy to have shot even-par today," acknowledged Mickelson. "I think that after the start, bogeying the first two holes, I thought it was pretty good to hang in there, fight and make some birdies, because there were a lot of holes that were tough to get to."

Mickelson tallied three birdies and two bogeys the rest of his first nine to make the turn at plus-one, but perhaps his best shot was a chip-in par at the par-three 13th.

Mickelson rolled in a 15-footer for birdie at four, then converted a four- footer for birdie at five to get into red figures for the championship. Unfortunately for Mickelson, he bogeyed his final hole, the 237-yard, par- three ninth, but is still pleased.

"I'll gladly take it," said Mickelson.

He is only two behind the co-leaders, one of whom has enjoyed quite a major season.

Karlsson is the only player to post top-10 finishes in all four majors this season, but he's not resting on an impressive record in golf's most important events.

"To forget about those three top eights, that's the most important thing," Karlsson said when asked about expectations. "This is a new event. This has nothing to do with the other three."

Karlsson, like Mickelson, got off to a terrible start on Thursday. He hit a cart path over the green and walked off the first with a double-bogey six.

That would be one of his last mistakes.

Karlsson birdied three in a row from the second, including a two-putt from 60 feet at two, a four-footer at the third and a 12-footer at No. 4. The tall Swede drained an 18-foot birdie putt at six and knocked a seven-iron to tap-in range to set up birdie at the eighth.

A 10-foot birdie putt at 11 got Karlsson to four-under par for the championship, but back-to-back bogeys from the 14th dropped him into a share of the lead.

"It was great," said Karlsson. "The greens were absolutely perfect, so once I rolled a couple in, just keep going, so it was good."

Singh also made a mess early on with a bogey at the first. He atoned for the error in style with a five-foot eagle putt at the second and Singh got to minus-two with a nine-foot birdie putt at the fifth.

Singh dropped shots with bogeys at seven and 10 to fall back to even-par. At the 15th, Singh hit his seven-iron approach to kick-in range and got back under par for the championship.

He grabbed his share of first with a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-three 17th.

And Singh is doing all of this with a bad ankle.

"Obviously the ankle does hurt at certain positions because it's a hilly golf course and especially the slopes," said Singh, who has won in Austria and Japan in the last two months. "I try to watch that whenever I'm walking."

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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