Putnam one clear in Columbus

Golf Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Putnam carded a two-under 69 in windy conditions Friday to grab a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.

Putnam, who is in search of his first Nationwide Tour title, completed 36 holes at six-under-par 136.

Scott Brown stumbled to a one-over 72, but remained in second place at minus- five. He was joined there by Camilo Benedetti (70), Nick Flanagan (71) and Alistair Presnell (69).

Russell Henley, one of the 10 amateurs in this week's field, carded a one- under 70 in round two and is one of eight players tied for sixth at four- under-par 138.

Putnam parred the first three holes before converting his first birdie chance on the par-five fourth on the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University Golf Club.

The 27-year-old moved to six-under with a birdie on the par-four seventh. He stumbled to a bogey on the ninth to turn at minus-five.

Around the turn, Putnam ran off six consecutive pars from the 10th. He moved back to six-under with a birdie on the 16th. Putnam parred the final two holes to take the second-round lead.

"Anything under par is a good round today," admitted Putnam. "The wind is the worst for golfers. It just blows the ball everywhere and it's tough conditions to play in."

Brown started on the 10th and opened with a bogey. He faltered to a double- bogey on 11, but got one stroke back with a birdie on 12. He bogeyed 15 before a birdie on 17.

He headed to the front nine at three-over for his round and minus-three overall after a bogey at the 18th. Brown birdied the first and third to get back to five-under. After a bogey on six, he birdied No. 8 to share second.

Flanagan birdied two of the first three holes, but dropped shots on the sixth and seventh. He parred the final 11 holes.

Presnell mixed four birdies and two bogeys in his round.

Benedetti tripped to a bogey at three, but birdied three of the next six holes to turn at minus-six. On the back nine, he carded eight pars and a bogey to share second place.

Henley shares sixth place with David Mathis (67), D.J. Brigman (72), Patrick Sheehan (68), Aaron Watkins (67), Kyle Stanley (71), Bronson La'Cassie (69) and Matthew Borchert (70).

First-round leader Jonathan Kaye followed his course-record 63 on Thursday with a five-over 76 Friday. That dropped him into a share of 14th at minus- three.

NOTES: Daniel Summerhays, who became the first amateur to win on the Nationwide Tour when he captured the 2008 crown, is the only past champion in the field this week. He shot 72 Friday and is tied with Kaye in 14th place...Morgan Hoffmann was the only other amateur to make the cut, which fell at one-over-par 143...Seventy-two players made the cut, but Kevin Chappell, Bobby Gates and Martin Piller, who stand third, fifth and sixth on the Nationwide Tour money list, failed to make it to the weekend.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.