Gonzalez leads in Spain

Golf Betting Lines

04/29/2010 - Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricardo Gonzalez fired a seven-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Open de Espana at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla.

Paul Waring is alone in second place at six-under 66.

Gonzalez won on this course in 2004 at the Open de Sevilla and the Argentinean is very comfortable this week.

"In Spain I feel like home," said Gonzalez. "I like the people, the food, the golf courses," said Gonzalez, who also won in Madrid seven years ago. "I've come with all the batteries charged and I think I have chances to do a good tournament."

Gonzalez, a five-time winner on the European Tour, began on the 10th tee Thursday and birdied No. 11. He birdied the par-five 13th, but dropped a stroke one hole later at the par-four 14th.

Gonzalez birdied the next par five, the 16th, then hit "the best three-iron I have hit in a long time" at the par-three 17th. He rolled home the 10-foot birdie putt to reach three-under par for the championship.

He parred his first three holes on his second nine, but got to minus-four with a birdie at No. 4. Gonzalez took advantage of yet another par five, this time at the fifth with another birdie putt.

Gonzalez birdied the par-four sixth to join Waring in first place at six-under par. At the par-five ninth, Gonzalez missed the green with his second shot, but chipped to eight feet. He cashed in the birdie chance for sole possession of the lead.

"Solid, solid game," said Gonzalez, who tied for second at this championship in 2004. "I'm feeling great and confident. This year, the course was more tough. The rough is very thick, like a U.S. Open."

Waring flew out of the gate on Thursday with three straight birdies and an eight-foot eagle putt at the fifth. He finished with three more birdies and two bogeys and was happy just to be at the tournament.

He was caught in the Middle East and the volcanic ash in Iceland nearly cost him an appearance this week. Waring had been told his first flight out would be May 1.

"We managed to get out on Sunday, though, and then flew here yesterday," he said.

Rafa Echenique, Sebi Garcia, Martin Erlandsson, Danny Willett, Simon Dyson, Alvaro Quiros, Damien McGrane, Carlos Del Moral and Mikael Lundberg are tied for third place at four-under 68.

NOTES: Defending champion Thomas Levet struggled to a one-over 73 on Thursday and is tied for 75th place...European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie shot a one-under 71 and is knotted in 32nd place.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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