Archer's 63 leads in Abu Dhabi

Golf Betting Lines

01/18/2007 - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phillip Archer fired a nine-under 63 on Thursday to take a three-shot lead after one round at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

Behind him sit some of the best players in the field.

Retief Goosen, Henrik Stenson and Nick Dougherty shot six-under 66 and are tied for second place at Abu Dhabi Golf Club -- all having posted bogey-free rounds, but none matching the leader's performance.

One week after missing the cut in South Africa, Archer collected 10 birdies with just one bogey and strung together three consecutive birdies twice during the round.

Archer's 63 was one shot off the 18-hole tournament record set by Stenson in the third round last year, and his second-best score ever on the European Tour.

He made a name for himself with his best score.

Last year, Archer shot a nine-under 60 in the first round of the Wales Open, missing a six-foot putt at the last hole for golf's magical milestone. It was his only other 18-hole lead on the European Tour (he finished fifth).

"When I qualified for the U.S. Open last year, a lot of people in the crowd called me Mr. 60," Archer recalled. "When I went to South Africa I met a few people who would hear my name and say, 'Oh, 60, I watched that.'"

Though it came on a par-69 course, Archer's brush with history allows him to put rounds like the one he had Thursday into perspective.

"I came really close, yet in the papers the next day it was as if I had done something wrong," Archer said. "I couldn't get my head round that. I just tried to take the positives from it."

If Goosen had struck the ball any better Thursday, he might be right there alongside Archer. The South African's putting was in order -- he needed just 21 -- but little else seemed to be working.

"I had a month without any golf, apart from the odd round, and the swing doesn't feel settled," Goosen admitted. "But hopefully the rust will fall away over the weekend."

Stenson, who parlayed his 62 into a second place finish behind Chris DiMarco last year, opened with six birdies Thursday. But his round was almost over before it began when he collided with a truck on the way to the course.

"I scratched my car and ended up in the sand off the road," said Stenson, who only arrived 45 minutes before his tee time. "The guy didn't speak English...and I had to leave the scene without waiting for the police. I didn't have many swings on the range, so 66 was a good start after everything that happened."

Dougherty, playing in a threesome with Archer, was surprised to find himself so far back after a flawless round.

"I didn't expect to be three shots behind one of my playing partners after that," Dougherty said. "He's a great guy with a really solid game, and you wonder where he's been up until now. You watch him play and it's top drawer stuff. He's as good as any of the other guys."

Paul Lawrie, Richard Green and Gary Emerson are tied for fifth place at five- under 67 -- one shot ahead of 10 players who are knotted at 68.

DiMarco began his title defense with a three-under 69 and shares 18th place with seven others.

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Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.

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Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
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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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