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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