This Week in Golf - July 12th through July 18th

Golf Betting Lines

07/12/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, The Old Course at St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland - The season's third major championship is on deck and it's being contested at the home of golf, The Old Course at St. Andrews.

All of the greats have won there, like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. In fact, the younger of those two stars has hoisted the claret jug the last two times St. Andrews hosted the Open Championship in 2000 and 2005.

Woods' game is in tatters at the moment. (Tatters for him anyway.) Phil Mickelson, the Masters champion, can overtake Woods for the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, but Mickelson's British Open record is spotty at best.

Last year, the world missed out on probably the greatest golf story in history. Tom Watson, then 59, held the lead on the 18th hole Sunday in his quest for a sixth Open title. He bogeyed the hole, appeared to run out of gas and lost a playoff to Stewart Cink.

The year before that, it was 50-year-old Greg Norman who had the lead on Sunday. Unfortunately, the two-time British Open winner didn't have it down the stretch and Padraig Harrington blew by him.

Several Europeans not named Harrington come into this week with some momentum. Ten of the top-20 ranked players in the world come from Europe, including Harrington.

He's the one of two European major winners of the group. Will it be a Westwood or a Poulter or a Rose or a McIlroy to break through? Rose has two wins in a little over a month, so he makes sense.

U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell had a decent showing at the Scottish Open over the weekend. He could try to win majors at St. Andrews and Pebble Beach in the same year, much like Tiger in 2000.

What about world No. 4 Steve Stricker? His impressive victory at the John Deere Classic on Sunday would put him in good shape to make a run at that first major victory.

Perhaps the most famous hole in golf, the Road Hole, 17th at St. Andrews has been lengthened by almost 40 yards. The hole will now play at 490 yards come Thursday.

ESPN and ABC have the coverage all week, including 4:00 a.m. (et) start times on Thursday and Friday. Coverage starts at 7 a.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday.

Next week on the PGA Tour is the Canadian Open, which was won last year by Nathan Green. The European Tour features the Scandinavian Masters, which was captured by Ricardo Gonzalez.

PGA TOUR

RENO-TAHOE OPEN, Montreux Golf & Country Club, Reno, Nevada - The Biggest Little City in the world hosts the PGA Tour stop for those not qualified for the British Open.

The field is about as good as can be expected with a nice mix of young players trying to get that first win, or veterans trying to reclaim some youthful magic.

Last year, John Rollins mixed three bogeys, a double-bogey, an eagle and three birdies in an even-par round of 72 on Sunday to get his third PGA Tour victory.

Rollins won by three over Jeff Quinney and Martin Laird. Rollins didn't make it into the British Open field, so he'll be back on Thursday to defend his title.

The 2009 event was staged opposite the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and was played the first week of August. The now defunct U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee played opposite the Open Championship.

The Golf Channel has the broadcast all week.

Next week is the Canadian Open.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

CHIQUITA CLASSIC, TPC River's Bend, Cincinnati, Ohio - This is a new event on the Nationwide Tour this year, per an announcement in early March of this year.

The TPC River's Bend was designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in 2001.

The Golf Channel broadcasts all four rounds.

Next week the Nationwide Tour stays in Ohio for the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational at The OSU Golf Club. Derek Lamely won the title last year.

CANADIAN TOUR

THE PLAYERS CUP, Pine Ridge Golf Club, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - One of two major Canadian Tour major championships, the Players Cup, takes center stage this week.

Well, after one of the four big major championships.

For the third consecutive year, Pine Ridge Golf Club is host. The winner of this championship gets a first-place check for $48,000 and a spot in next week's Canadian Open on the PGA Tour.

Graham DeLaet shot a 69 on Sunday and came from behind to win for the second time on the Canadian Tour in 2009. He won the ATB Financial Classic earlier in the year.

DeLaet won't be on hand to defend his title. He reached the PGA Tour through Q School and is scheduled to compete at the Reno-Tahoe Open.

There is no television for this tournament.

The Canadian Open is technically on the Canadian Tour schedule, but the next tournament is the Jane Rogers Championship on Aug. 9. Ryan Yip visited the winner's circle last year.

UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION

U.S. AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP, Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center, Greensboro, North Carolina - One of golf's oldest amateur tournaments starts on Monday.

There's two days of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday. That determines the low 64 players and then it's match play. The first round is Wednesday, followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday, the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday and the 36-hole final on Saturday.

Brad Benjamin won last year's title, but is not back to defend.

Ryan Moore, former Masters champion Trevor Immelman and reigning Players Champion Tim Clark highlight a group of former winners.

Next week there are two USGA events, the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Girls' Junior.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

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