Golf Tidbits: Special week for Tour rookie

Golf Betting Lines

05/07/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When it comes to playing in their hometown or even home state, golfers revel in the pressure of showing off in front of their closest fans.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are the perfect examples of this. The two have combined for nine wins -- six for Tiger, three for Phil -- at the Buick Invitational in La Jolla, which is within driving distance of where the two grew up.

Mickelson also won the FBR Open in Scottsdale two times. That event is near Arizona State University, where Mickelson played collegiately.

Other players that come to mind who always seem to play well in their local area include -- New Jersey-born, long-time Rhode Island resident Brad Faxon, who won four of his eight PGA Tour titles in New England; Kentucky's Kenny Perry, who parlayed the hometown crowd to a 2-1-1 record at the Ryder Cup last year; and you can't overlook Davis Love III.

Born in North Carolina, Love played golf at UNC and has collected eight titles in the Carolinas. He won twice in Greensboro and has six wins at the Heritage in South Carolina.

The subject applies because this week, PGA Tour rookie Jeff Klauk has a leg up on the entire field, and that includes Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk, who call the TPC Sawgrass their home course.

Klauk is playing The Players Championship for the first time as a professional, but he will be not be playing the TPC Sawgrass for the first time. That happened when he was 10!

Klauk's father, Fred, retired from his job as the course superintendent at TPC Sawgrass after last year's Player's Championship. Dating to his days as a teenager, Jeff has done just about every job you can think of around this venue.

The 31-year-old recalled Wednesday that the first time he started doing work around the course was in high school, after a speeding ticket incurred while returning from a junior golf event put him in a financial pinch.

Within two weeks, the younger Klauk was pressed into service cutting the grass on the greens, filling divots and doing anything to earn the money he needed to pay the ticket. That grunt work turned into a regular job for Klauk. Thanks to that experience, Klauk knows nearly every nook and cranny of the TPC Sawgrass. He realizes that isn't totally to his advantage though.

"Familiarity-wise, I think I definitely have an advantage, but I've never played it under these fast conditions which they're going to be," Klauk stated. "I mean, my lines off the tee, I feel very familiar with where I'm going to hit it. But you know, this golf course changes so much, even from last week to this week, and it's going to change a lot from yesterday to tomorrow. An advantage? Maybe a little bit, but experience-wise, no, some of the regular guys have got it."

So how does he plan on attacking the golf course this week?

"I've played the golf course with all the stands and stuff up, but definitely not with all the people around during a practice round," said Klauk, who estimates he's played over 1,000 rounds at the TPC Sawgrass. "So it kind of feels the same as when I'm out there playing with my friends and stuff like that, which is the way I'm going to try to approach the week, just like I'm out there playing with my buddies. Obviously I'll be nervous, but it'll be good, a good type of nervous."

Regardless of how he plays this week, Klauk owes a special thanks to Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Once those two confirmed they were skipping the Players Championship, Klauk was officially in the field, and could not get bumped out if a non-qualifier for the tournament won last week and gained entry into the field this week.

LIKE PERRY LAST YEAR, KELLY TO SKIP BRITISH OPEN

Last year, Kenny Perry decided to skip the British Open so he could play in the opposite event, the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. He did this so that he could have a better chance at earning a solid finish, and then gain a spot on the United States Ryder Cup team. Perry accomplished that mission, thanks in part to his tie for sixth in Milwaukee.

Jerry Kelly, a Madison, Wisconsin native, is going to follow Perry's lead and skip the British Open to play the U.S. Bank Championship. Kelly's reason for skipping the season's third major championship is completely different though.

In recent months, Kelly has been doing nearly everything he can to save the event, because U.S. Bank announced that it will not renew its contract as the tournament's sponsor after this season. Kelly, who had already committed to the British Open, realized that his efforts to salvage the tournament would be tougher if he wasn't going to play it himself.

So, he contacted British Open officials and withdrew his name from the field. And boy, is that a major turn of events. In recent years, Kelly had called out players like Perry and Fred Funk for skipping the British Open to play in Milwaukee. Now that his hometown event is in danger of disappearing, Kelly is doing whatever it takes to keep the event in Milwaukee and on the PGA Tour schedule.

"I had my British Open entry, and I got a sick feeling in my stomach that I'd miss Milwaukee and it would be the last one," Kelly admitted. "And it better not be the last one. How can I call out all these people without backing it up myself?"

MINI-TIDBITS

- Spanish great Seve Ballesteros made his first public appearance recently after undergoing four surgeries and chemotherapy to remove a cancerous brain tumor. By his own estimation, Ballesteros is 90-percent recovered from his surgery. "I suffered like a dog, but the fact that I was a professional sportsman and used to competing and fighting helped me," Ballesteros said.

- Among the record 9,086 golfers that put in an application to play the U.S. Open were several professional athletes from other sports. That group includes Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, former NFL quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver, three former pro hockey players -- Grant Fuhr, Dan Quinn and Mike Dunham -- as well as Erik Hanson and Chris Sabo, who both played major league baseball.

Wwtroppolotto Golf Betting News

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Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

 Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings 
Carolina Hurricanes  
San Jose Sharks     
Anaheim Ducks    
Philadelphia Flyers 
Calgary Flames     
New Jersey Devils 
Buffalo Sabres   
Dallas Stars    
New York Rangers  
Nashville Predators  
Vancouver Canucks 
Colorado Avalanche  
Minnesota Wild    
Tampa Bay Lightning    
Boston Bruins    
Florida Panthers   
Montreal Canadiens   
Atlanta Thrashers 
Toronto Maple Leafs  
Edmonton Oilers      
Phoenix Coyotes    
Los Angeles Kings      
New York Islanders   
Columbus Blue Jackets  
St. Louis Blues      
Pittsburgh Penguins 
Washington Capitals   
Chicago Blackhawks    		 7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

Team     
Ottawa Senators      
Anaheim Ducks 
Detroit Red Wings   
Nashville Predators 
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames     
Philadelphia Flyers    
New Jersey Devils     
Buffalo Sabres    
Carolina Hurricanes       
Dallas Stars          
New York Rangers   
Minnesota Wild     
Atlanta Thrashers     
Montreal Canadiens    
Team        
Los Angeles Kings           
Tampa Bay Lightening   
Vancouver Canucks 
Boston Bruins       
Colorado Avalanche 
Edmonton Oilers  
Phoenix Coyotes  
Toronto Maple Leafs   
Florida Panthers 
Columbus Blue Jackets   
New York Islanders   
Chicago Blackhawks  
St. Louis Blues  
Washington Capitals 
Pittsburgh Penguins  		 Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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