This Week in Golf - July 19th through July 25th

Golf Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CANADIAN OPEN, St. George's Golf & Country Club, Toronto, Ontario - From one national championship to another, the PGA Tour moves north of the border this week for the Canadian Open.

Despite its position following the British Open, Canada's national championship has still attracted some top-level talent.

Among those making the trip to Toronto are world No. 8 Paul Casey, No. 9 Luke Donald, No. 16 Retief Goosen and No. 19 Sean O'Hair. All four finished in the top 11 at the British Open and Casey played in the final pairing with winner Louis Oosthuizen.

This week's event also offers an opportunity for the top players from the Canadian Tour to play for a bigger purse than they're accustomed to. Six players were awarded spots in the field, including Aaron Goldberg, who captured the tour's Players Cup on Sunday to earn his berth.

Reno-Tahoe Open champion Matt Bettencourt is also scheduled to play at St. George's, as is his runner-up, Bob Heintz.

At last year's Canadian Open, Nathan Green defeated Goosen with a par on the second playoff hole to win his first PGA Tour title. The tournament was pushed to a Monday finish following four days of rain storms that dumped more than four inches of water on the Glen Abbey course.

Green and 2001 winner Scott Verplank are the only champions from the last 10 years of the event who will be in the field this week.

Golf Channel will have coverage from 3-6 p.m. (et) on the first two days, while CBS will broadcast in the same time slot on the weekend.

Next week is the Greenbrier Classic, a new event on the PGA Tour schedule.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

THE SENIOR BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie, Scotland - This week marks the first of two consecutive majors for the Champions Tour.

At last year's Senior British Open, Loren Roberts hit the fairway and green on three consecutive playoff holes and made par at the third to knock off Mark McNulty to win his 10th Champions Tour title and fourth senior major.

Fred Funk, who set two scoring records during the week, also made the playoff but was eliminated on the first hole when he was the only one who didn't make a birdie.

Roberts captured his second Senior British title in four years. He will be joined in the field this week at Carnoustie by some other recent champions, including three-time winner Tom Watson, Bruce Vaughan and Pete Oakley.

ESPN will have coverage of all four rounds this week beginning at 12 p.m. (et) the first two days, at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Next week is the third major of the season, the U.S. Senior Open, which was won by Funk last year.

Tom Lehman won the season's first major, the Senior PGA Championship, in a playoff over Fred Couples and David Frost.

LPGA TOUR

EVIAN MASTERS, Evian Masters Golf Club, Evian-les-Bains, France - Last year, Ai Miyazato captured the Evian Masters for her first victory in four full seasons on the LPGA Tour.

This week, she returns to the site of that win as the No. 1 player in the world.

What a difference a year makes.

Miyazato beat Sophie Gustafson in a playoff last year to finally break through for her long-awaited maiden title. The talented Japanese star has already won four times this season and is currently the top-ranked women's player by a very slim margin over Cristie Kerr.

Outside of the major championships, the Evian Masters might be the next-best draw on tour, so all of the top names in women's golf will be in the field this week.

Among them are all three of the 2010 major champions -- Yani Tseng (Kraft Nabisco Championship), Kerr (LPGA Championship) and Paula Creamer (U.S. Open) -- as well as top draw Michelle Wie and former winner Natalie Gulbis.

Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds, including three hours on Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. (et).

Next week is the final major of the season, the Women's British Open, which was won by Catriona Matthew last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR

SCANDINAVIAN MASTERS, Bro Hof Slott Golf Club (Stadium Course), Stockholm, Sweden - British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen begins his post-St. Andrews schedule at this week's Scandinavian Masters.

The South African is set to lead the field at Bro Hof Slott a week after cruising to a seven-shot victory for his first major championship.

Last year's Scandinavian Masters was won by Ricardo Gonzalez, who closed with a four-under 69 on Sunday to wrap up his fourth career European Tour victory and first since 2004.

Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage of all four rounds beginning at 8:30 a.m. (et) the first two days and at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Next week is the Irish Open. Last year, Ireland's Shane Lowry became the third amateur in tour history to win an event when he parred the third playoff hole to defeat Robert Rock. Lowry has since turned pro.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL INVITATIONAL, The Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Course), Columbus, Ohio - Coming off a victory at the Chiquita Classic, Tommy Gainey leads the field at this week's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.

Gainey became the first two-time winner in 2010 when he rolled to a three-shot victory Sunday at the TPC River's Bend. He headlines a field that includes 19 of the top 20 players on the tour money list.

At last year's event, Derek Lamely defeated then-amateur Rickie Fowler with a par on the second hole of a playoff to capture his first Nationwide Tour win. Both players are competing on the PGA Tour this season.

Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds.

Next week is the Cox Classic, which was won by Rich Barcelo last year.

UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION

U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR, Egypt Valley Country Club (Ridge and Valley Courses), Ada, Michigan - Jordan Spieth is defending his title this week at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Spieth won the stroke-play portion of last year's event at Trump National, then cruised through match play to become the sixth 15-year-old winner in championship history.

He is trying to become the first back-to-back Junior Amateur champion since Tiger Woods won three in a row from 1991-93.

U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR, The Country Club of North Carolina, Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina - Last year, Amy Anderson was the first stroke-play medalist in five years to win the Girls' Junior.

Anderson rolled to a 6 & 5 victory over decorated USGA player Kimberly Kim in their 36-hole match play final. Neither player is in the field this year.

Bestsportgamble Golf Betting News

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Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat made it official on Monday by re- signing forward James Jones. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but The Miami Herald previously reported that Jones' deal was for the veteran mini

<< Florida, NCAA looking into possible violations
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Florida has reportedly informed the NCAA of a possible rules violation involving former football player Maurkice Pouncey that could wind up costing the Gators their win in the Sugar B

<< Atlanta's Venters, Cox suspended
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Jonny Venters has been suspended by Major League Baseball for four games and fined an undisclosed amount for throwing two straight pitches at Milwaukee first baseman

<< Mathieu upended on first day in Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul-Henri Mathieu, who was defeated in the final of last year's event, was upset by qualifier Pere Riba on the first day of play at the 2010 Hamburg Open. Mathieu won the first set handily, 6-1,

<< Report: Florida, NCAA probe violation allegations
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -ESPN is reporting that Florida and the NCAA are investigating allegations that former Gators offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey received $100,000 from a representative of a sports agent before last season ended.Florida athlet

Pitt suspends DE Sheard indefinitely >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh senior starting defensive end Jabaal Sheard has been suspended indefinitely from team activities after being charged with multiple offenses for his part in a fight early Sunday morning. The P

Report: Johnson, Titans come to contract agreement >>
Culver City, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL Network is reporting that running back Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans have agreed to a deal that will pay him slightly more than $2 million during the 2010 season. According to T

Edwards, Keselowski feud showing no signs of letting up >>
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Boom boom boom, now. Boom boom boom, now. Boom boom pow." I generally don't like using song lyrics to describe a frantic episode in a NASCAR race or any other motorsports event, but after last Saturday's night

Dushevina moves on in Slovenia >>
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Russian Vera Dushevina was a first-round winner Monday at the Slovenia Open. Dushevina dropped the first set but rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over fellow countrywoman Anna Lapushch

Jazz sign Bell >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz have signed guard Raja Bell to a reported three-year contract worth $10 million. This will be Bell's second stint with Utah after spending two seasons from 2003-05 with the club. He

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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