This Week in Golf - June 14th through June 17th

Golf Betting Lines

06/11/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION - U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania - The best in the world head to one of the top courses in the United States this weekend for the second major championship of the season, the U.S. Open.

Oakmont Country Club, the fifth-ranked course in the U.S. by Golf Digest, will host the open for a record eighth time. Prior to this, Oakmont was tied with Baltusrol for most times hosting an Open with seven.

The last time the Open was played at Oakmont was in 1994. Ernie Els claimed the first of his two U.S. Open titles by fending off Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie, who posted the first of his three runner-up finishes in the Open, in a three-way playoff.

The extra session was the first three-man playoff since 1963. In the playoff, Els was four-over through two holes, but steadied himself to post one-under the rest of the way to shoot 74.

Roberts also posted a 74, while Montgomerie struggled to a 78. Els and Roberts continued on to the 20th hole, after they matched fours on the 19th hole.

Els found the putting surface with his approach at the par-four 11th, while Roberts dumped his second into a greenside bunker. Roberts blasted to 30 feet and two-putted for bogey. Els walked away with the title as he two-putted for par and the first of his three major titles.

With that win, Els, who was 24 at the time, became the youngest U.S. Open winner since Jerry Pate in 1975.

How long ago was that Open? World No. 1 Tiger Woods was only one of the top amateurs in the country. He was coming off three straight U.S. Junior Amateur wins and would go on to earn his first U.S. Amateur title later that summer.

Last year, Geoff Ogilvy was handed the title as three players coughed up a chance at the title. Montgomerie stumbled to a double-bogey on the 72nd hole. Jim Furyk missed a short par putt on the final hole that would have gotten him into a playoff.

However, the biggest gaffe belonged to Phil Mickelson, who had won the previous two majors -- the 2005 PGA Championship and the 2006 Masters. Mickelson hit his tee shot at 18 off a hospitality tent lining the left side of the fairway, then after a drop, hit a tree with his second. All that led to a double-bogey and gave Ogilvy his first major championship win.

For his part, Ogilvy played solid golf down the stretch. He chipped in for par on 17, then, at the last, he found a sand divot in the fairway, but again saved par to shoot two-over 72 and post five-over 285. That was the highest winning score since Hale Irwin's seven-over at Winged Foot in 1974.

Oakmont will feature long rough and extremely fast greens as all U.S. Open do. However, since Els won the '94 Open here some 3,000 trees have been removed and the course now plays almost like an inland links course.

The course is also much different than it was in 1973 when Johnny Miller shot a U.S. Open record round of eight-under 63. He roared from way back to beat John Schlee by a stroke.

There will be extensive television coverage this week. ESPN and NBC will have coverage from 10:00 a.m. (et) until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. NBC will be on air from 3:00-5:00 p.m., while the remaining seven hours of action will be on ESPN. NBC will be on air from 1:00-7:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The PGA Tour returns next week with the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. Hometown favorite J.J. Henry won there last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR

OPEN DE SAINT-OMER, Aa Saint Omer Golf Club, Lumbres, France - The European Tour is also in action this week with the eighth playing of the Open de Saint- Omer.

Originally part of the Challenge Tour, this event became a dual-ranking event in 2003. Each year since, it has been played opposite the U.S. Open.

Last year, Cesar Monasterio closed with a four-under 67 to overcome a five- shot deficit and claim a one-stroke win over Martin Maritz and third-round leader Henrik Nystrom. Maritz managed just an even-par 71 in the final round, while Nystrom stumbled to a two-over 73 to share second at minus-nine.

Monasterio is not in the field this week, but Maritz and Nystrom are expected to tee it up at Aa Saint Omer Golf Club. Jean-Francois Remesy, a three-time winner on the European Tour and playoff loser last week, is the highest-ranked player in the field.

There is no television coverage for this event.

Next week, the tour heads to Germany for the BMW International Open. This event was played during Labor Day weekend last year and Henrik Stenson bested Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington in a playoff for his second win of the '06 season.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

ROCHESTER AREA CHARITIES SHOWDOWN AT SOMERBY, Somerby Golf Club, Byron, Minnesota - The Showdown at Somerby was moved up four weeks on the Nationwide Tour schedule this year.

It will be the fourth playing of the event. Last year, Brandt Snedeker needed two extra holes to defeat Jeff Quinney.

Both players have been playing well this year on the PGA Tour as Snedeker is 43rd on the money list, while Quinney is 27th. Each has practically secured their PGA Tour card for next year with over a $1 million earned to this point in the season.

None of the first three winners of this tournament -- Kevin Stadler, Jason Gore and Snedeker -- are in the field this week.

Tom Lehman, captain of the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, co-designed Somerby Golf Club and the course was ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top-10 new private courses in 2005.

The Golf Channel broadcasts action of all four rounds this week. The Nationwide Tour heads to Tennessee next week for the Knoxville Open, where Hunter Haas was victorious last year.

CANADIAN TOUR

TIMES COLONIST OPEN, Gorge Vale Golf Club, Victoria, British Columbia - After a one-month hiatus, the Canadian Tour returns to action this week with the Times Colonist Open.

Last year, Mike Grob closed with three-under 67 to beat Trevor Dodds and John Lieber by one stroke.

Grob, who is the all-time leading money winner on the Canadian Tour, picked up his fourth Canadian Tour win. However, it was his first title since 2002.

There is no television coverage for this event. The tour remains in British Columbia next week for the Greater Vancouver Charity Classic, where Lee Williamson won last year.

DURAMED FUTURES TOUR

MICHELOB ULTRA DURAMED FUTURES PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, Hickory Point Golf Course, Decatur, Illinois - The Futures Tour hits the halfway point this week with the 10th of 20 events this season.

The Michelob ULTRA Players Championship features the highest purse of the season -- $105,000. Last year, Salimah Mussani claimed the title as she rolled to a five-shot win over Charlotte Mayorkas.

The Futures Tour shifts to Ohio next week for the inaugural Duramed Championship.

Mysportstracker Golf Betting News

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<< Lightning re-sign pair of players
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed center Nick Tarnasky and right wing Kyle Wanvig on Monday. Tarnasky inked a three-year deal, while Wanvig signed a one-year, two-way contract. The 6-foot-2, 233-pou

<< Niners nab Rayburn
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Vakulenko, Kirilenko advance in Birmingham >>
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ninth-seeded Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko and 16th-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko posted Day-1 wins at the $200,000 DFS Classic. Vakulenko vaulted past Chinese Tiantian Sun 6-2, 6-1, while Kirilenko cut

McNabb makes first practice appearance >>
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Bjorkman, Mathieu, Ginepri move on at Queen's Club >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman, 12th-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu and 15th-seeded American Robby Ginepri were among Monday's first-round winners at The Artois Championships, a grass-court Wimbled

Tampa Bay's Seo accepts assignment to Durham >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays announced on Monday that pitcher Jae Seo accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Durham. Seo, 30, was designated for assignment on June 2 after posting a 3-4 rec

Montana State tabs Ash to lead football program >>
Bozeman, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montana State has named Rob Ash as its new head football coach. Ash spent the past 18 seasons at Drake University and also coached at Division III Juniata College for nine years. He has an overall coaching

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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