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.

Loteryamerica Golf Betting News

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Vakulenko, Kirilenko advance in Birmingham >>
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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.