This Week in Golf - July 29th through August 1st

Golf Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England - The women remain in Europe this week for the fourth and final major of their season, the Women's British Open.

Catriona Matthew was the only player in red figures at the end of last year's Women's British Open as she finished at three-under par and won by three strokes over Karrie Webb.

It was Matthew's first major championship. Webb was denied her fourth Women's British title.

Matthew has not won an LPGA Tour event since, but did compete in her fifth Solheim Cup for the European Tour last fall.

Last year, the event was contested at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and switches to Royal Birkdale this year.

The last time Birkdale hosted the Women's British Open in 2005, Jeong Jang fired four rounds in the 60s and cruised to a four-stroke win over Sophie Gustafson. Jang matched the 36-hole scoring record with her two-day total of 134 and had the second-lowest 54-hole score (203) in tournament history.

Jang won wire-to-wore after opening with a four-under 68. Also that week, Kris Tschetter posted an eight-under 29 over nine holes in the third round. That matched the lowest nine-hole score in Women's British Open history and set the mark for lowest score in relation to par.

Sherri Steinhauer was the last American women to win this title in 2006. She also won in '98 and '99. Prior to her, Emilee Klein was the previous American woman to win this title in 1996. Only one of those counted as a major championship title, though, as the event wasn't designated a major until 2001.

The first three majors this year have been won by Yani Tseng (Kraft Nabisco), Cristie Kerr (LPGA Championship) and Paula Creamer (U.S. Women's Open).

ESPN will have coverage from 9-11 a.m. (et) the first two days, then three hours of coverage each of the final two rounds starting at 10 a.m.

After a two-week break, the LPGA Tour returns to action in Oregon for the Safeway Classic, where M.J. Hur won last year.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish, Washington - The Champions Tour heads to the west coast this week as Sahalee Country Club will host the season's third major, the U.S. Senior Open.

Fred Funk blew away the field last year at Crooked Stick as he fired four rounds in the 60s, including a seven-under 65 in the final round, to cruise to a six-stroke victory over Joey Sindelar.

Funk set a pair of records by finishing at 20-under par. He broke Hale Irwin's U.S. Senior Open record for most strokes under par, by three, and he was also the lowest player under par in any of the USGA Open Championships.

It was Funk's second major championship victory on the Champions Tour. He also won the 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition.

This will be the first of three USGA Open Championships to be contested in the state of Washington.

The last major in Washington state was the 1998 PGA Championship, which Sahalee hosted. Vijay Singh was the winner that week and 34 players who were in that field are competing this week. Funk shared 23rd in '98, while Mark O'Meara and Nick Price tied for fourth behind Singh. John Cook was the only other player in the top 10 that week -- he finished ninth -- who is competing this week.

There are 27 players in the field who have combined to win 49 majors on the Champions Tour.

Tom Lehman was a playoff winner over Fred Couples at the first major this season, the Senior PGA Championship, while Bernhard Langer fended off Corey Pavin last weekend at the Senior British Open.

ESPN2 will have four hours of coverage each of the first two rounds starting at 5 p.m. (et), while NBC will air three hours of play beginning at 4 p.m. the final two rounds.

The Champions Tour heads to Minnesota next week for the 3M Championship, where Langer won by one shot over Andy Bean last year.

The next USGA event will be the U.S. Women's Amateur, which runs from August 9-15 at Charlotte Country Club.

PGA TOUR

THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC, The Old White Course, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia - The Greenbrier Classic is a new event on the PGA Tour schedule this year and it comes before one of the busiest stretches of the season.

Players who are qualified for all four PGA Tour playoff events and the Ryder Cup could potentially play seven of the next nine weeks following The Greenbrier Classic with a World Golf Championships event, a major and the four playoff events coming before the Ryder Cup.

The Old White Course at the Greenbrier resort will host a field that includes just two of the top 25 players in the world and seven of the top 25 on the FedEx Cup points list.

There are five PGA Tour winners from this season competing this week, including two-time winner Jim Furyk. He is one of 10 major champions in the field.

Not only are many of the top players taking this week off, so is network television. Golf Channel will air all four rounds from 3-6 p.m. (et).

There are two events next week. The top players in the world will be in Ohio for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where Tiger Woods is the defending champion. The remaining PGA Tour players will be in New York for the Turning Stone Resort Championship, where Matt Kuchar won last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR

IRISH OPEN, Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, Killarney, Ireland - Shane Lowry became the third amateur to win a European Tour event when he captured this title last year.

The young Irishman needed three extra holes to fend off Robert Rock for the victory. Not only did Lowry need a playoff to gain the title, he had to sit through a two-hour weather delay.

After Lowry and Rock matched pars on the first extra hole and birdies on the second, Lowry ran home a six-foot birdie effort on the third playoff hole to join Pablo Martin and Danny Lee as the only amateurs to win on the European Tour.

Not only was the win Lowry's first on the European Tour, it was also his first tour start. Since that win in May '09, he has posted just two top-10 finishes, both of which came this season.

Lowry will have a tough fight on his hands this week as the field will be led by fellow Irishmen and recent major champions Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, as well as Rory McIlroy.

Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage of all four rounds starting at 10 a.m. (et) the first two days and at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The European Tour is in the United States for the next two weeks with the WGC- Bridgestone Invitational next week, followed by the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

COX CLASSIC, Champions Run, Omaha, Nebraska - Last year's Cox Classic was a low-scoring affair.

Rich Barcelo went lowest as he closed with a six-under 65 to finish 20-under 264 and win by a single stroke over Tom Gillis. The victory was Barcelo's first on the Nationwide Tour.

Both Barcelo and Gillis are competing on the PGA Tour this week.

There are 13 winners from 2010 in the field this week, including two-time winner Tommy Gainey and last week's champ D.J. Brigman. The field also includes 24 of the top 25 players on the money list.

Golf Channel has two hours of coverage the first two days starting at 12:30 p.m. (et), then three hours of action starting at 1 p.m. the final two days.

The tour heads to Kansas next week for the Wichita Open, where Chris Tidland was victorious last year.

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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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