This Week in Golf - August 7th through August 10th

Golf Betting Lines

08/04/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Township, Michigan - The season's final major kicks off this week with the PGA Championship and it will be without defending champion Tiger Woods.

Woods continues his recovery from knee surgery.

Last year, Woods closed with a one-under 69 at Southern Hills to fend off Woody Austin and Ernie Els. For Woods, it was his fourth PGA Championship title as he has gone back-to-back twice at this event.

With any luck, the PGA Championship will have as good an ending as the British Open or even last week's WGC - Bridgestone Invitational.

Both events had some of the top players battling to the end and some of those same players have a history on this week's host course, Oakland Hills Country Club.

Oakland Hills hosted the 1996 U.S. Open and the 2004 Ryder Cup. After the 1951 U.S. Open in which there were only two sub-par rounds, Ben Hogan called this course a monster.

With tricky greens and a long course, 7,395 yards, players will need to have all facets of their games working to earn the title here.

So far this year, Trevor Immelman collected his first major title at The Masters, then Woods defeated Rocco Mediate in an epic U.S. Open playoff and three weeks ago, Padraig Harrington claimed his second straight British Open Championship.

Several Europeans, including Lee Westwood and Harrington, are in fine form entering this event, but history is not on their side. Seventy-five of the 89 winners have been American, while South Africans and Australians account for eight titles at this event.

The last European winner was all they way back in 1930, when Scotland's Tommy Armour defeated Gene Sarazen, 1-up.

Since 1996, Vijay Singh is the only non-American winner. The Fijian won this title in 1998 and was a playoff winner in 2004.

There is plenty on the line this week. The top American and European players are battling to secure spots on the Ryder Cup teams, while some big-name players are also trying to lock up their spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Three former major champions - Davis Love III (150), Lee Janzen (154) and Rich Beem (166) - are all outside the top-144 in the playoff standings and will miss them without a solid performance at Southern Hills.

TNT will have lengthy coverage of the first two rounds and also has early coverage on the weekend before handing off to the CBS team, which has five hours of coverage both Saturday and Sunday.

The PGA Tour heads to North Carolina next week for the Wyndham Championship, where Brandt Snedeker is the defending champion.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

PREFERRED HEALTH SYSTEMS WICHITA OPEN, Crestview Country Club, Wichita, Kansas - Brad Elder ran away with this title last year as he opened and closed with rounds of six-under 65.

For Elder, this was his third Nationwide Tour win, including his second at this event. However, Elder is not scheduled to be on hand to defend his title.

Just three players - Casey Wittenberg, Jeff Klauk and Kris Blanks - who rank in the top-10 on the money list are playing this week. Wittenberg is still searching for his first tour win, while both Klauk and Blanks titled earlier this season.

There is no television this week. The Nationwide Tour returns to the east coast next week with the Xerox Classic, in Rochester, New York. Nick Flanagan capped his magical season by earning the battlefield promotion for his third win of the season there last year.

UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION

U.S. Women's Amateur, Eugene Country Club, Eugene, Oregon - The U.S. Women's Amateur kicked off Monday in Oregon and the field is stacked with big name players as always.

Amanda Blumenherst, last year's runner-up, has played on the last two U.S. Curtis Cup teams, and has qualified for the last three U.S. Women's Opens.

Two-time defending U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion Meghan Bolger, 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion Mina Harigae, two-time U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champ Tiffany Joh, 2006 champion Kimberly Kim and 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior champion Alexis Thompson are all competing this week as well.

Maria Uribe defeated Blumenherst, 1-up, last year for the title. Neither player owned more than a 1-up lead throughout the match. Blumenherst three- putted for bogey on the 35th hole and lost when Uribe parred the last.

The two stroke-play rounds are on Monday and Tuesday, while match play begins Wednesday with the first round. The second and third rounds will be Thursday, with the quarterfinals on Friday, the semifinals on Saturday and the 36-hole final will be Sunday.

The Golf Channel has two hours of coverage for all five days of match play.

The next USGA event is the men's U.S. Amateur from August 18th - 24th, while the next women's USGA event is the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur September 6-11.

Thekiwicasino Golf Betting News

<< Lester named Pitcher of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester was named the American League's Pitcher of the Month for July, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.05 earned run average. Lester added 28 strikeouts in 30 2/3 inning

<< Seahawks' Gray forced to call it quits
Kirkland, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Chris Gray announced his retirement Monday, just a few days after being told a back injury would not allow him to continue playing. Gray was hurt on the second day

<< Braun named NL Player of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has been named the National League Player of the Month for July. The right-handed hitter completed the month with nine homers, 23 RBI, six doubles, three tripl

<< Tigers' Cabrera named AL Player of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers infielder Miguel Cabrera was selected as the American League Player of the Month for July. Cabrera batted .330 with eight homers and a major league-best 31 runs batted in last month. He a

<< No "slip slidin' away" in the rain at Montreal
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Slip slidin' away, slip slidin' away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away." Luckily for Goodyear and NASCAR, using rain tires to run in the rain during Saturday's NAPA Aut

NFL dismisses tampering charges involving Favre >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has completed his review of tampering charges levied by the Green Bay Packers against the Minnesota Vikings involving quarterback Brett Favre and said no league rules were vi

Sharks re-sign Clowe >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks re-signed forward Ryane Clowe to a one-year contract on Monday. Clowe was limited to 15 games in 2007-08 after a knee injury suffered in late October kept him out of action until the

A's lose Chavez for rest of year >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez will miss the rest of season after the club announced on Monday that he will need surgery on his right shoulder. The 11-year veteran was placed on the disabl

Dallas' Cooper repeats as MLS Player of the Week >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper became only the second player to win back-to-back Major League Soccer Player of the Week awards this season on Monday. Cooper scored both goals in Dallas' 2-0 win at Toronto FC

Cardinals part ways with Shipp >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals released running back Marcel Shipp after seven years of service on Monday. Shipp joined the Cardinals as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Massachusetts in 2001. In

Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

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