Category Archives: PGA Golf Betting

2012 Masters preview: Luke Donald

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If you believe world No. 1 , he might well be the best player in history to never have won a major. And he might be right. Donald was asked who’s currently the best golfer yet to win a major. He reeled off , and Sergio Garcia, and he also mentioned himself.

“Obviously, my name would be in that that,” Donald said. “It’s a tough question to answer.”

Making his eighth Masters appearance, Donald planned to avoid last year’s dilemma. He almost became the first player to win the Par-3 Contest and Masters Tournament in the same year. The Par-3 jinx remained alive, though, when Donald fell just short of winning the green jacket, finishing tied for fourth.

Donald briefly lost his status as the world’s No. 1 player after won the Honda Classic last month. Donald returned to No. 1 two weeks later after winning the Transitions Championship outside Tampa, Fla.

Donald earned his second career top-five finish at in 2011. Picked up two PGA Tour victories in 2011, and now has four for his career. Highlight was winning the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Also won the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. Named the 2011 PGA Tour Player of the Year.

Age: 34.

Country: England.

World ranking: 1.

Wins: 10.

Majors: None.

WagerWeb.com odds to win Masters: +1000

Best Masters moment: Chipping in for birdie on the final hole last year, and the rare display of emotion that followed.

Worst Masters moment: Hitting 8-iron into water on the 12th hole when he was tied for the lead last year.

Overview: What he lacks in power off the tee (though he’s long enough), he makes up for with his chipping and putting. Efficiency can go a long way at Augusta National. It has been 10 years since the No. 1 player in the world ranking won the Masters.

MASTERS PLAYER RECORD

Scoring Avg: 72.42

Low Round: 68

High Round: 77

Rounds Under Par: 7

Year    Place    Score   Round                                                 Money

1          2          3          4

2011    4          -10       72        68        69        69        $ 330,667

2010    54        +5        74        75                                $ 10,000

2009    38        +1        73        71        72        73        $ 33,000

2008    46        +4        73        75                                $ 10,000

2007    10        +7        73        74        75        73        $ 181,250

2006    42        +8        74        72        76        74        $ 25,900

2005    3          -5         68        77        69        69        $ 406,000

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2012 Masters preview: Charl Schwartzel

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didn’t realize he closed the 2011 Masters Tournament with four consecutive birdies to win – no player had ever done that before at Augusta.

He had bigger things on his mind.

“When that putt disappeared on 18, honestly the last thing that went through my mind is that I made my fourth straight birdie,” he said. “It was, I just won the green jacket.”

Previously, the best any champion had done was birdie the final two holes in the final round. The furious finish gave Schwartzel 6-under-par 66 – the lowest final round by a winner since Nick Faldo’s 65 in 1989. Schwartzel finished at 14-under 274 for a two-shot victory over Australians (67 in the final round) and Masters rookie Jason Day (68).

The defending Masters champion returned to Augusta National Golf Club not as one of this year’s favorites. Instead, all eyes are on players like , , and .

Nicklaus, Faldo, Woods. They are the only men to defend championship. But how Schwartzel won in a way that never was done before, he should be considered to have a legitimate chance of accomplishing what only those three men named earlier have done.

Schwartzel became the third South African to win, joining Gary Player and Trevor Immelman. Schwartzel also finished T9 at the 2011 US Open, and had 10 top-25 finishes in 15 starts.

Age: 27.

Country: South Africa.

World ranking: 7.

Wins: 8.

Majors: Masters (2011).

WagerWeb.com odds to win Masters: +4000

Best Masters moment: Becoming the first player to finish with four birdies to win the Masters.

Worst Masters moment: Learning that Augusta National won’t let him do the cooking at the Champions Dinner.

Overview: He has not won since the Masters last year, though Schwartzel returns to Augusta National on good form with close calls at the Honda Classic and at Doral. He is trying to join Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) as the only players to win back-to-back at the Masters.

MASTERS PLAYER RECORD

Scoring Avg: 70.63

Low Round: 66

High Round: 76

Rounds Under Par: 5

Year    Place    Score   Round                                                 Money

1          2          3          4

2011    1          -14       69        71        68        66        $ 1,440,000

2010    30        +3        69        76        72        74        $ 45,563

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2012 Masters preview: Phil Mickelson

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While all the attention is focused on and this week, has three green jackets of his own and was the last American winner of this event in 2010. Lefty was a disappointing 27th last year in trying to defend his title.

Mickelson, 41, will be inducted into the the World Golf Hall of Fame in May, but Lefty’s passion still burns white-hot. A victory would be his fourth in , tying him with Woods and Arnold Palmer. This week marks Mickelson’s 20th appearance at Augusta National.

When asked what it would mean to him to win, Mickelson responded, “A lot.”

Lefty has already won this year on Tour and enters off a tie for fourth at last week’s Shell Houston Open – a tournament he won last year heading into Augusta.

“I just know that I’m doing everything I can to get my game to perform the absolute best this week,” Mickelson said. “I think because everybody is sharp, I think the scores are going to be low, and I’ve got to be sharp from day one, from shot one, to be able to compete and be in it for Sunday.”

Mickelson collected the 40th PGA Tour victory of his career at the 2012 ATT Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Rode a bogey-free final round of 8-under 64 to erase a six-shot deficit at the start of the day. Now ranks ninth all-time in PGA Tour victories. Finished a career-best T2 at the 2011 British Open. Won his third Masters in 2010, becoming the eighth player in Tournament history to do so. Holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2004 Masters to win his first career major title. Has nine top-10 finishes at the Masters since 2001. Won the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol.

Age: 41.

Country: United States.

World ranking: 15.

Wins: 42.

Majors: Masters (2004, 2006, 2010), PGA Championship (2005).

WagerWeb.com odds to win Masters: +850

Best Masters moment: The 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win his first major in 2004.

Worst Masters moment: The vertical leap to celebrate first major that was estimated at no more than 13 inches.

Overview: Even though Mickelson has one less Masters title, he now rivals Tiger as a perennial favorite. It doesn’t matter what form he’s on, and Mickelson at least has that win at Pebble Beach this year. He doesn’t feel as though he has to play perfectly. But he does have to make putts. Oddly enough, he has never been the runner-up.

MASTERS PLAYER RECORD

Scoring Avg: 71.03

Low Round: 65

High Round: 77

Rounds Under Par: 42

Year    Place    Score   Round                                                 Money

1          2          3          4

2011    27        -1         70        72        71        74        $ 54,400

2010    1          -16       67        71        67        67        $ 1,350,000

2009    5          -9         73        68        71        67        $ 300,000

2008    5          -2         71        68        75        72        $ 273,750

2007    24        +11      76        73        73        77        $ 63,800

2006    1          -7         70        72        70        69        $ 1,260,000

2005    10        -3         70        72        69        74        $ 189,000

2004    1          -9         72        69        69        69        $ 1,170,000

2003    3          -5         73        70        72        68        $ 408,000

2002    3          -8         69        72        68        71        $ 380,800

2001    3          -13       67        69        69        70        $ 380,800

2000    7          -2         71        68        76        71        $ 143,367

1999    6          -3         74        69        71        71        $ 125,200

1998    12        -2         74        69        69        74        $ 64,800

1997    47        +6        76        74                                $ 5,000

1996    3          -6         65        73        72        72        $ 170,000

1995    7          -8         66        71        70        73        $ 70,950

1993    34        +3        72        71        75        73        $ 8,975

1991    47        +2        69        73        74        74        $ 0

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2012 Masters preview: Steve Stricker

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doesn’t look 45, but he readily owns up to his age. When Jack Nicklaus won Tournament 26 years ago, he became the oldest green jacket winner at 46. Stricker, who’s in the prime of his career, is trying to become the second-oldest Masters champion. Stricker is looking for his first major win overall.

Stricker, who’s eighth on the PGA Tour career money list with more than $33 million, said he feels good about his game. And with a pair of top-15 finishes in two of the past three Masters (tie for sixth in 2009, tie for 11th last year), he said he’s getting more comfortable in Augusta.

He finished in the top 20 in each of the four majors last year. At the Masters, he posted 22 birdies – his most in Augusta – but he couldn’t limit his mistakes. He made four bogeys in each of his first three rounds and five in the final round.

Stricker started the 2012 season by winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Won multiple PGA Tour titles in each season from 2009-2011, the only player on Tour to accomplish that feat. Had top-25 finishes in all four majors in 2011. Finished T11 at the 2011 Masters. Now has 12 PGA Tour victories, eight since 2009. Member of four Presidents Cup teams and two Ryder Cup teams. Ranked 6th in the final 2011 Official World Golf Ranking.

Age: 45.

Country: United States.

World ranking: 5.

Wins: 12.

Majors: None.

WagerWeb.com odds to win Masters: +4000

Best Masters moment: Still waiting for one.

Worst Masters moment: Shooting an 80 in his Masters debut in 1996.

Overview: His putting stroke is so good that even asks him for advice. Won the season opener at Kapalua and has played well in his limited schedule. But he has only five rounds in the 60s at the Masters. Still part of the “Best without a major” conversation.

MASTERS PLAYER RECORD

Scoring Avg: 73.00

Low Round: 66

High Round: 80

Rounds Under Par: 13

Year    Place    Score   Round                                                 Money

1          2          3          4

2011    11        -5         72        70        71        70        $ 176,000

2010    30        +3        73        73        74        71        $ 45,563

2009    6          -8         72        69        68        71        $ 242,813

2008    63        +6        73        77                                $ 10,000

2007    77        +12      77        79                                $ 10,000

2002    69        +7        75        76                                $ 5,000

2001    10        -8         66        71        72        71        $ 128,800

2000    19        +3        70        73        75        73        $ 53,820

1999    38        +7        75        72        69        79        $ 17,200

1997    70        +12      77        79                                $ 5,000

1996    56        +5        80        69                                $ 1,500

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This week on PGA Tour: Shell Houston Open

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It’s the final PGA tournament before the Super Bowl of the sport, next week’s Masters, as the pros this week visit Redstone Golf Course in Humble, Texas, for the Shell Houston Open. Bet on the tournament at WagerWeb.com.

Essentially, this course was built with the Masters in mind – many of the conditions this week will mimic, at least as well as possible, the conditions at Augusta National this week. A few big names like Tiger Woods, Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy are off this week, preferring to prepare for the Masters on their own.

Ever since officials elected to make modifications to the course to as closely mirror the conditions at Augusta National as possible, the field has perked up nicely, partly among the internationals. This year’s field featured six of the Top 15 in the world and 17 of the Top 50, virtually identical to 2011 levels. Last year featured six and 18 in those two metrics.

It’s a strong field overall as players from 18 different countries are competing. Phil Mickelson will be defending his title here. Joining him will be seven others from the Top 25 including Top-10 players Lee Westwood, Steve Stricker and Charl Schwartzel. Other Top-25 players are Graeme McDowell, Hunter Mahan, Keegan Bradley and Peter Hanson. Along with them will be major winners Darren Clarke, Louis Oosthuizen, Lucas Glover, Ben Curtis, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera, Fred Couples and Ernie Els.

For Els this week will be important because he has played in every Masters since 1994 and isn’t in the field. He can only get in with a win this week. Also in the field is Fred Couples, who won last week on the Champions Tour in Mississippi and will be playing in the event that was his last win in 2003.

Westwood is the +850 favorite on WagerWeb.com. Westwood already has experience of winning a PGA Tour event the week before a major — the St Jude Classic ahead of the 2010 U.S. Open — and insists he won’t be letting his mind wander to Augusta.


“I like to be competitive the week before the Masters,” said Westwood. “It’s a tough test at Augusta. If you don’t go into it competitively sharp, you are not going to hit all the greens, going to have to get up and down.”

Westwood last competed at the WGC-Cadillac where he finished T29, ending a string of consecutive top 20s worldwide at six. Placed T11 at Redstone in 2009 and T8 in 2010.

Mickelson is the second-favorite at +900 on WagerWeb.com. He defending champion served notice on what’s possible when he rattled off five straight birdies in his final round here in 2010. Led the field with 27 birdies last year, including 18 post-cut. Tied the course record with a bogey-free 63 in the third round. The Houston victory was Mickelson’s lone win in 2010.

Stricker is the +1000 third favorite on WagerWeb.com. It’s his first start since a tie for eighth at the WGC-Cadillac. Ranks fifth on Tour in greens in regulation, first in birdie average and second in scrambling. In five starts at Redstone, he has four top-11 finishes including a T4 last year.

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PGA Betting: Tiger Woods finally wins one

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Against all odds, Tiger Woods has reclaimed his rightful spot at the top of the PGA World.

Tiger took home his first championship in 30 months yesterday, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tiger was beaming as he walked up the 18th green. What did that win feel like, Tiger was asked, “Pure joy,” he said.

“Heading home now and I can’t stop smiling. Thanks to Otown fans and everyone watching for all the love. Get well soon, Arnie,” Woods tweeted about three hours after his win.

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Tiger Woods Beats Odds to Finally End PGA Drought

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He’s had numerous injuries, been talked about in books by former friends and has fallen off the radar with PGA odds, but at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Tiger Woods finally got himself back into contention.
Of course, in Woods fashion, he downplayed the victory.

“It’s not like winning a major championship or anything,” Woods said. “But it certainly feels really good.”

Woods had gone 923 days and 26 tour events since he last won an event, perhaps this is the win that finally gets him over the hump? It was also his first PGA Tour victory since a sex scandal at the end of 2009 led to one of the greatest downfalls in sports. Golf can be quite a mental game, perhaps this victory will finally get his mind focused on winning again.

Woods finished at 13-under 275 for his 72nd PGA Tour win, one short of Nicklaus for second place on the career list. With The Masters in two weeks one has to wonder if he’s ready to get himself another green jacket. Woods has been listed at 7/2 odds to win the 2012 Masters.

This is just two weeks after an injury scare as well, but Woods looked dominant as ever at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. It may not be the PGA Championships but this was a PGA Tour event with a full field, one with all the heavy hitters. And Tiger put together a perfomance that didn’t have the hiccups that has plagued his game of late.

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Tiger Woods Returns to Top of Golf Betting Lines at Arnold Palmer Invitational

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Apparently healthy and ready to rumble,Tiger Woods is the runaway favorite on the PGA Tour golf betting odds to win a remarkable seventh title at the prestigious Arnold Palmer Invitational this week beginning Thursday at the Bay Hill Golf Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida.

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Woods, who won the tournament at “Arnie’s Place” four years in a row from 2000 to 2004 and followed that up with back-to-back victories in 2008 and 2009, showed no ill effects earlier this week from an injury to his left Achilles’ tendon that had forced him to withdraw from the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on March 11.

Competing at the Tavistock Cup club championship for Team Albany – which finished fourth out of four teams – Woods shot an even-par round of 72 on Tuesday as he prepares for the Arnold Palmer Invitational and looks ahead to The Masters in two weeks. Currently sitting at No. 18 in the official world golf rankings, Woods is the heavy 7/1 favorite on the golf betting odds to chalk up another victory at Bay Hill this weekend.

American rival Phil Mickelson has just one career win at this event and that came way back in 1997, but the veteran has played well so far this season with a win at Pebble Beach (in which he dominated Woods while playing together in the final round) and lost in a playoff at the Northern Trust Open. Mickelson is listed second at 14/1 odds to win at Bay Hill.

Justin Rose of England, who won the WGC-Cadillac Championship two weeks ago and finished T3 at Bay Hill last year by shooting a final-round 68, is next on the list of contenders this week at 16/1 odds, along with Webb Simpson who has three Top 10 finishes already this year. Hunter Mahanand Sergio Garcia are at 22/1 odds.

Last year’s winner, Martin Laird of Scotland, is considered a long shot to repeat at 50/1.

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Golf Betting Odds: Strong Field at Transitions Championship

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Former world No. 1 Luke Donald and fellow Englishman Justin Rose headline the list of contenders to win this week’s golf betting action on the PGA Tour as the Transitions Championship begins Thursday at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida.

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Donald, who was displaced by Rory McIlroy atop the official world golf rankings just two weeks ago, is listed as the 10/1 favorite on the golf odds to win the Transitions Championship on the par-71, 7,340-yard Copperhead Course at Innisbrook.

Donald has made one previous appearance at this tournament back in 2010 when he finished in sixth place behind winner Jim Furyk, who is also in the field this week at longshot 50/1 odds. He also finished in sixth place last week at the WGC-Cadillac Championships on the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, which was won by Rose.

Rose (16/1 odds) finished at 16-under par last week to win against one of the strongest fields of the year at the second WGC event of the season, which included fourth-place finisher and reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (14/1) of South Africa.

Webb Simpson (18/1) is the top-rated American in the field at No. 8 in the official world golf rankings, and he finished in second place last year at the Transitions Championship behind winner Gary Woodland (50/1). Fellow Americans Matt Kuchar (20/1) and Nick Watney (22/1) round out the top contenders on the odds list to win this week.

Peter Hanson of Sweden finished T4 along with Schwartzel last week and he leads a strong international trio at 33/1 odds along with Sergio Garcia of Spain and Jason Day of Australia.

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This week on PGA Tour: Transitions Championship

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The is in a bit of a down week after two star-studded fields the past two weeks as the pros visit the Tampa Bay area this week for the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla. Place your PGA golf bets at our online sportsbook!

This tournament often gets overlooked because it follows the big-money WGC-Cadillac Championship and is the week before Arnold Palmer’s tournament in Bay Hill, which usually draws most of golf’s biggest names. Despite all that, players love the course so 12 of the top-25 world ranked players are in the field.

The Top-10 players entered are Luke Donald, Charl Schwartzel, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson and Jason Day along with past winners Gary Woodland (2011), Jim Furyk (2010), Retief Goosen (2009 & ’03), Sean O’Hair (2008), K.J. Choi (2006 & ’02), Carl Pettersson (2005) and Vijay Singh (2004). This will be the 12th Transitions Championship, with the first one being played in 2000. The event has had several different names in the past 12 years. This is the last year of the current deal and Transitions has said they won’t be back in 2013 so a new sponsor will be needed.

Overall last year, Copperhead averaged under par for the first time in its 11-year history dating back to 2000. (The 2001 edition was canceled due to the events of Sept. 11. The tournament moved from fall to March in 2007.) Although its scoring average was 70.817 in 2011, it was the fourth-hardest par 71 of 11 used in non-majors.

Former world No. 1 Luke Donald is the +850 favorite this week. . The last — and only — time Donald played here he tied for sixth in 2010. He’s also coming off a tie for sixth last week in Doral and appears to be rounding into form after a slow start to the season.

Schwartzel is the +1100 WagerWeb.com second favorite. His T4 at the WGC-Cadillac was his seventh top five in last 11 starts worldwide. He missed 31 greens at TPC Blue Monster at Doral and limited the damage to seven bogeys. Would lead the Tour in scrambling and adjusted scoring if he qualified.

Rose is the third favorite at +1300. He led the field in birdies (23) en route to victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. That followed a T5 at The Honda Classic where he held a share of the 36-hole lead. Top 25s in his last five starts at Copperhead, including a career-best T5 in 2011.

Last year, Gary Woodland put on a putting exhibition of only taking just 23 putts and making 9 of 9 putts between 4 and 16 feet as he shot 67 and his 15 under total was 1 better than Simpson, who bogeyed his final hole. Simpson is +1400 to win this week at WagerWeb.com, while Woodland is +4000 to repeat.

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