This Week in Golf - May 20th through May 23rd

Golf Betting Lines

05/17/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas, Irving, Texas - Rory Sabbatini won last year's Byron Nelson Championship for his first PGA Tour title since another Texas tournament, the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational.

Sabbatini's fifth tour win came in record-setting fashion, as his 19-under-par 261 total bested the old tournament mark of 262 set by Loren Roberts and Steve Pate in 1999.

The outspoken South African improved to 4-4 when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead, carding a six-under 64 in the final round to beat England's Brian Davis by two shots.

Sabbatini, who has fallen to No. 68 in the world rankings, will be back to defend his title against a field that includes only four players ranked in the top 25.

No. 17 Hunter Mahan is the highest-ranked player entered in the tournament. Also playing are No. 19 Y.E. Yang, No. 23 Sean O'Hair and No. 25 Kenny Perry.

Besides Sabbatini, other past Byron Nelson champions in the field include Scott Verplank, Brett Wetterich, Ted Purdy and Vijay Singh.

Phil Mickelson withdrew from last year's Byron Nelson after his wife, Amy, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sabbatini wore a pink shirt for the final round and, along with many of the players, pinned a pink ribbon to his hat in support of the Mickelsons.

Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage of the first two rounds this week beginning at 3 p.m. (et) both days. CBS will broadcast in the same time slot on the weekend.

The tour wraps up its three-event Texas swing next week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, where Steve Stricker won last year. Adam Scott kicked off the Lone Star State swing with a win at the Texas Open on Sunday.

EUROPEAN TOUR

BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, Wentworth Club, Surrey, England - World No. 8 Paul Casey is the defending champion at this week's BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event of the European Tour.

Last year, Casey carded four straight rounds of 69 or better on the way to beating Ross Fisher by a shot at 17-under 271. The victory -- Casey's 10th on the European Tour -- vaulted the Englishman to No. 3 in the world rankings.

Ten of the top 25 players in the world rankings will be in the field this year, including No. 3 Lee Westwood, No. 6 Ian Poulter, No. 7 Ernie Els, No. 8 Casey, No. 9 Rory McIlroy, No. 11 Martin Kaymer, No. 13 Padraig Harrington, No. 18 Luke Donald, No. 21 Henrik Stenson and No. 24 Charl Schwartzel.

Three-time winner Colin Montgomerie and two-time champion Anders Hansen will lead a list of former tournament victors that also includes Miguel Angel Jimenez, David Howell, Scott Drummond and Ignacio Garrido.

In short, Wentworth Club is the best place in the world to see tournament golf this week.

Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds.

Next week the European Tour shifts to Spain for the Madrid Masters, where Ross McGowan won last year.

LPGA TOUR

SYBASE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, Hamilton Farm Golf Club, Gladstone, New Jersey - This is a new event on the LPGA Tour schedule featuring a field of 64 players.

The match play bracket will be broken down into four groups named for the LPGA's winningest players: Kathy Whitworth, Mickey Wright, Annika Sorenstam and Patty Berg.

The tournament's No. 1 seed, top-ranked Jiyai Shin of South Korea, will lead the Whitworth Group. Second-ranked Ai Miyazato of Japan will headline the Wright Group, No. 3 Suzann Pettersen of Norway will lead the Sorenstam Group and No. 4 Yani Tseng of Taiwan will head the Berg Group.

The field will include most of the tour's top stars, including Michelle Wie and last week's playoff winner in Alabama, Se Ri Pak. Injured star Paula Creamer will miss another tournament.

Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds. Its broadcast will run from 1-3 p.m. (et) on Thursday and Friday, and from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Next week the tour is in Brazil for the HSBC Brasil Cup 2010, where Catriona Matthew won last year. The event features a 27-player field competing over 36 holes for $700,000 of unofficial prize money.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

REX HOSPITAL OPEN, TPC Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, North Carolina - At last year's Rex Hospital Open, veteran pro Kevin Johnson beat Jeff Gallagher with a birdie on the first playoff hole to capture his fifth Nationwide Tour win.

Two weeks later, Johnson also won the Knoxville Open for his sixth title on the developmental circuit, tying him for first place all-time with Matt Gogel, Jason Gore and Sean Murphy.

The victories helped Johnson earn a PGA Tour card for this season. But he has not fared well in the big leagues in 2010, making just three cuts in 10 starts and earning only $51,458.

This week's field includes all of the players ranked inside the top 10 on the money list, including money leader Kevin Chappell and last week's winner in South Carolina, Justin Hicks.

Next week is the Melwood Prince George's County Open, where Mathias Gronberg won last year.

Offsmaker Golf Betting News

<< Pak rises to No. 22 in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Se Ri Pak won the rain-shortened Bell Micro LPGA Classic in a playoff Sunday and vaulted 26 places to No. 22 in the world rankings for women's golf. Pak outlasted Brittany Lincicome and Suzann Pe

<< Advocaat set to take charge of Russia
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dick Advocaat is set to be announced as the new coach of Russia, it was confirmed on Monday. Advocaat surprisingly resigned as Belgium coach last month after he spent just six months on the job, but now h

<< Texas A&M basketball signee dies
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas A&M men's basketball recruit Tobi Oyedeji died from injuries he sustained in a car accident. The 6-foot-9 power forward from Houston was set to play for the Aggies next season. "The wor

<< Milito signs Barca extension
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2012, it was announced on Monday. The 29-year-old Milito also has an option for an

<< Caps sign 2009 first-round pick
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals have signed center Marcus Johansson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Johansson was selected by Washington with the 24th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The 19

Diamondbacks acquire RHP Rivera from Indians >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired relief pitcher Saul Rivera from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations. Rivera will be added to the major-league roster. To make room

Simon withdraws from Roland Garros >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French favorite Gilles Simon will not play in the 2010 French Open. The world No. 32 Simon, who reached the third round at the French last year, said he is not in shape since returning from a knee injury

T'Wolves name Ronzone assistant GM >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Monday the hiring of Tony Ronzone as assistant general manager and director of player personnel. Ronzone spent the last nine years in the Detroit Pistons organiza

Finland clinches quarterfinal spot at Worlds >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finland wrapped up a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Championship with a 5-2 win over Slovakia. Jussi Jokinen scored a pair of goals and Petteri Nummelin added a goal and two assists

Ravens sign CB Fisher >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens have signed veteran cornerback Travis Fisher and rookie safety Brad Jones. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. Fisher appeared in just four games for Seattle last season, b

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

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