Kaymer Schedule Edge Leaving In Events

Golf Betting Lines

Phil Mickelson, a three-time winner, is on hand fresh off his uninspiring tie for 49th at the Humana Challenge. He was involved in last year's thrilling finish.

 

With Mickelson two behind, but in the 17th fairway, Bubba Watson waited to tee off on the par-five 18th hole at the South Course at Torrey Pines. It was a wise move by Watson. Mickelson knocked his approach to four feet, so Watson waited for the gallery to settle before he hammered one down the 18th.

 

Watson short-sided himself in a greenside bunker and that was no guarantee of an up-and-down birdie. Mickelson popped up his drive into the left rough, but still had enough to get home in two.

 

Mickelson made a curious decision. Instead of waiting for Watson to putt, which would have let Mickelson know if he needed eagle or just birdie to tie, Mickelson laid up in the fairway.

 

Knowing he needed to hole out for eagle, Mickelson sent his caddie "Bone" the 72 yards to the hole to tend the flag in case his ball flirted with the hole.

 

Golf Channel has the action for the first two rounds, then CBS takes over on the weekend.

 

Next week is traditional event opposite the Super Bowl, the Phoenix Open, which was won last year by Wilson.

 

Tiger Woods will make his 2012 debut after his victory at the end of last season at the unofficial Chevron World Challenge. He is 25th in the world rankings, so he is way behind some of the others in the field.

 

Kaymer has to be considered the favorite and can make history this week. Kaymer is the two-time defending champion and earned his first European Tour victory at this tournament in 2008. The one year he didn't win from 2008-2011, he tied for second in 2009.

 

Kaymer cruised to an eight-stroke win last year and set a new tournament scoring record, finishing at 24-under-par 264 to break the old mark by three shots. The victory 12 months ago moved Kaymer to No. 2 in the world rankings, dropping Woods to three. Kaymer eventually became the world's best.

 

Masters winner Charl Schwartzel and British Open Champion Darren Clarke are both in the field. With reigning U.S. Open winner McIlroy also playing, PGA Champion Keegan Bradley is last year's only major winner not in this week's field.

Wwmozilla Golf Betting Blog

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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