Canada's youth movement

Golf Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cast in the shadow of the Open Championship which finished this past weekend at St. Andrews, the 2010 installment of the RBC Canadian Open is all set to tee off at the historic St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, ON from July 22 - 25, 2010.

The renowned Stanley Thompson-designed course, which first opened in 1929, has been the host of the Canadian Open on four occasions, but none since 1968. St. George's has also been the host of the LPGA Classic on five occasions and most recently the du Maurier Champions, also known as the Canadian Senior Open.

Well regarded as a course that demands accurate ball striking, spectators will be treated to an exciting finish across the club's signature final four holes. The 2010 PGA season has been an unpredictable journey to say the least, deemed by many as the start of the Tiger Woods post-scandal era. With Tiger yet to play up to the standard he's repeatedly set for himself since first joining the PGA back in 1996, more and more tour pros are getting a taste of being the last man standing come Sunday. In 2010, there have been 10 first-time winners on the PGA Tour, most notably Graeme McDowell at the U.S. Open, and last weekend Louis Oosthuizen at the Open Championship.

This growing shift in power from one player to the rest of the field offers inspiring hope to the Canadian contingent vying for Canada's top golfing trophy and a tournament purse worth $5.1 million USD. With only four players out of the top 20 in the World Golf Rankings playing this week, the trophy is very much up for grabs which bodes well for the deep Canadian team.

Led by the recently inducted Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Mike Weir, Canada's hopes rest with a mix of young guns and proven veterans who make up fourteen of the 156 total competitors in this year's Championship.

TEAM CANADA

2003 Masters Champion Mike Weir has had a rough year so far posting only one top-10 finish this year, coming at the Bob Hope Classic. Considered a long shot to win, Weir has struggled this year due to his poor ball-striking, ranking 189th of 190 players on tour. Since losing in a playoff to Vijay Singh at the 2004 Bell Canadian Open, Weir has yet to contend on a Sunday for his nation's most coveted golfing prize. Meanwhile, if there is one player in the field not to discount before teeing it up on Thursday, it's Weir. As he has done so many times in the past, Weir will be carrying the weight of a nation as the most popular and successful Canadian golfer of his generation.

Canada's second most well-known golfer, 2009 Players Champion Stephen Ames, has experienced an up and down season thus far recording only one top-10 and six top-25 finishes. Ames, an outspoken fan of St. George's, likes the chances of a Canadian contending come Sunday based on Canadian players' familiarity of the tight layout. It may be Ames who likes his own chances best on a course that rewards players who can hit a high percentage of greens in regulation and follow with a birdie putt. These are coincidentally his two best statistical categories on tour this year.

The future of Canadian golf has emerged during the 2010 season and his name is Graham DaLaet. The 28-year-old PGA Tour rookie is coming off the round of his career last Saturday at the Reno-Tahoe Open after carding a bogey-free 62 that tied the course record. DaLaet has enjoyed a consistent season boasting nine made cuts and a third place finish at the Shell Houston Open making him the logical pick for the low Canuck this week at St. George's.

Joining DaLaet in competition are six other Canadian golfers under the age of 30.

"They are among the best young golfers in the world and we are certain to see exciting play from them as they compete with the PGA TOUR's biggest and best names at St. George's in July," said Scott Simmons, Golf Canada's Executive Director and CEO, in a recent press release.

The standout of this promising group is Canada's best amateur golfer - Nick Taylor. The 2007 Canadian Amateur Champion and recent recipient of the 2010 Ben Hogan award as the nation's top collegiate golfer, is expected by many to capture multiple Canadian championships before his career is out. The University of Washington senior will be turning pro after the U.S. Amateur in August, and will offer us a glimpse of what to expect for many years to come.

Other notable Canadians competing in the 2010 RBC Canadian Open: Ted Brown, Ben Boudreau, Dave Bunker, Cam Burke, Matt Hill, Barrett Jarosch, Eugene Wong, Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Jon Mills, Nick Taylor and Mike Weir

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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