This Week in Golf -- January 26th through January 29th

Golf Betting Lines

01/23/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN - Torrey Pines (North and South Courses), La Jolla, California - The PGA Tour heads to beautiful Torrey Pines this week.

This event used to signal the start of Tiger Woods' PGA Tour campaign, but more on that later.

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.

Mickelson holed his birdie putt to get into a tie for second with Jhonattan Vegas, the PGA Tour rookie who won the Humana the week before. Vegas was first to hit in the 18th fairway, but his approach sank just short of the green into the water.

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.

Watson played his bunker shot well left of the flagstick. The ball rolled down to 12 feet, but it was far from a gimme birdie.

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.

Watson poured in his birdie shot to sign for his 67 and move two in front of Mickelson. Vegas bogeyed 18 to get in at 13-under, so it was down to Mickelson, a man known for his gambling style and interesting theater.

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.

His pitch landed just long of the cup and began to spin back, but it was not enough. Mickelson's approach stayed above ground and that gave Watson the title.

Watson is back to defend and Ernie Els, Ryo Ishikawa and Rickie Fowler are making their season debuts on the PGA Tour.

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.

EUROPEAN TOUR

ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP - Abu Dhabi Golf Course, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - There is quite a formidable field scheduled for Abu Dhabi this week.

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.

Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer will open their seasons this week. The four are the four highest-ranked players in the world, adding some serious star power to the European Tour's event.

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 can join a select group of European Tour players who have won the same tournament four times.

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.

Kaymer deserves to be the favorite based on his pedigree at the Abu Dhabi Championship, but the hottest player in the world will also tee it up Thursday.

Branden Grace won for the second week in a row last week at the Volvo Golf Champions event. After his breakthrough victory at the Joburg Open, Grace topped two of his fellow countrymen, Els and Goosen, in a playoff at Fancourt.

Golf Channel will carry the action all four rounds.

Next up for the European Tour is the Qatar Masters, which was won last year by Thomas Bjorn. Hunter Mahan, K.J. Choi and Jason Day are scheduled to play as well.

Money-games-online Golf Betting News

<< Gotze still out for Dortmund
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze will remain out of the lineup for Saturday's match with Hoffenheim because of a thigh injury. Gotze had been struggling with an adductor injury which kept him

<< Rookies Newton, Dalton among Pro Bowl replacements
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie quarterbacks Cam Newton of Carolina and Andy Dalton of Cincinnati were among the players selected for this week's Pro Bowl as replacements for those originally selected from the Super Bowl partici

<< Leroux nets five goals as USA hammers Guatemala
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sydney Leroux scored five goals and Abby Wambach added two more as the United States women's national team coasted to a 13-0 win over Guatemala in Group B play at the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournam

<< Alonso helps Toluca edge Tigres
Toluca, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivan Alonso notched his fourth goal of the Mexican Clausura season to help Toluca claim a 2-1 win over Tigres on Sunday. Chilean striker Hector Mancilla gave Tigres the lead from the penalty spot in the 2

<< Jackets activate Umberger off IR
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated forward R.J. Umberger off injured reserve. Umberger had missed five games because of an upper body injury, believed to be concussion-like symptoms. He took an elb

Lovren signs new Lyon contract >>
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon defender Dejan Lovren signed a two-year contract extension with the club, it was announced on Monday. Lovren still had more than two years remaining on his existing deal, but has now committed himself

Stars lock up D Goligoski with four-year extension >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars on Monday signed defenseman Alex Goligoski to a four-year contract extension worth $18.4 million. Goligoski was set to be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. "Alex Goligosk

Marseille loses Mbia to thigh injury >>
Marseille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marseille is set to be without defender Stephane Mbia for the next two or three weeks after he sustained a thigh injury in the club's 3-1 Coupe de France win over Le Havre. Mbia was forced out o

Van Buyten sidelined by broken foot >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich defender Daniel Van Buyten is facing a spell on the sidelines after it was confirmed that he sustained a metatarsal fracture in his left foot. Van Buyten suffered the injury in Friday's 3

Stampeders cut ties with franchise rushing leader Reynolds >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unable to find a trading partner, the Calgary Stampeders have released running back Joffrey Reynolds. The 32-year-old Reynolds played eight seasons with the Stampeders and became the franchise's all-time

NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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