Savage still in hunt at club pro championship

Cortland Country Club head pro Eric Manning recorded his third consecutive solid round Tuesday in the PGA Professional National Championship in his attempt to return to the PGA Championship for the second straight year.

Manning added an even-par 71 to earlier rounds of 71-72 to stand tied for 36th place in the tournament being played at the Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. At the end of Wednesday's final round, the top 20 players will earn berths in the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. Manning stands only two strokes out of the top 20.

Last year, Manning achieved a lifelong goal of playing in a major championship by qualifying for the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills after finishing tied for 15th in the PPNC.

Another Central New York PGA member attempting to make it to Hazeltine is Kanon Valley assistant pro Kevin Savage.

He saw a beautiful start to his round Wednesday -- three birdies in the first seven holes -- get derailed by a string of bogeys, and he ended with a 77. That dropped him into a tie for 63rd. Savage was tied for second after a first-round 67 and tied for eighth after Monday's 73.

Still, he said a round in the 60's Wednesday would give him a chance to move back into the top 20. "I just have to go out there tomorrow and give it my best shot," said Savage, who had to receive a shot of a different sort just to compete this week.

During practice rounds, Savage, who has rheumatoid arthritis, suffered a flareup, causing his left hand to swell severely. It made it difficult to hold the club, and the night before the tournament he said he wasn't sure he would be able to play. He obtained some relief after his first round when doctors gave him a steroid shot to reduce the inflammation.

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Golf-Travelers Notes: TPC a Relief

The numbers put up this week at the Travelers Championship were eye-popping.

Kenny Perry’s 22-under not only set a tournament record, but was one of the best scores in PGA Tour history and his four-day total of 258 was the fourth-best score in tour history.

Of the 72 finishers on Sunday, only Vaughn Taylor finished the tournament over par (3-over). Jerry Kelly and Marc Leishman finished at even par, with the others all in red numbers. The top 25 finishers were all double-digits under par.

There has been talk this week that the TPC River Highlands isn’t long enough to challenge today’s golfers. Add in the torrential rains that softened up the course and it was a birdie paradise in Cromwell. That’s fine with runner-up David Toms, who finished at 19-under in a tie with Paul Goydos.

“I would leave it,” Toms said when asked if the course should be altered. “If you look at years past when it got firm and fast with a breeze, the scores weren’t as low as they were this week. I love to play here, and I think that’s why they get a good field. Everybody likes to play here. Bombers like to play it, the short-hitters like to play it. I think it’s a golf course that anyone can do well on.”

Toms didn’t make the cut at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black and his second-round 76 left him in a bad place when he arrived in Cromwell last Wednesday.

That made this week at the TPC River Highlands a kind of mental therapy for the field. Toms had his third second-place finish of the year and despite his low score, he felt that the course played fair. The sentiments were echoed by many of the players, some of whom are unable to compete at places like Bethpage Black.

“Last week at the U.S. Open, that just beat me up,” Toms said. “I had no chance to win that golf tournament, and if you looked at the leaderboard at the end, you could see the guys who were up there (were all long hitters). That’s not going to happen at this tournament. You might have guys who bomb it out there like Kenny does, but you have a lot of other guys that have a chance.”

While the low scores certainly will cause some to scoff, many of the golfers said that the weather conditions had more to do with the scoring than the layout. The water-logged course was soft in the fairways and slow on the greens. That had a consequence for golfers who hit the fairway.

Ryan Moore, who finished fourth at 17-under, likes the way it played. Not every course on tour has to be a crucible.

“It’s a position golf course,” Moore said. “It’s really a putting battle, especially when it’s soft like this.

“Everybody’s going to be shooting good golf scores and shooting 64 like I did today and barely move. That’s tough, knowing you gotta shoot a 61 or 62 to make any big jump.”

Perry Wins Travelers Championship With Record 258

There was no Masters-style meltdown Sunday for Kenny Perry.

Perry shot 63 to finish with a tournament-record 258 and win the Travelers Championship by three strokes over Paul Goydos and David Toms, two other golfers in their 40s.



The 48-year old Perry, whose bogey-bogey finish at Augusta kept him from winning the Masters in April, tied a course record with a 61 Thursday and led after each of the first two rounds here. But, he trailed by a stroke to Goydos heading into the final round.

He responded by shooting a 32 on the front nine and was up by five strokes heading to the par-4 15th.

Goydos, 45, made a 20-foot eagle putt from the fringe on 15 and birdied 16. But he missed his birdie putt on 17 to the right.

Perry birdied 15, and put the tournament away by making birdie on 17 after hitting a 164-yard approach to within 8 feet.

"Everyone kind of asks about the Augusta hangover deal," he said. "I guess I kind of shoved that aside a little bit. So that makes me feel pretty good."

Perry acknowledged he was thinking about the Masters as he played the back nine, and told himself to play aggressive.

"I knew that I had to keep making birdies," he said. "I wasn't going to let up. I wasn't going to play defensive golf. I learned something from that mistake."

Goydos said he felt he needed to shoot a 63 to win the tournament, but didn't start playing well until the 15th hole.

"I don't want to run and hide from that," he said. "He played like a guy who's won 14 times. I played more like a guy who's won twice, especially early in the round."

Goydos made a 40-foot putt on the seventh hole, but gave two shots back when he bogeyed the par-3 eighth. Perry hit his tee shot to within 3 feet of the pin, and made birdie.

Bethpage Black Still Open

Rain has thrown the 2009 U.S. Open schedule out of whack as play will extend into Monday.

Ricky Barnes is tied for the lead with Lucas Glover at -7 each, Phil Mickelson is tied for third at -2 through 2 holes and Tiger Woods is sitting tied for eighth, shooting Even par.

Should it still be tied, the 2009 U.S. Open will go into an 18-hole playoff.

For more check out Golf at SPORTSBETTING.COM.

Ridgewood And Plainfield To Host 2010,2011 events

The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that Ridgewood Country Club and Plainfield Country Club, both in New Jersey, will host the 2010 and 2011 The Barclays, respectively.

"New Jersey is honored that The Barclays will be staged in New Jersey at least two more years," said New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine. "We are fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with this event to make an impact across the state.

This gives the Garden State an opportunity to showcase what we have to offer to golf fans throughout the world, and represents a substantial economic boost and a genuine commitment to charitable organizations at a time when it?s needed the most." Ridgewood in Paramus, N.J., hosted the 2008 tournament won by Vijay Singh in a playoff over Sergio Garcia. "The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club last year was a resounding success by all accounts," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "The players' enthusiastic response to the venue was unprecedented. Vijay Singh said it best during closing ceremonies when he called Ridgewood Country Club one of the best golf courses the TOUR has ever played.

"There are so many excellent courses in the New York and New Jersey area, and we are pleased to add one of the best, Plainfield Country Club, to The Barclays rotation," said Finchem. "As the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs, The Barclays is an important tournament for the PGA TOUR, and there's no doubt that Plainfield, who some would say is Donald Ross's best design, will provide a worthy challenge to the game?s best players in 2011." This year's tournament will be staged at Liberty National Golf Club in late August.

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A Glover And A Fighter

Tiger Woods didn’t win the 2009 U.S. Open and Lefty Mickelson fell short, finishing tied for second place.

That honor went to Lucas Glover who finished the day at +3.

Tiger finished the tourney tied for sixth.

check out Golf section for more.

Andrade, Alfredsson lead CVS Charity Classic

Billy Andrade and Helen Alfredsson combined to shoot six-under 65 Monday to grab a one-stroke lead after the first of two rounds at the CVS Charity Classic.

Four teams share second place at minus-five at Rhode Island Country Club. They include Brad Adamonis and Brittany Lincicome, Brett Quigley and Dana Quigley, David Toms and Nick Price, and Boo Weekley and Chad Campbell.

There were a few changes to the original field as some players needed to finish the final round of the U.S. Open on Monday.

Prior to those changes, a couple coed teams were created and the leaders were one of them. Alfredsson being in the lead is the first time a female has led after one day.

Two teams share sixth place at four-under 67 - Davis Love III and Morgan Pressel along with Zach Johnson and Nick Watney. Two more teams share eighth at minus-two, while the final of the 10 teams are alone in 10th at minus-one.

For more details about Golf check out Golf odds.

US Open Odds

The Final Round of the US Open stats late in the day today (Sunday), with somebody named Ricky Jarvis looking like he will tee off with the lead. Tiger Woods likely won’t be a factor, but Phil Mickelson is in play and a blast from the past - David Duval - is in the mix as well, after dropping off the face of the golf world for the last several years. It’s good to see Duval back and having some success in a major.

As mentioned, Tiger appears to be too far back to play a significant role in how the final round plays out, which isn’t good news for the sports betting world, or at least a majority of the sports betting world, as Woods is always backed by a ton of money whenever he plays, particularly in a major.

Whoever threw some money down on Barnes, you’re either going to be cashing in for a nice payday, or cursing if he blows this lead (whcih was once as high as six strokes).

Enjoy the Round 4 action and be sure to check out the golf odds at SPORTSBETTING.com

2009 US Open Tees Off In The Rain–Golf Betting-Tiger Woods Golf Odds

The US Open golfers scrambled today to change flight plans, as it doesn’t look like those who make the cut will be heading anywhere but back to the course on Monday morning.online sportsbook closed the betting window early Thursday morning for Day 1 of US Open betting, as the first players started their opening rounds. However, no one was destined to spend much time on the course, as rain poured down. Players were called off the course for the day, pushing everything back.

The golf odds that were put up heading into the big tournament obviously had Tiger Woods as the huge betting favorite, with Phil Mickelson number two. The sports betting world are anticipating a duel between the World’s #1 and #2 ranked players, and it still might develop. Neither player has had the chance to get going. Tiger is sitting at +1 after completing six holes and like most players I’m sure, was wishing he had an afternoon tee time and didn’t have to play in the rough weather conditions.

SPORTSBETTING.com oddsmakers stated that they took in a lot of Tiger Golf Betting action, as usual, but there was good steady volume on Mickelson to win the tournament as well. Late money also came in on Sergio Garcia and US standout Anthony Kim at the sportsbook.

Tiger Woods Odds: Tiger started to the tournament as a huge favorite to win it all at SPORTSBETTING.com. He was also -425 in his head-to-head matchup with Mickelson. The only two players that oddsmakers would put Tiger up against in matchups was Mickelson and Geoff Ogilvy.

Phil has yet to tee off, but will do so Friday morning.

More of the same, weather-wise, is expected over the next four days, which will almost assuredly result in the tournament being pushed into Monday and perhaps even Tuesday.

Playoffs aside, no US Open in 108 years has gone past a Monday morning finish. The odds are it will happen this year.

Tiger Woods, trying to defend his title, didn’t start the way he would have liked. His first tee shot was an ugly duck hook. But after missing the fairway WAY left, as he so often does, he saved par.

The US Open is just getting started. You can check SPORTSBETTING.com for all the updated golf odds and golf betting options throughout the tournament.

Enjoy the golf.

Golf-U.S. Open Betting Market

The 109th U.S. Open will begin this Thursday at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York.

Last year’s event at Torrey Pines in San Diego was a classic as Tiger Woods, on wounded knee might we add, went into a sudden-death playoff and defeated Rocco Mediate; Tiger proceeded to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Tiger Woods is listed at +125 to repeat as champion, while Rocco Mediate is listed as a +10,000 to win this year’s event.

For more details about Golf check out Golf odds.

2009 U.S. Open Propositions

You can wager on who will win the 2009 U.S. Open or you can wager on a number of propositions as well.

Who will be the leader at the end of each round?

What will the nationality of the eventual winner be?

Who will win Groups A, B, C and D?

Check out the 2009 U.S. Open props menu in the Golf odds section.

Washington to host NCAA golf regional

For the second time in three years, Washington will serve as the host school for one of the NCAA men's golf regionals next year.

The regional is one of six around the country. The school said Monday that it will be played at Gold Mountain online Golf Club in Bremerton in May 2010. The 36-hole complex across Puget Sound from Seattle hosted NCAA regionals in 2008 and the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links championship.

Washington also hosted the 2003 NCAA regional at Washington National in Auburn.

The Huskies were a No. 1 seed for one of the six NCAA regionals this spring and reached the quarterfinals of match play at the 2009 NCAA championships. They are expected to return most of their top players for 2010.

For more details about Golf check out Golf Odds.

How Swede It Is At TPC

Alex Cejka entered the final round of The Players Championship on Sunday in the lead but succumbed to Ben Crane midway through and when the dust settled, it was Henrik Stenson who finished on top.

Stenson shot -6 for the day and -12 overall to take this year’s TPC title and Tiger Woods finished +1 for the day and -5 overall.

For more details check out online Golf Betting.

“Lefty” Alright For St. Jude Classic

After taking a leave of absence to be with his wife Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, Phil Mickelson will return to take part in the St. Jude Classic, which begins tomorrow–he will also be a participant in the upcoming U.S. Open.

“Lefty” is part of a matchup prop bet, listed at -135 against Sergio Garcia, who is +105.

Mickelson is also listed at +700 to win the St. Jude Classic.

For more details about online Golf betting.

Nicklaus course in South Korea gets Champions Tour event in 2010

he PGA Tour announced Wednesday that a Champions Tour event will head to the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in the Songdo International Business District in South Korea starting in 2010.

The multi-year agreement brings the Champions Tour to Asia for the first time.

"This is a significant step for the Champions Tour to expand the reach of our brand globally with some of the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game," said PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.

The 54-hole stroke-play event will boast a $3 million purse with a winner's check of $450,000.

For more details check out golf odds.

Daly fails to qualify for U.S. Open

The last sectional qualifiers were held Monday to determine the field for next week's U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.

Some top players made it. Some did not.

John Daly, finally done with his six-month suspension from the PGA Tour, was among the players who failed to make it through the 36-hole qualifier in Memphis, Tenn., that drew a lot of top PGA Tour players.

The two-time major champion, who returns to the tour at this week's St. Jude Classic, also in Memphis, posted rounds of 73 and 70 to finish five shots out of contention at one-over par.

For more details check out online golf betting.

Storm triumphs in Open qualifying

Storm shot a record eight-under 62 on the New Course in the morning and ended 10-under with Argentine Rafa Echenique.

One shot behind were David Drysdale, Gary Orr and Branden Grace, while Rhys Davies, Paul Broadhurst and Raphael Jacquelin qualified in joint sixth.

Richie Ramsay and Oliver Fisher came through a six-man golf betting play-off for the last two spots at Turnberry.

Scotland's former US Amateur champion Ramsay grabbed his place with a birdie at the third extra hole, and England's Fisher hit his approach to two feet for a birdie at the fourth to clinch his berth.

England's Mark Foster and Danny Willett, Irishman Peter Lawrie and Dutchman Taco Remkes were the four who missed out in the golf odds play-off.

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, Ireland's Shane Lowry, England's Nick Dougherty and Frenchman Thomas Levet also failed to qualify from the 96-man field.

Langer cruises to six-shot win in Austin

Bernhard Langer blew away the field on Sunday as he closed with a five-under 67 to win the Triton Financial Classic by six strokes.

Langer collected his seventh Champions Tour victory at 15-under-par 201, which matched the tournament scoring record at The Hills Country Club. Scott Hoch set the original mark of 201 in 2007.

Mark O'Meara took second at minus-nine after a two-under 70 in the final round in golf odds. Dana Quigley posted a three-under 69 to end at eight-under-par 208.

For more details check out Master betting.

Pak, Lee share lead at LPGA State Farm

Se Ri Pak and Jee Young Lee both fired rounds of six-under 66 on Thursday to share the lead at the LPGA State Farm Classic.

Kris Tamulis is a stroke further back at five-under 67 on a tight leaderboard at Panther Creek Country Club.

Including the co-leaders, 70 players are separated by only five shots at the top of the leaderboard -- including some of the top names on the LPGA Tour.

Natalie Gulbis, Suzann Pettersen and Anja Monke are tied at 68; while Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Yani Tseng, Morgan Pressel and Laura Davies headline a large group at 69.

Touched By Angel

Well the 2009 Masters has concluded and neither Tiger or Lefty walked away with the coveted green jacket–that honor went to Angel Cabrera.

Cabrera defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a sudden death playoff with the Argentinian winning on the second hole

Cabrera, Campbell and Perry all finished the tournament at -12.

GOLF The Memorial at a glance

Where: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio.

Schedule: Practice round today, with the 72-hole tournament running Thursday through Sunday. In lieu of a pro-am, an eight-player, nine-hole skins game today starting at 1 p.m. will include host Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, defending champion Kenny Perry, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink and Camilo Villegas.

Barkley regrets not improving more for Haney

Charles Barkley gets golf tips wherever he goes, even the dry cleaners. He walks through the supermarket and they wish him luck.

"Little old ladies walking the street want to give me advice, and it makes me laugh," Barkley said. "Everybody gives me golf advice." Perhaps they are taking pity on him.

If everything we see and experience these days deserves its own pop culture reference, maybe nothing describes Barkley's golf swing better than George's critique of Elaine's dancing on "Seinfeld." "It's like a full-body dry heave set to music," said George.

Only Barkley's swing isn't set to music -- it's scored by the collective giggling and gasping of galleries across our golf-obsessed country.

Texas A&M wins school's first men's NCAA golf championship

Hands on his hips, Texas A&M's Bronson Burgoon stood over a ball nestled deep in the rough and 120 yards from the hole.

Nothing much was riding on his next shot — just a national championship.

With one mighty hack, Burgoon gave Texas A&M its first national title in men's golf. His gap wedge soared into the wind, landed on the green and tracked toward the hole before coming to rest just 3 inches away.

"I couldn't have drawn it up any better," the senior said, a wide grin plastered across his tanned face. "This is better than any dream I ever had in my life."

Burgoon, the Aggies' No. 1 player, had lost the previous four holes to Arkansas' Andrew Landry before hitting from the deep rough far to the right of the 18th fairway.

Landry conceded the tap-in for birdie, then missed a 35-footer that finalized A&M's 3-and-2 victory.