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12/12/2011 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was another big year for the European Tour as one tour regular took over the top spot in the world rankings and three other members won their first major championship.
Luke Donald won three times and moved to the top of the world rankings for the first time in his career. He grabbed a stranglehold atop those rankings, thanks in part to five worldwide titles.
Three members won the first three majors, meaning European Tour regulars won six consecutive majors dating back to 2010. Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer were the three big winners last year.
When the calendar changed to 2011, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlory and Darren Clarke each won their first major.
Schwartzel broke through at Augusta, where McIlory had the third-round lead. As McIlroy was struggling mightily on the back nine, Schwartzel broke through a crowd of eight players. Schwartzel finished with four straight birdies to close out his round and take the green jacket.
Not to be undaunted, McIlroy fired four rounds in the 60s in a dominating win at the U.S. Open at Congressional. Clarke closed the British Open with an even-par 70, but it was enough for a three-shot win at Royal St. George's.
Eleven players combined for 24 wins in the season's 54 events, which started at the end of 2010.
No matter the year, 2010 or 2011, the European Tour is on a big upswing and with all of its young talent, more good things are on the horizon.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- The steady Englishman
As it did on the PGA Tour, the money title came down to the final tournament. And, as he did in the United States, Luke Donald sealed the deal on the final day.
Donald garners Player of the Year status courtesy of his three victories and his winning the Order of Merit.
The world No. 1 needed a top-nine finish to fend off U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy for the money title. McIlroy's only hope was to win the season-ending Dubai World Championship.
Battling the final two days with a virus, McIlroy was unable to backup his opening-round 66 with another low round and wrapped up the event with three straight 71s to share 11th.
Donald, on the other hand, started with an even-par 72 and closed with back- to-back 66s to end alone in third.
That gave Donald an easy win in the Order of Merit, by over a million euros. It also meant the 34-year-old was the first player to ever top both the European Tour and PGA Tour money lists in the same season.
Donald had just 13 starts on the European Tour, actually six if you extract the four majors and three World Golf Championship events.
However you look at it, Donald was the model of consistency. He missed just one cut and finished outside the top 11 one other time.
The world's No. 1 player carded three titles, two seconds, a third and a fourth. His lone missed cut happened to be at the British Open. And that is the only knock on Donald to this point in his career -- he hasn't won a major.
Two majors gave us his two worst results of the year. The other two majors? Donald shared fourth at The Masters and tied for eighth at the PGA Championship.
For the season, Donald teed it up 25 times on the European and PGA Tours. He missed only three cuts and took over as the top player in the world.
Donald might not be the longest hitter, he might not even hit it the straightest, but he gets the ball in the hole as quick, if not quicker, than any other player in the game right now.
You can expect more of the same in the years to come as Donald is just reaching his peak.
Others in the conversation for Player of the Year were McIlroy, former PGA Champ Martin Kaymer, reigning Masters winner Charl Schwartzel and the resurgent, Thomas Bjorn.
TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR -- Johnnie Walker playoff
There were plenty of good choices for the tournament of the year, but call me a sucker for big playoffs.
The Johnnie Walker Championship was the biggest playoff of the year, featuring five players -- Thomas Bjorn, George Coetzee, Mark Foster, Pablo Larrazabal and Bernd Wiesberger.
Okay, so these guys might not be household names, but a big playoff is a big playoff. Coetzee and Wiesberger were both going for their first title, Foster his second and first since 2003, Larrazabal his third and second of the year, and Bjorn was aiming for his 12th victory, and also his second of 2011.
The group would play the par-five 18th at Gleneagles until a winner was crowned. Wiesberger stumbled to a bogey the first time through and was out. Larrazabal made bogey the second time around and was done.
The remaining trio picked up their play as they all made birdie the third time. Bjorn and Coetzee made birdie again on the fourth playing of the hole, but Foster tripped to a bogey and was out.
It came down to the final two. On the fifth extra hole, Bjorn stuffed his third shot within three feet and had the clear advantage. After Coetzee missed his 40-foot birdie effort, Bjorn rolled in his putt for the victory.
It was the 12th victory of his career, and he followed with lucky No. 13 the following week. The titles may also help Bjorn play his way onto the European Ryder Cup team for the first time since 2002.
SHOT OF THE YEAR -- Clarke's eagle
It is rare for a front-nine eagle to mean so much to a single player, but in Darren Clarke's case it provided the breathing room he needed.
In the final round of the British Open, Phil Mickelson was trying to chase down Clarke as both players were looking to win the prestigious title for the first time.
Mickelson delivered an eagle effort on the par-five seventh to join Clarke in the lead.
Clarke responded as a true champion would. Three groups later, he also made eagle on No. 7 to regain a two-stroke cushion. It was that putt that gave Clarke the edge he needed.
He parred nine in a row after that and saw his lead grow to four shots. Bogeys on the final two holes did nothing but trim Clarke's winning margin in his first major championship conquest.
Sure, it wasn't as sexy as Miguel Angel Jimenez banking a shot off the wall at the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews, but the putt gave Clarke the advantage he needed to grab the Claret Jug.
ROOKIE OF YEAR -- A Young Dane
Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and Scotland's Scott Jamieson were two of the top rookies on the European Tour in 2011 after gaining their tour cards through the Challenge Tour.
Olesen gains the nod as Rookie of the Year after finishing 11 spots higher in the Order of Merit with about 114,000 more euros than Jamieson.
Jamieson did tally five top-10 finishes, but missed the cut in 10 of his last 14 starts, including six in a row at one point.
Olesen had one less top-five finish, but three of his top-fives were ties for second place. He also had a bad stretch late in the year, missing nine cuts in a 12-tournament span starting at the British Open.
The soon-to-be 22-year-old Olesen finished one shot back at the Italian and France Opens, and those big paychecks pushed him ahead of Jamieson for Rookie of the Year honors.
GOOD YEAR
- McIlroy had more top-fives and more top-10s than Donald, but ended second in the Order of Merit, despite winning the U.S. Open and Hong Kong Open. Nevertheless, it was an outstanding season for the Ulsterman.
- Kaymer had wins in his first and next-to-last starts. In between, he posted six top-10 finishes. The German took second to Donald at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, but struggled in the majors. He missed the cut in two of the four and his share of 12th at the British was his best finish in a major a year after he won his first. No denying his third-place finish in the Order of Merit though.
- Schwartzel broke out of a pack of eight golfers, including Tiger Woods, to win the Masters. He did so by making birdie on each of the last four holes. The South African was the first to birdie the last four holes to win the title at Augusta. He also won the Joburg Open and finished inside the top-16 in eight of his 10 starts on the European Tour after the Masters victory.
- Bjorn snapped a nearly four-year winless drought in 2010. He picked up three more titles this year, including back-to-back victories at the Johnnie Walker Championship and European Masters.
- Anders Hansen was the only player in the top-10 in the Order of Merit that didn't win this year. That doesn't mean it was a bad season though. Hansen posted three seconds and two thirds in 22 events. The Dane remains winless since the 2009 Joburg Open, but he is continuously knocking on the door for sure.
BAD YEAR
- Nick Dougherty teed it up 32 times this season, but earned just $10,600 as he made just one cut. The three-time winner on the European Tour last won in 2009 at the BMW International Open. Since that victory, he has made the cut in just 23 of 70 starts.
- Jeppe Huldahl led the tour in starts with 35, but that didn't mean it was a lucrative year for the Dane. He made 10 cuts and earned over 131,000 euros. However, he ended 158th in the Order of Merit and did not retain his tour card for next year.
- Markus Brier, a two-time winner on tour, missed the cut in two of his last three starts and failed to keep his tour card for 2012 by 426 euros.
- Ross Fisher earned his fourth tour win in 2010, but failed to post a top- five finish in 24 starts this season.
- Keith Horne made 16 cuts in 33 events, but didn't have a single top-10 finish.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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