As the month of August approaches – it’s time to start thinking about the US Open Championship. This is not the tennis version of the US Open, but it’s on the golf course. The 2011 version of the US Open will take place at the Atlanta Athletic Club – Highlands Course. This is one of the four major tournaments that take place as part of the PGA tour. The first US Open took place in 1894. During that year, the event was for all amateurs. Let’s take a look at a few of the top golfers for the 2011 US Open. These odds are brought to us courtesy of Centrebet.

Phil Mickelson 10.00 – Bookmakers love the veteran “lefty”. Mickleson is 41 years old, from California. Mickelson won the Shell Houston Open back in April, and then finished in the Top-Ten at the 2011 Open Championship. Lefty has the ability to win this thing, but we are picking he will contend, but fall in the final day – but still remain in the Top five.

Rory McIlroy 11.00 – The 22 year old golfer from Ireland is the pick to click for many golf fans. McIlroy has shown the ability to compete at the top, and has a sweet swing. McIlroy won the 2011 US Open, but has never finished better than third in the US Open Championship. McIlroy is going to be there all the way until the end. Look for McIlory to compete for the title, and if he doesn’t win it – second place is his.

Lee Westwood 15.00 – Lee Westwood is one of the very few golfers in the world that has won an event on every major continent. Westwood is 38 years old and has been a professional golfer since 1996. In 2010, Westwood finished second at the Masters. Look for Westwood to hang around, but fall short in the end.

Luke Donald 17.00 - Luke Donald is 33 years old, and currently is ranked the top golfer in the world. Donald won the Barclay’s Scottish Open, as he went 9 under on the final day. Donald has 10 professional wins in his career. Look for Donald to struggle a bit early, and not be able to find his way back into serious contention.

Tiger Woods 17.00 - The 6’1 golfer from Cypress California has went through alot in the last couple years. Woods has been out of golf, for personal reasons, and then an injury. Woods is still the best golfer in the world, but whether he can put it all together for a weekend – we do not know. Woods can kill the ball, and has had a history of playing very well in this event. We expect Woods to get off to a slow start, but heat up in the final days to come away with another epic US Open title.

Jason Day 21.00 – Jason Day is not a bad pick, if you are looking for something a little less common. Day is just a 23 year old from Australia. Day finished tied in second in the 2011 Masters, and has one PGA title to his name. Back in May of 2010 Day won the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Day seems to stay steady throughout an event, so look for him to be near the top.

Our pick: We may be crazy with our pick, but we are going to go with the biggest story the media would enjoy. We are going to pick Tiger Woods to win the 2011 US PGA Open Championship. Tiger Woods has the fourth best odds at 17.00 to win the event. If Woods faulters, we like Rory McIlroy at 11.00.

Once again, be sure to check out the 2011 US PGA Open Championship odds, and all your golfing odds at Centrebet! 

In what is expected by be a great event, this weekend the US Open will take place. The US Open is the longest standing golf tourmanent in the United States, and showcases the best golfers in the world. It is one of the big five tournaments that takes place in the PGA each year. The Masters has already been played with the Open Championship, the PGA Championship and the Presidents Cup still to be played. The event starts in the evening on Thursday June 16th, 2011 in Australia, which is bright and early for those in the United States. The first group to tee off is Matt Kuchar, K.J. Choi and Paul Casey. The course that is being used for the US Open is called “Congressional”. Tiger Woods is not playing in the US Open due to an injury. Here are a few players that are the favorites coming into the US Open event:

Luke Donald - Luke has been the number 1 overall player, according to the pay-outs. Donald has been very consistent, but his problem is, he does not fare well on long courses. Congressional has a tendency to bring this flaw out in players. Look for Luke to really try to crank it up off the tie. He is 10-1 favorite to win the US Open.

Lee Westwood - Westwood is also listed as a 10/1 favorite. Westwood has been known to have leads late in the event, and struggle on the final day. Just the opposite happened last week in the St. Jude Classic, as his 66 in the final round was not enough to save him from his first three day struggles. Westwood will need to be more consistent to win the 2011 US Open.

Phil Mickleson - Everytime you talk contender, you put Phil’s name in the mix. He is listed at 12-1 favorite, and right now he is just playing average golf. He won an event in April, but since then has just finished in the Top Ten three times. Mickleson has been working on his swing, in an attempt to have his game at top notch for the event.

Rory Mcllroy - Rory is listed 15 to 1, but do not count him out. Mcllroy has been in the mix in many of the top events, the question mark with him is his composure late in events. Mcllroy will benefit from the long course, as he is one of the top hitters in the game.

Dustin Johnson - Dustin was leading the event last year, until a final day collapse. Odds makers have listed Johnson at 25-1 to win the event this season. Johnson is another guy that can hit it a mile, which could give him an advantage at Congressional.

Other names to not count out:Martin Kaymer – 25/1
Nick Watney – 25/1
Hunter Mahan – 25/1
Matt Kuchar – 25/1
Steve Stricker – 25/1
K.J. Choi – 30/1
Bubba Watson -40/1

Online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au has refunded all bets on Tiger Woods for The Players Championship after the former world number one withdrew after completing just nine holes due to injury.

The bookie is refunding all bets on Tiger to win the Sawgrass tournament, as well as any bets on Woods in the Top 10, Top 25, Top US Player, to make and to miss the cut, day one three-balls, as well as group and head to head markets.

“Punters shouldn’t be left caught in the rough when their man only gets through nine of 72 holes, so we’re more than happy to refund all bets on Tiger,” sportsbet.com.au’s Haydn Lane said.

“In saying that, he had a terrible start to the tournament so no doubt punters who backed him are thankful for the reprieve!”

2011 Masters Golf Tournament – Augusta, Georgia

• Date: April 08 – 11
• Event: The 2011 Masters
• Course: Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia
• Purse: $7,500,000
• Defending Champ: Phil Mickelson
• Winning Share: $1,350,000

This is the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. People know about the history of this tourney. Golfers like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer come to mind along with the green jacket that goes to the winner. Players dream of wearing this coveted green jacket. The course is also a lush green and is played well by the golfers that putt well.

Let’s preview some of the top golfers and their odds to win and then add a few players you may want to consider throwing a small bet down on at Centrebet.

Phil Mickelson- Mickelson comes of a win last week and will draw a lot of attention with the better. He is listed as 5/1 but there is probably a better way to spend your money than on Mickelson.

Martin Kaymer- Currently the world’s top golfer and one championship to his name it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him with the jacket. The odds here are 20/1 and you could make a good ittle profit on this one. This is my second best bet to win it all.

Lee Westwood- One thing to his resume is he finishes as a runner up in two of the three majors last year. Also 20/1 odds but just a ok to come out the winner in this years Masters.

Nick Watney- In his six events this year he has finished in the top ten five times and has one win. Watney finished seventh last year in the Masters.

Graeme McDowell- He has three top ten finishes but hasn’t been particularly awesome lately. Keep your eye focused on the Irishman as he can handle the heat of a prestigious tournament. Graeme is our pick to win and has great value at 40/1.

Other golfers you need keep an eye on are listed below and their odds:

• Paul Casey- good resume can sneak in and win at 30/1 odds for your bet.
• Justin Rose- Hungry and young and a 30/1 odds.
• Matt Kuchar- struggling but may figure it out at 25/1.
• Tiger Woods- what has he done lately? We know his past. I know 7/1 but when they going to learn.

Below is the full set of odds for this weeks Masters event.  Try out CentreBet if you are wanting to bet on the 2011 Masters.

• Phil Mickelson 5/1
• Tiger Woods 7/1
• Nick Watney 15/1
• Bubba Watson 20/1
• Lee Westwood 20/1
• Dustin Johnson 20/1
• Rory McIlroy 20/1
• Martin Kaymer 20/1
• Hunter Mahan 25/1
• Matt Kuchar 25/1
• Luke Donald 25/1
• Anthony Kim 30/1
• Justin Rose 30/1
• Paul Casey 30/1
• Aaron Baddeley 40/1
• Graeme McDowell 40/1
• Steve Stricker 40/1
• Padraig Harrington 40/1
• KJ Choi 50/1
• Ian Poulter 50/1
• Rickie Fowler 50/1
• Adam Scott 60/1
• Sergio Garcia 60/1
• Rory Sabbatini 60/1
• Geoff Ogilvy 60/1
• Jim Furyk 60/1
• Retief Goosen 60/1
• Brandt Snedeker 80/1
• Vijay Singh 80/1

Top European

1u ew Justin Rose @ 9.0 (General)
0.5u ew Matteo Manassero @ 15.0 (Bet365)

The very best way of getting with a couple of those selections is to back JUSTIN ROSE and MATTEO MANASSERO in the ‘Top European‘ market. There are 13 Europeans in the field, including four rank outsiders who I’m happy to overlook altogether. The other nine also include Peter Hanson, who was poor at Doral and has no Florida credentials, and Sergio Garcia, whose best from two previous visits was just 41st. To be fair Garcia did show hints of his best during the Gulf Swing, but he remains a player with plenty of question marks against him.

If we can indeed write off those six, there must be some each-way value amongst the other seven. Especially when Martin Kaymer is a prohibitively short priced favourite, therefore pushing everyone else’s odds out. Kaymer was really disappointing over the weekend, so is hardly a certain contender on his Copperhead debut. It would be possible to engineer some sort of case for any of the remaining six candidates – apart from our pair, that’s Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington, Martin Laird and yesterday’s 100/1 pick Carl Pettersson. However as explained yesterday, Rose and Manassero are selected as the best for this course.

72-hole match bets

2.5u Stephen Ames (vs Sabbatini)

Comfortably the best match bet of the week is STEPHEN AMES, who was third in Sunday’s Puerto Rico Open, to beat Rory Sabbatini, who won the previous week’s event. Their respective course records are leagues apart. Ames has never missed a cut in seven visits to Copperhead, including a couple of top-tens and the last two top-20s. On the other hand, Sabbatini has never made the top-60 in six tries.

2u Paul Casey (vs Ogilvy)

Trying to predict Geoff Ogilvy’s recent performances has been a nightmare. When he’s been faced with courses where he’s always struggled, Geoff played better than usual, albeit off the pace. But when presented with somewhere like Doral, where he’s won before and is ideally suited, Ogilvy’s golf was poor.

Clearly he is struggling for consistency, which certainly cannot be said about PAUL CASEY, who must rate a very strong favourite for this match-up. Apart from a missed cut at the Qatar Masters, where he always seems to struggle for some reason, Paul hasn’t missed a top-25 since last July.

Betting markets for the 2011 Transitions Championship are now available at Sportsbet.com.au and Sportingbet.com.au. Alternatively – many of the best bets mentioned here by Champion Picks can be bet on at the Bet365 bookmaker.

Today’s golf betting tips article has been provided to us by our friends at Champion Picks. Make an account at ChampionPicks.com.au and receive a 20% discount by entering the promotion code AG20.

This stop on the PGA tour will take place in Doral, Florida at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa from March 11-14, 2011. This is a relatively new tournament as it started in 1999. Tiger Woods has won this event 6 times since its inception. He holds the tournament record with a -25 in 2002. Tiger is currently 12/1 to win this tournament that has escaped him since 2007.

Phil Mickelson is 17/1 to win as he holds the #5 ranked golfer in the world. Lefty is playing well in all phases of the game and always has a chance to win. Graeme McDowell has never played well at this event but he is the #6 ranked player on the tour and certainly capable to win this event. McDowell is 15/1 odds from Centrebet to win.

Martin Kaymer is the #1 ranked golfer in the world and he has the best odds to win the World Golf Championship. Most of Kaymer’s wins have been in outside of the United States. He is a worthy player at 8/1 odds courtesy of Centrebet and finished 3^rd in this event last year. He is the most consistent player.

Allow me to point a few sleepers for this event to help maximize your bet.

Odds from Centrebet to Win Cadillac Championship (as of 3/8/11):

Martin Kaymer 8 to 1

Tiger Woods 10 to 1

Phil Mickelson 15 to 1

Graeme McDowell 15 to 1

Lee Westwood 20 to 1

Nick Watney 20 to 1

Paul Casey 25 to 1

Luke Donald 20 to 1 Good bet

Matt Kuchar 25 to 1 Good bet

Rory McIlroy 25 to 1

Alvaro Quiros 25 to 1

Charl Schwartzel 25 to 1

Bill Haas 30 to 1

Dustin Johnson 30 to 1

Geoff Ogilvy 30 to 1

Vijay Singh 35 to 1

Hunter Mahan 35 to 1

Steve Stricker 35 to 1 Very good bet

Bubba Watson 35 to 1

YE Yang 35 to 1

Jim Furyk 40 to 1

Ernie Els 40 to 1

These three listed below are our BEST VALUE golfers to win the WGC.

Ryan Palmer 100 to 1

Camilo Villegas 100 to 1

DA Points 125 to 1

 

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona will be the site for the 2011 Accenture Match Play Championship. They are vying for the Walter Hagen Cup and this takes place February 23-27, 2011. Let’s preview the Top 4 seeds in each division and then check the odds courtesy of Sportingbet before we give our expert pick.

The number one seeds are Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson. Mickelson has never gotten by the 3rd round in this event and Westwood has never advanced past the second round. Kaymer is a solid match player and is a top seed for the second straight year. Tiger Woods comes in as a 3-time winner but hasn’t had much success recently.

The number two seeds have Martin Graeme as the most interesting of them. He loves this format and played well in the Ryder Cup last year. Paul Casey has finished second two years in a row and is a good bet in 2011. Rory McIlroy enters this as his first event in the USA this year and Steve Stricker as a number two hasn’t performed well in match play as he is 3-5 at it

Moving to the number three seeds we find Jim Furyk with a 9-10 match play record, Luke Donald who has never gone beyond the third round in Match Play. Ernie Els hasn’t sniffed even the semifinals since 2001 and Ian Poulter has a win here in past years.

Rounding out the seeds we have Matt Kuchar at a number 4. Kuchar plays golf well but got beat by Poulter last year in the Ryder Cup. Dustin Johnson enters but seems to lose to players he shouldn’t lose to. Retief Goosen at number 4 reached the quarterfinals last year and Robert Karlsson sits with a record of 1-5 in this event.
Those are the Top 16 ranked players in this event.

Let’s check Sportingbet for the odds for some of the players that we suggest you may wish to bet for Match Play.

• Tiger Woods 12/1
• Martin Kaymer 14/1
• Paul Casey 14/1
• Rory McIlroy 16/1
• Phil Mickelson 16/1
• Lee Westwood 20/1
• Graeme McDowell 22/1   BEST BET!
• Dustin Johnson 25/1
• Ian Poulter 25/1
• Geoff Ogilvy 25/1
• Luke Donald 28/1
• Nick Watney 28/1   Decent bet.
• Steve Stricker 28/1
• Alvaro Quiros 33/1   Good bet.
• Ernie Els 33/1
• Hunter Mahan 33/1
• Matt Kuchar 33/1
• Retief Goosen 33/1
• Jim Furyk 40/1 Rickie Fowler 40/1   Sleeper bet.

• Bill Haas 50/1
• Justin Rose 50/1   Very good bet.
• Tim Clark 50/1   Very good bet.
• Ryan Palmer 80/1  Good bet has a chance.
Be sure to get your bets in from our expert picks courtesy of odds from Sportingbet.

The 2011 PGA Tour rolls into Pacific Palisades, California for the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club. The defending champion is Steve Stricker, however, Phil Mickelson will enter as the favorite for this tournament.

Let’s check the odds courtesy of Sportingbet and make a few predictions for this prestigious event.

• Phil Mickelson- he ranks fourth in the world and has been playing some outstanding golf. He is coming off two top 10 finishes this season and he is a two-time former winner of the Northern Trust Open (2008, 2009). His Sportingbet odds are 8/1 and a likely candidate to win this week.
• Steve Stricker- currently ranked eighth in the rankings and also has two top 10 finishes in 2011. As defending champion his odds are 12/1. Stricker is a solid bet.
• Matt Kuchar – Matt has finished at least seventh or better in every event he has started this season. He has great ability to make a putt and this could drive him to the winners circle at Riviera. His odds are 20/1 and until he cools off is a decent bet.
• Some former winners that warrant a look to win are Ernie Els (1999) at 28/1, Mike Weir (2003, 2004) has field odds at 10/1 and Charles Howell III (2007) at 50/1 odds. They have the experience to win and can’t discount their presence.

From a solid pick standpoint we give you Bubba Watson. Bubba leads the tour in ball striking and driving distance and is currently third in greens. Watson has the type of ability to play well on this course and we like his 40/1 to make a good return on your bet.

Two other sleepers for your betting pleasure are Bill Haas and Hunter Mahan. Haas did not fare well in his last tournament but he ninth in birdies and seventh in hitting the greens and that formula can make for success at the Northern Trust Open. Haas is 40/1 from Sportingbet and one to consider a bet. Mahan comes in at 20/1 and many feel the time is right for this youngster to put it together at this tour stop.

Last weeks’ winner at Pebbles Beach, D.A. Points, is listed at 60/1 and if he continues hot he is a great return on your investment.  Here are a few more odds from Sportingbet that may have some value to consider.

• Anthony Kim 30-1
• Dustin Johnson 15-1
• Fred Couples 125-1
• Geoff Ogilvy 40-1
• KJ Choi 60-1
• Jhonattan Vegas 60-1
• Justin Rose 40-1
• Stewart Cink 100-1
• Vijay Singh 50-1
• Jim Furyk 30-1
• Jonathan Byrd 60-1
• Robert Allenby 50-1
• Robert Karlsson 40-1
• Rory Sabbatini 60-1
• Steve Marino 50-1
• Martin Laird 60-1
• Padraig Harrington 40-1

The betting for this tournament kicks off in about half an hour so in an attempt to publish on time for punters, we’ll make this short and sweet. it’ll be an entertaining tournament with the likes of Kaymer, Westwood, Jiminez, Casey, Stricker, Goosen and Garcia all playing in this tournament.

Qatar Masters Betting Tip 2011

Lee Westwood is definitely our best bet of this tournament. He is fighting off pressure from Martin Kaymer who is challenging him for the world #1 ranking. He is quoted as saying “It’s a golf course that suits me down to the ground” and “when you get rough like you do in Doha, it is a good driver’s golf course so I would expect it to suit me.”

Sportsbet Australia have Lee Westwood to win the tournament @ $9.00 which I think provides punters with excellent value here. If you are more risk adverse, then the $1.70 for a top 10 finish is well on the cards.

Best Value Bet in the 2011 Qatar Masters

Going on form lines in this tournament you can’t go past Henrik Stenson. He has won this tournament before and also had three 2nd place finishes. At $31.00 at Sportsbet this is betting value at its best. You have a guy with a proven track record in this tournament being successful multiple times.

Again for the more risk adverse punters, you can get on Stenson @ $3.75 for a top 10 finish – a bet that I’m personally taking.

Now off to the online bookmakers – the Qatar Masters 2011 is about to tee off!

The Waste Management Phoenix Open takes place this week in Phoenix, Arizona. Many observers find this PGA stop as the party place during the year. They expect over 500,000 fans to fill the gallery for this event. Winner of the event will win $1,080,000 out of the $6.5M purse.

One of the unique things to watch for is the floating golf balls in the water near the 18th hole. It has 140,000 golf balls that have been collected from golf courses around the state and they are in the design that says Waste Management. The fun hole at this event is the 16th hole that has tents where the fans can buy alcoholic drinks and food. It has been noted that some golfers refuse to play this event because fans will jeer at them as they play this hole. Let’s preview some of the top players and a few darhorses and reveal the odds courtesy of Centrebet.

Hunter Mahan returns to defend his crown from a one-stroke win in the Phoenix Open in 2010. Phil Mickelson will be the only Top Ten ranked player to participate this year. He is currently has 7/2 odds to win. Phil played well last time out after not doing well in the Bob Hope Classic. Bubba Watson is 12/1 to win after he won last weeks PGA event. He would be a good bet in this golf tourney.

Our prediction for the best bet is Ricky Fowler. Fowler was runner-up last year in this event and plays this course on a regular basis. Watch out for Bill Haas and his 12/1 betting odds. Outside of Mickelson, Watson, Fowler and Haas our prediction for good bets from Centrebet are as follows:

Jhonattan Vegas 16/1

Brandt Snedeker 20/1

Jonathan Byrd 20/1

Vijay Singh 25/1

Robert Allenby 25/1

Rory Sabbatini 40/1