The Players Championship at Sawgrass in Ponta Vedra, FL started on Thursday afternoon, and plenty of questions surround the event.

The most notable is how Tiger Woods will do following his missing the cut with two brutal rounds of golf at the Quail Hollow Championship in his most recent appearance. Tiger’s most recent round of golf before coming to the TPC at Sawgrass was that woeful 79 at Quail Hollow in Round 2. Many felt as though Woods, who was only playing in his second event since returning to the course from his domestic disputes, was rusty and/or showing signs of decay in his game. However, no such rust was evident in the 2001 TPC champ in Round 1 on Thursday, as he shot two under par to finish the day four shots off of the pace.

That pace has been set by relative unknown J.B. Holmes and Robert Allenby, both of which fired -6 66s on the day. Holmes has only won on one golf course in his career on the PGA Tour, with that coming at the FBR Open. It’s a tournament that he has won twice, once in 2006 and once in 2008. Allenby, a veteran on the tour, hasn’t won an event since the 2001 Marconi Pennsylvania Classic. He has four career tour titles.

Eight golfers, including Kenny Perry, are tied at -5 for third place. There were 103 golfers that shot par or better on a day in which scores were very low at the TPC.

Phil Mickelson has an opportunity to become the #1 ranked golfer in the world if he can win this event, and he has gotten off to a great start as well, shooting a two under par to be tied with Tiger and a host of others in 37th position.

Last year’s champion of this event, Henrik Stenson shot a -3 69 to finish Round 1 in a great position just three shots off of the pace. There aren’t many multiple time winners at the TPC, as there are only five golfers that have ever pulled off the feat. Jack Nicklaus is the only man that has won three tournaments here at the TPC, while Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Davis Love III, and Hal Sutton are the others. Love shot -3 today and is the only multiple time winner that is playing in this event.

There are quite a few golfers that can join this elite list of multiple time winners at Sawgrass, including both Mickelson and Woods. 2006 champion Sergio Garcia went -3 on the day, while ’06 winner Stephen Ames is at -2 through 18 holes.

No matter who you plan on backing for your PGA Tour betting action at the TPC at Sawgrass, keep it locked to JustBet Sportsbook for all of the overnight lines prior to each day’s festivities.

It was an awkward week of sports betting action, as the start of the baseball betting season continued to cross with red hot sporting events on the ice, hardwood, and links. Here’s what we’re ranting about this week at Bankroll Sports!

Rap Sheet Picture of the Week
New York Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist, who was the losing goalie in Sunday’s elimination game for the final slot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Tiger Woods is really getting under my skin right now, and for various reasons. Not only am I irked that the entire PGA Tour betting event this week at the Masters was covered by Tiger this and Tiger that, but I also hate how everyone said that Woods couldn’t figure out how to put this together after taking six months away from the Tour. He’s still Tiger Freaking Woods. No, Tiger didn’t win it on Sunday, but he sure had his dramatic moments to finish just a few shots behind and with yet another Top 10 finish in a major. That being said, I’m still ticked that everyone spent so much time talking about Tiger that there were two stories that just totally went under the radar. Good thing that Phil Mickelson won the event, or no one would’ve ever remembered the name of the winner. I mean really… why not just give Tiger the Green Jacket, too? After all, he was the center of this whole ordeal these past four days, right? And why no love for 16-year old Matteo Manassero, who made the cut and finished at +4 for the tournament? If this kid can finish +4 at the age of 16 and make the Masters cut, maybe there’s another Tiger Woods on our hands that we’ll be discussing in a few years.

A week into MLB betting action and we already have a little bit of history… and not the good kind either. How’s about allowing a whopping 13 runs in an inning? Nice job, Pittsburgh Pirates. The 13 run outburst featured eight hits, four walks, three homers (one of which was to Edwin Jackson, the pitcher, who spent the last couple seasons in the American League), a triple, and a tad bit of miserable fielding to boot. It took three pitchers to get through the frame for the Bucs, as Darren McCutchen, Hayden Penn, and Jack Taschner were all used and all touched up. If you’re interested, through one week of play, McCutchen has an ERA of 24.30 and Penn has one of 30.86. Stellar ball, guys. Stellar.

Let’s take a stab at the Boston Celtics as well. Just a week after watching the San Antonio Spurs get destroyed by the New Jersey Nets, the C’s pulled off one just as sharp. In the fight for the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference, they were knocked off by the lowly Washington Wizards on their home court 106-96. Even more embarrassing was the fact that they put up 42 points in the 4th quarter and still were beaten and beaten badly. The Wiz outscored Boston 52-31 in a very uninspired first half of ball. Over their L/52 games, the Celtics are only 27-25 after starting 18 games over .500 over the first couple months of the year. That won’t cut it in the playoffs, that’s for sure.

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At the Bottom of this Post is the List of Odds to Win the 2009 PGA Championship

The PGA Tour will make their stop at Hazeltine National Golf Club this Thursday for the final major golf event of the year at the PGA Championship. Located in Chaska, Minnesota, Hazeltine has hosted prior major golfing events including the 2002 PGA Championship. Rich Beem took home the title in that event in his only major victory holding off a strong charge from Tiger Woods in the final round. Hazeltine Golf Course will have a different look when the best players in the world roll back into town. The course which was already monstrous in length has been stretched out even more since 2002 and has also added plenty more bunkers making the course more challenging. The course will play at an insane 7,674 yards for this year’s PGA Championship making it the longest major in PGA history. The course’s tremendous length will include 3 different Par 5 holes over 600 yards. The course will not only be extremely long, but it also has very narrow fairways making it very difficult for competitors. Hazeltine will put every golfer to the extreme test demanding length and accuracy. To compete for the win at this year’s PGA Championship, players must be at the best in every aspect of their game.

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Of course everybody’s favorite to nearly every golf event is Tiger Woods. However, Woods has yet to score a major victory this year. If Woods does not win this week, it would be the first time since 2004 that Woods did not score a major championship during the year. Golf’s biggest superstar has played superb leading up to the majors this year winning an event two weeks before each of the 4 majors this season. Woods latest accomplishment come by victory at the Buick Open and is also in contention this weekend again at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. However, the question is will Woods be able to carry that momentum to Hazeltine? Despite not contending at the previous majors this year, Woods is always a threat any time he tees it up and will enter the event as a +200 favorite to win the PGA Championship. Other notable contenders that many will have their eyes on are last year’s PGA Championship winner Padraig Harrington. Harrington actually leads the Bridgestone Invitational heading into the final round and his golf swing has been slowly coming around since the swing change. At one time this season, Harrington had missed 4 out of 5 straight cuts including the U.S Open. However, this week’s performance will have bring a lot of attention back to the defending champion as he stands at a +3000 long shot.

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Phil Mickelson had to take some time off and missed out on the British Open due to his wife battling breast cancer. Mickelson has returned to action, but his game seems to show the time off as his has not been at his best. Mickelson normally would be one of the favorites considering his ability to hit the long ball and premier accuracy. However considering how much “lefty” has had on his plate over the past few weeks, I don’t see the sentimental favorite doing much good this week. Mickelson will enter the event at +1500 odds to win at Hazeltine. Stewart Cink captured his first major tournament title by defeating the legendary Tom Watson in a 5 holes playoff at the British Open. Cink has played very well over the last few weeks finishing in the top 30 in 6 of his last 7 outings. Eyes will be on Cink to see if he can continue his impressive play and show that the British Open was not just a one hit wonder. Cink will be tremendous underdog receiving +5000 odds to win the tournament.

The longer hitters who are able to keep it in the fairway will definitely have an advantage will they tee it up at Hazeltine. Some of those long hitters to keep on your radar include Anthony Kim, Paul Casey, and even Sergio Garcia. Garcia has long waited for his first major championship and this could be a course that suits him well. The Spaniard earned a top 10 finish at the U.S Open and has played solid all season. Garcia is one of the longer hitters on tour despite struggling with accuracy issues over the past few years. Garcia enters as a +2500 odds to win. Anthony Kim is a youngster who is destined for success in the near future. After going heel to heel with Tiger Woods at the AT&T Invitational, Kim has continued to play well with a 3rd place finish at the Canadian Open. Kim who is another strong hitter should do very well this coming week. Kim will hold as a +3000 underdog to win. Paul Casey has been a guy we have kept our eyes on all year. Casey has played solid, but has yet to capture the breakout win we have expected. Casey will look to change that this week as he is another +3000 underdog.

One of the biggest names that you may not hear in the days leading up to the PGA Championship is David Toms, but he is a person who we think has a terrific shot this coming week. Toms is our dark horse pick considering he leads the PGA Tour in driving accuracy and can also has plenty of length with the package as well. Toms has not posted any wins in 2009, but has resulted in 3 different runner-up finishes. Toms who is an experienced former major champion has all the tools to make a run at this year’s PGA Championship at wonder +5000 odds to consider. What holds in store over the next few days? Well time will only tell, but we may be on the verge of another great story in golf. Will elder veterans make a run at the PGA Championship similar to how Tom Watson defied age at the British Open or will it be a new young face to take home the crown? One thing that is for sure is there will be plenty of hungry competitors ready to step their way into the spot light at Hazeltine National Golf Club as we anticipate the start of the 2009 PGA Championship.

Current 2009 PGA Championship Odds From BetUS Sortsbook:
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PGA Championship Tournament Matchup Odds From Sportsbook.com:
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At The Bottom of This Post is The Full List of Odds to Win the 2009 British Open

The PGA Tour will host the 3rd Major of the season starting this Thursday at the British Open. The spectacular links event will take place at Turnberry on the Ailsa Course in Turnberry, Scotland. The British Open has long been the oldest and most traditional major sporting event in the world. Dating back to the 1860s, the British Open has long held its reign as one of golf’s most prestigious events. The winner receives the infamous Claret Jug that has all the previous winners inscribed in the trophy. Padraig Harrington has won the last two British Opens and has the chance to become only the 2nd player in history to win 3 straight Open events. However, Harrington will have to hold off Tiger Woods and a hungry field of competitors all playing for one of golf’s most historic prizes.

Turnberry has hosted 3 previous British Opens over the last 30 years dating back to the first event in 1977. Tom Watson won that event posting 12 under par. Turnberry hosted two more events in 1986 and 1994. The two other winners included Greg Norman who shot even par back in 86 and Nick Price who also posted a 12 under in the most recent visit in 1994. The course has received a bad reputation for not being as challenging as other British Open courses. However, the course has received an upgrade in difficult over the last few years. The par 70 course has been added with 21 new bunkers and extended around 300 yards. The course now measures out at 7204 yards which is fairly lengthy for a par 70 style course. However to win at Turnberry, players do not have to hit bombing 350 yard drives. Instead the course is rewarding to good decision making and smart shots. Basically meaning that their will be plenty of competitors who will be in contention this weekend.

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Leading favorite Tiger Woods will seek his 4th Claret Jug and his first major victory of the season. Woods is no stranger to being a favorite at the majors, but has surprisingly yet to play extremely well in any major this year. Woods won the AT&T National just two weeks ago and will be riding momentum into the event. Woods has won every event this season (3) last player before a major this year. However, the results have yet to stick with him into the majors. Woods is a +200 favorite to win the event and we will give you a few reasons why this major could be different than the others this season. The main reason Tiger is rightfully such a big candidate to win this coming weekend, is he appeared to be a totally different golfer at the AT&T National. Unlike his other two wins where he blistered a final round 65 at the Memorial or grinded out a 5 under victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods was in complete control of his golf swing at the AT&T National. Woods placed shots where ever he wanted controlling his aggressiveness when only he needed. That type of control with his shots will be vital at Turnberry. Also, the Ailsa course has long rewarded great putting. If you have followed Woods over the years, then perhaps you know that no other golfer stands a chance if he gets the flat stick rolling. It’s easy to pick Woods as a winner, but we have warned you before taking bets on him in events so far this season. However, it looks like the pieces are starting to fall into place with his swing for the first time back from knee surgery.

Outside of Tiger, most would agree Padraig Harrington should have a great opportunity this weekend. Despite poor playing this season, Harrington has been tremendous in the Open Events. Surprisingly, the odds indicate how Harrington has been playing and he is a huge +3000 underdog. That may be just worth the smallest of bets heading into this Thursday. Phil Mickelson will not be playing in the event. Mickelson who is always a big name to bet on in the majors will miss the event as he will be with his wife who is trying to recover from breast cancer surgery. Anthony Kim stringed together some strong rounds of golf at the AT&T National. Kim was tied with Tiger going into the final round before losing his composure on Sunday. However, Kim is loaded with talent making him a promising figure in golf’s future. Kim will be a +2500 long shot at the Open Championship.

Other talented golfers who are bound to score big victories in the near future include Englishman Paul Casey. Casey has won 3 events this season once on the US Tour and twice more on the European Tour. Casey is ranked 11th on the money list this season even though he has kind of fell of the radar over the last few weeks after missing cuts at the AT&T and US Open. Casey will also be receiving +2500 odds to win the event. Other names to watch out for include David Duvall. That’s right Duvall made his presence felt at the U.S Open finishing tied for 2nd only 2 shots off the win. The turnaround in Duval’s career has been remarkable to watch, but he is swinging the club very nicely heading into the event. If there is any player in the field that is dangerous when swinging confidently it is David Duval. Ricky Barnes is another youngster to consider this weekend. After coming off his best major finish in history tied for 2nd place, Barnes is ranked 5th in putting on tour in 2009. Considering how vital putting will be this weekend, Barnes could make another strong run at victory. Finally one last veteran to have on your radar this weekend is 54 year old Greg Norman. As crazy as it may sound, Norman plays as well as anyone on the open links courses. Norman finished 3rd at last year’s British Open proving he can still contend with the youngsters on Tour. Norman won this exact event at Turnberry back in 1986 and at amazing +20000 odds he is definitely worth a small wager for the most unexpected of winners at the 2009 British Open.

Current odds to win the British Open From BetUS:
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Current matchup odds for the 2009 British Open From Sportsbook.com: