Golf Tidbits: Why golf is a gentleman's sport

Golf Betting Lines

11/20/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every sport has its rules. How often people break them depends on the sport. How frequently people call themselves for breaking said rules is a different story.

Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire all had a chance to admit to authorities that they used some sort of performance-enhancing drug, but none did so.

Offensive linemen in the NFL could be called for holding on every play. When was the last time a player told a referee he held someone? Never, and don't hold your breath waiting for it.

In the NHL and NBA, players that get called for penalties or fouls sometimes look like they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Who me? I didn't do anything!

None of those leagues can be confused with the PGA Tour, or golf in general, where players police themselves and penalize themselves even when millions of dollars are on the line.

Roberto de Vicenzo is famous for signing an incorrect scorecard at the Masters costing himself a chance at the title. Afterwards, he said, "What a stupid I am!"

Recently, at the second stage of the PGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament, J.P. Hayes turned himself in for playing the wrong ball.

Sure, that doesn't seem like much, but you must start and finish rounds using the same type of golf ball. Well, Hayes was playing a Titleist and his caddie did not realize there were two different types of Titleist in Hayes' bag.

Hayes asked for a new ball on the tee at a par three, and played away. After his tee shot and following chip, Hayes marked his ball and picked up it.

Immediately, he realized the difference in the ball and called a penalty on himself. After consulting an official, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty.

End of story, right? Not so fast my friend!

After playing another round and thinking about it some more, Hayes realized the ball was a prototype and may be non-conforming or not on the list of approved golf balls as posted by the United States Golf Association.

The 43-year-old called an official after realizing this and was told that officials would touch base with Titleist the following day.

At that point, he figured he would be disqualified. And he was right.

Disqualified from the second stage at Q-School, Hayes will have to rely on his Past Champion/Veteran Member status and hope to get into a few more events via sponsor exemptions.

You may think, who cares? The PGA Tour will have purses totaling nearly $223 million in 2009. Toss an extra $28 million or so on there for the majors, and PGA Tour players will be competing for over $250 million next year.

One might think that all PGA Tour players are millionaires since 104 players did earn over $1 million in 2008. But that isn't the case.

Hayes has made over $7 million during his 14-year career. Given today's economic climate, the more than $500,000 a year he averages is great, but it doesn't guarantee him a job anymore.

He would have needed to earn just under $853,000 in '08 to keep his card, but 'only' made $312,152. So calling this penalty on himself could cost him hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

His response as told to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "It's not the end of the world. It will be fine. It is fine."

Golf still is, and continues to be a gentleman's game.

GREGORY'S INSPIRATIONAL STORY WRAPS UP

Throughout the 2008 season, fans may have seen a man walking the course with the aid of a cane. That man, D.J. Gregory, was born with cerebral palsy.

Through 45 weeks, Gregory traveled to 44 events and walked all 72 holes at every event. He chose a different golfer every week and followed that player all week.

Gregory blogged about his experience on PGATour.com, revealing that he walked 988 miles over 3,256 holes. Oh, and he fell 29 times. Remember, he has cerebral palsy.

As I said, you can read his blog on the PGA Tour's website. Or, if you want to watch highlights of his story, ESPN's E:60 did a feature piece on him this week. The video can be found on both ESPN and the PGA Tour's websites.

At the end of his journey, which was completed at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, several players waited for Gregory behind the 18th green to congratulate him on his travels and work.

Kenny Perry told ESPN producers this, "How can you see a kid struggle around the golf course, and then you're out there complaining about playing golf? It just really changed my perspective about my life and about my golf game and about what I was doing."

MINI-TIDBITS

- The proof is in the numbers. The old adage of "drive for show and putt for dough" is real, at least according to numbers released by the PGA Tour earlier this week. In 2008, Jason Gore became the sixth player in the last seven years to lead the tour in total driving (distance and accuracy combined) and still finish outside the top 125 on the money list.

- Furthering that note, if you combine the PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tours, 16 players who led the field in putting went on to win, while only two players to lead in driving distance were winners.

- Winning on the Nationwide Tour does not guarantee you a PGA Tour card for the following season. That was evident this year, as eight players who didn't win finished inside the top 25 to earn their PGA Tour cards, while eight players who did win failed to earn their PGA Tour cards for next year.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.