What they're saying at the Masters

Golf Betting Lines

04/06/2007 - Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first round at this year's Masters turned out to be one of the toughest in history. But as Augusta native Charles Howell III said, "I've never seen it easy out here."

Here's what some others were saying Thursday.

- DEAN WILSON, a first-timer, on what it's like:

"'Survivor.' It's really tough out there. Obviously the greens are very hard and fast. With them mowing the fairways backwards, it's long."

- BILLY MAYFAIR, on the glut of high scores:

"The golf course is winning right now. I expect it will probably win this week."

- TOM WATSON, two-time Masters champion, on the changes made to the course between the practice round and the first round:

"It was dramatic and it was wrong...They dressed it up around the tees. It's a little too fancy. I like having some freedom off the tees."

- GARY PLAYER, a three-time champion playing in his 50th Masters at age 71:

"This place has turned out to be one of the three toughest courses in the world (along with) Carnoustie and The Links in South Africa."

- SCOTT VERPLANK, on his 12th Masters appearance:

"Today, par is a good score...This is a long, hard golf course for me, but it's a lot of work. Every shot is on the edge."

- VAUGHN TAYLOR, an Augusta native playing in his second Masters:

"This time around it feels a little bit more normal, like a been-there-done- that type of thing. I've come here so many years as a spectator and I think that helps, just to be comfortable with the grounds and the feeling of the golf course. It's definitely easier this time around."

- JUSTIN ROSE, the first round co-leader, on what he'll do Thursday night:

"I'll probably watch a little bit of Little Britain DVDs, Ali G DVDs, just stuff to occupy [my] mind, really."

- PHIL MICKELSON, the 2004 and '06 champ, on his four-over 76:

"I don't feel I've driven myself out of it, as even par is going to be in the hunt tomorrow. If I get out and shoot a 68, I'll be right back in it."

- RICH BEEM, the 2002 PGA champion, on playing well in the first round:

"I'm taking 71 at Augusta National on Thursday afternoon. I'd certainly be in the mid 60s on a regular tour course, but who knows, who knows."

- ARNOLD PALMER, four-time Masters champion, on his roll as honorary starter:

"I was thinking back to...when I went to Wake Forest and I used to watch the Masters and think about coming here, and whoever thought that 60 years later, here we are."

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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