British Open Championship Hole-By-Hole Preview
Golf Betting Lines
07/14/2010 -
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
HOLE ONE - Par 4 - 376 yards: On the opening day of the Millennium Open this
seemingly benign hole was rated the second most difficult on the course. A
total of 36 players scored bogey or double-bogey against 15 birdies. The
Swilcan Burn that curls down the right side of the fairway and across the face
of the green is the cause of the problems. Unless the wind blows strongly from
the west the approach is seldom more than a wedge and players should avoid the
temptation to attack any pin position close to the front.
HOLE TWO - Par 4 - 453 yards: A new tee added 40 yards to this hole for the
2005 Open and brought Cheape's bunker on the left back into play at just over
300 yards. Championship pin positions are often found on the high left side of
the green beyond a sharp ridge that can throw the ball left into a deep bunker
or right towards the lower level of the green.
HOLE THREE - Par 4 - 397 yards: The ideal tee shot line hugs the right side,
but the edge of the fairway is littered with pot bunkers and small gorse
bushes. Crescent-shaped Cartgate bunker eats into the left side of the green
and the putting surface falls away from a high left side.
HOLE FOUR - Par 4 - 480 yards: There are two choices from the tee: straight at
the flag down a narrow strip of fairway hemmed in by dunes and gorse, or over
the mounds on the left where the fairway opens out to merge with the 15th
hole. But the further left the tee shot the more difficult the approach with a
bunker on the left and the green sloping away to the right.
HOLE FIVE - Par 5 - 568 yards: The easiest hole on the course during most
championships at St Andrews, reachable in two for today's professionals if the
tee shot avoids the clutch of seven bunkers on the right between 270 and 320
yards. Fairway contours and the prevailing westerly wind gather the ball
towards these traps and the aiming point is well to the left. The sheer size
of the green - 92 yards from front to back - can frustrate many birdie
chances.
HOLE SIX - Par 4 - 412 yards: Bunkers left and right are completely hidden
from the tee as the hole drops to a lower level beyond a long, gorse-covered
ridge. Shorter hitters will have to tiptoe their way through this minefield,
but the power players will likely carry the ball beyond danger - unless the
wind is strong out of the north-west. A ridge and hollow across the front of
the green will do little to prevent a host of birdies.
HOLE SEVEN - Par 4 - 371 yards: The start of the St Andrews' loop of short par
fours and two par threes where many winning scores have been forged. Most
players will lay up into a flat area beyond a large mound where the seventh
and 11th holes cross. From there it is just a short pitch over the vast
expanse of Shell bunker to a green that runs downhill sharply from left to
right.
HOLE EIGHT - Par 3 - 175 yards: If the wind swings round to the east, as it
often does in summer, a simple short-iron shot can become as much as a five-
iron. There are subtle contours in the largely flat green and the tough pin
position is just behind the vertically-faced bunker on the left side.
HOLE NINE - Par 4 - 352 yards: Well within reach for a large percentage of
players, especially with the prevailing westerly wind at their backs, the
surprise is that this hole gives up far fewer birdies than it should. Gorse
bushes creep close to the left edge of the green, but there is a wide expanse
of open fairway between that and two bunkers on the right.
HOLE TEN - Par 4 - 380 yards: Although stretched by nearly 40 yards for the
Millennium Open the green is still in reach for the longest hitters. Most
players will be happy to avoid the two small bunkers on the right. Leaving a
full wedge or sand-wedge approach can give a greater degree of control than
chipping or putting from the fringe as the green falls away beyond a raised
front.
HOLE ELEVEN - Par 3 - 174 yards: This tee shot can be anything from a nine-
iron to a three-iron depending on the strength and direction of the wind. The
green slopes dramatically from back to front and left to right. Come up short
and the ball will run way back off the green. Too long and it drops 15 feet
into a gully. Strath bunker at the front is small. Hill bunker to the left,
meanwhile, is long and very deep.
HOLE TWELVE - Par 4 - 348 yards: A short but deceptively tricky par four where
the bunkers that threaten the tee shot are all hidden from view. The top level
of the two-tier green is only 12 paces deep and requires supreme accuracy with
the approach. Many players will try to eliminate that shot by attempting to
drive the green.
HOLE THIRTEEN - Par 4 465 yards: A new tee introduced for the 2005 Open
brought the Coffins bunkers back into play at 280-310 yards on the left. The
approach is over raised broken ground to a huge double green shared with the
fifth hole. A shallow hollow filled with clinging rough on the left and a deep
bunker on the right guard the entrance to the green at a hole that is
consistently strong and often rates as the second most difficult on the
course.
HOLE FOURTEEN - Par 5 - 618 yards: An out-of-bounds wall on the right and the
group of four Beardies bunkers on the left leave a clearly defined target area
off the tee. Then the direct route to the green must carry the huge expanse of
Hell bunker 80 yards short. If the wind blows strongly from the east this is a
genuine three-shot par five. The face of the green rises steeply before
dropping away back and left.
HOLE FIFTEEN - Par 4 - 456 yards: There is little threat from Sutherland
bunker in the middle of the fairway unless the wind blows strongly from the
east. Beyond the bunker the fairway is pinched from both sides by low dunes
and the trio of Rob's bunkers, some 80 yards short of the green, may catch
downwind tee shots from the real power players. The wide entrance to the green
is mounded on both sides, with sand on the left.
HOLE SIXTEEN - Par 4 - 423 yards: The fence that marks the route of the old
railway into St Andrews runs all the way down the right from tee to green and
there is only a narrow strip of fairway between the fence and a cluster of
three bunkers known as the Principal's Nose. The percentage option is to lay
up left of the bunkers, leaving a short-iron to a green that has a sharp ridge
curving across the front. The green is bunkered left and behind.
HOLE SEVENTEEN - Par 4 - 455 yards: An extra 40 yards have been added to the
hole that already has a reputation as the toughest par-four in championship
golf. This means a minimum carry of 260 yards over the replica railway sheds
to reach the ideal position on the right edge of the fairway. The green angles
away from the player from front right to back left behind the vertically-faced
Road bunker. An over-hit second shot will fall off the back of the green on to
the road.
HOLE EIGHTEEN - Par 4 - 357 yards: There will be many players in the field
capable of driving this green in the right conditions, but for anything that
comes up short the choice of second shot can be vital, particularly when the
pin is set just beyond the deep Valley of Sin at the front of the green. The
traditional links shot, the low pitch and run, has a greater chance of success
than a high-flying, fast-spinning wedge that can easily screw back off the
green.
Course descriptions provided by www.opengolf.com.
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NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6
For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com
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