How recent PGA Championships have been won

Golf Betting Lines

08/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Watney held a three-shot lead over fellow American Dustin Johnson and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy when the final round of the PGA Championship got underway Sunday.

Watney, a two-time PGA Tour winner, was seeking his first major championship at the age of 29 and trying to hold off a chase pack that included nine players within five shots of his lead at 13-under par.

With six top-10 finishes this season and more than $1.78 million in earnings, Watney is hardly a dark-horse contender. This is not Shaun Micheel, who was No. 169 in the world when he came from nowhere to win the 2003 PGA Championship.

Watney, one of the best ball-strikers on tour, was No. 31 in last week's rankings, just ahead of Geoff Ogilvy and 2009 PGA champion Y.E. Yang.

Still, his performance in this championship can be considered surprising.

Prior to this year, Watney had never posted a score better than 75 in his two previous starts at the PGA Championship, missing the cut in 2007 and '09.

After three fog-delayed rounds at Whistling Straits, however, his scorecard read: 69-68-66. He was the only player to break 70 in all three rounds.

Three shots behind Watney sat Johnson, 26, who has played well since his disastrous stint as the 54-hole leader at the U.S. Open; and the 21-year-old McIlroy, long a star in the making who is looking to build on his maiden PGA Tour win at the Quail Hollow Championship. Both players are also seeking their first major championship.

Four shots back were Australia's Jason Day, China's Wen-Chong Liang and Germany's Martin Kaymer, all looking to make some history.

Day was seven years old when Steve Elkington won the 1995 PGA Championship, the last time an Australian captured the season's fourth major. Day is looking to snap that 14-year drought.

If Kaymer wins, meanwhile, he would make Germany the eighth country with a PGA champion. A victory for Wen-Chong Liang would give China its first major championship winner, one year after Yang earned South Korea's first at the PGA.

It's not until you reach the group of players who are five shots back that you find your first contenders with prior experience at winning major championships.

The foursome is led by former U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk, prior Masters champion Zach Johnson and the '95 PGA winner Elkington. It also includes Jason Dufner.

In all likelihood, these are the players Watney will have to contend with on Sunday. He certainly won't feel a charge from Tiger Woods, who started the round 10 shots back; or Phil Mickelson, who trailed by 12 shots.

What will Sunday's final round look like? Who knows. But this is how some recent PGA Championships were won:

'NICE JOB, YANG!' (2009)

Woods' struggles, at least on the course, can be tracked back to last year's PGA Championship, which marked the first time he was ever defeated after holding the 54-hole lead at a major championship.

Yang provided us one of the most surreal finishes of all time: the sight of Woods walking up the 18th fairway surrounded by a boisterous gallery that was mostly cheering for somebody else for once.

Clinching the victory with one of the all-time great hybrid shots to 10 feet at the last hole, Yang closed with a birdie to become the first Asian-born man to win a major championship.

He shot a final-round 70 at Hazeltine, beating Woods by three, and celebrated by lifting his golf bag over his head. One spectator's words summed up the day perfectly:

"Nice job, Yang!" a young fan screamed.

PADDY'S DAY (2008)

Padraig Harrington holed a gutsy 12-foot par save to complete a two-shot victory at Oakland Hills and become the fourth player ever to win the British Open and PGA Championship in the same season, joining Walter Hagan, Nick Price and Woods in fine company.

Indeed, it was Harrington who took control of the sport while Woods was sidelined following his victory at the U.S. Open, winning back-to-back majors -- his second and third in two seasons.

Harrington was the first European to win the Wanamaker Trophy since Tommy Armour in 1930 and the first European to take home consecutive majors.

Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis tied for second place. Still without a major, Garcia missed one of his best opportunities that Sunday when he held the lead on the back nine.

WOODSIAN (2006-07)

Woods may have been beaten by Yang at last year's PGA, but he still owns four titles at the year's final major. The last two came in back-to-back years at Medinah in 2006 and Southern Hills in '07.

His victory in '06 moved him to second place alone on the all-time list with 12 majors (he currently holds 14, four shy of Jack Nicklaus' record) and came a month after he won the British Open.

Woods shot a 68 in the final round, beating Micheel by five shots in an outcome that was never really in doubt. He won the '07 PGA in similar fashion, closing with a 69 to beat a pesky Woody Austin by two and Ernie Els by three.

That may look close, but it was not. Said Els after Saturday's third round: "If I was not a golfer -- a fan on the couch -- I'd be putting my house on him."

It was a hot, steamy four days at Southern Hills and it was still around 100 degrees when Woods hoisted the trophy on Sunday.

PHIL GETS NO. 2 (2005)

Mickelson got up and down for a birdie on the last hole to win the '05 PGA Championship by one shot over Thomas Bjorn and Elkington. He captured his second major championship in a rain-delayed Monday finish, shooting his second consecutive 72 to polish off a wire-to-wire win.

Baltusrol marked Mickelson's second win in seven majors. He famously broke through for his first at the '04 Masters, ending an 0-for-46 career drought.

It marked the first Monday finish at the PGA Championship since 1976 at Congressional.

VIJAY IN A PLAYOFF (2004)

The first time the PGA Championship was held at Whistling Straits, Vijay Singh defeated Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard in a playoff after all three players ended at eight-under 280.

Singh birdied the first hole of a three-hole aggregate playoff, then sealed the win with back-to-back pars for his second PGA Championship.

After DiMarco and Leonard made pars on the first two playoff holes, Singh carried a one-shot lead to the final hole. He hit three-wood off the 18th tee, then knocked a utility wood onto the green to set up his winning par.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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