What they said about Aronimink

Golf Betting Lines

07/04/2010 - Newtown Square, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aronimink Golf Club was in the spotlight this week as the host of the AT&T National.

It was the first big event since the 2003 Senior PGA Championship, and few would say the AT&T wasn't a success. Over 160,000 fans flocked to the event for the four competitive rounds, and the winning score was just 10-under par.

Winner Justin Rose carded a 64 in round two for the course record and was the only player to reach double figures under par.

Check out what some of the players and broadcasters had to say about the first PGA Tour event at Aronimink since the 1962 PGA Championship:

- Lee Janzen after Thursday's opening round, via Twitter: "Love Aronimink. You have to think thru every shot where to leave your ball."

Joe Ogilvie on the possible pin locations on the Donald Ross-built course: "They could put 18 pins where you just can't go for them. They could set this course up extremely difficult."

Ogilvie added: "Some golf courses look like they can hold big events. This is one of them. And I think the fans make it a big event."

During Friday's second-round broadcast, David Feherty stated: "The whole golf course is playing like a conundrum."

Robert Garrigus on Tuesday after playing a practice round: "It's got a major championship feel here. I was telling everybody, you could hold a U.S. Open here tomorrow. You don't even need to do anything to the place. I don't think the USGA would like how wide the fairways are, but the fairways are perfect and the rough is six inches thick."

Before missing the cut, Dustin Johnson shared these thoughts: "It's a great golf course. It's very tough. I think it's going to play similar to a major. The rough is very high and the greens are firm and fast, so it's going to be a good test of golf this week."

Despite being born in the area, Jim Furyk had never played Aronimink prior to this week. This is what he said after playing in the pro-am: "I'm taken aback by its difficulty. I think it's a very tough golf course. It's tough to get the ball in the fairways. The greens are very big, but are cut up into smaller sections. Add to that, there's probably the thickest and the longest rough we've had for a PGA Tour event this year."

Is this a major or the AT&T National Nick Watney is talking about? "Short- sided is very difficult, the greens are fast, and you can get to a spot where 15 or 20 feet is a good chip-shot. Yeah, you have to definitely think your way around."

Jason Day probably spoke for the entire field Thursday when he said: "The rough is pretty brutal out there."

After firing a six-under 64 to take the lead after round two, Rose said: "This golf course has a lot of those types of characteristics where you need to play smart, you need to leave yourself below the hole, you need to not take on a lot of shots out there. You need to be very patient."

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.