Johnson's PGA snafu was avoidable

Golf Betting Lines

08/16/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What happened to Dustin Johnson on Sunday at the PGA Championship was cruel, vicious, heartbreaking and borderline tragic.

"Joke."

"Terrible for golf."

Tim Rosaforte of the Golf Channel reported someone yelled "you were robbed" to Johnson in the parking lot.

These are things I had texted to me or read, but know what else it was?

Avoidable.

I'm a human being, so I'm sensitive to what happened. Johnson thought he was in a playoff for his first major championship and it was ripped away from him before he could even get started.

We all know what happened. Johnson drove into a patch of sand right of the fairway at 18 with a one-shot lead. He grounded his club in the sand, made bogey, thought he was in a playoff, then had his guts torn out.

There are so many questions that spring to mind, so let's handle them, but sadly the outcome is always the same.

First, was it a bunker or not? Well the sandy area certainly didn't look any bigger than the soul patch under Johnson's lip, so it's totally understandable to think it wasn't a bunker. I didn't. Neither did Johnson, obviously.

If you don't think it's a bunker, that's an opinion that is not shared by the PGA of America. They designated it a bunker based on how the course was designed. Since the sandy strip had that designation, there really can't be a question as to whether or not Johnson deserved the two-stroke penalty. He clearly grounded his club and never denied it afterwards.

With the PGA Championship returning to Whistling Straits in five years, here's a free piece of advice for the PGA of America - do something about the bunkers. Yes, you posted rules that said where and what bunkers were, but then didn't enforce them at all. Gallery members were standing in said areas. CBS even showed a kid playing in one. If they are outside the ropes, but still bunkers, they need to be treated as such. Poor job on that front by the officials and marshals.

As semi-understandable as it is to think that wasn't a bunker, Johnson made some huge oversights. For one, he should've known that area was a bunker if it was posted on the rules sheet, which was posted in the locker room and other places. Ignorance is no defense.

It was downright alarming to hear how many players defended Johnson based on the fact they didn't know the rules or check the sheet. Whistling Straits isn't a regular tour stop, so why wouldn't players check local rules since they haven't been here in six years? Do you think Tiger Woods wouldn't have checked the sheet or known the rules? Of course he would know that.

Johnson wasn't here six years ago, but this is the part that I'll never understand or forgive. He flat-out didn't know the rules and that's inexcusable.

Next, with a major title on the line on the 72nd hole, it's understandable that Johnson had a lot of thoughts swimming in his noodle. While standing over his ball that was clearly in sand, why didn't Johnson think to ask an official if it was a bunker? Not to oversimplify this whole experience, but at the end of the day, Johnson was standing over a ball that was in some form of sand.

Why didn't the walking rules official stop Johnson before he got in there and grounded the club? There are several explanations for this. Sadly, maybe the official didn't even know the rule.

Secondly, Mark Wilson, one of the co-chairmen of rules committee brought up a logistical explanation.

"David (Price) certainly would have jumped in, under the circumstances with the many people over there, it was hard," said Wilson, referring to the large gallery around Johnson. "If the walking official can prevent a breach of the rules, he certainly will, but under the circumstances it was hard enough to get the player over there and again if it's that hard to get the player over there, all the rules official is going to be doing is hovering over the player and they're really not trying to encourage that. We're not trying to tell the players that, hey, you've been assigned a walking official because we're going to scrutinize every rule."

I hate hypotheticals almost as much as I hate black cherry soda, but what if the walking official goes up to Johnson and says, "Be careful, this may be a bunker, but I'm not sure." Now, Johnson has tons of thoughts about what to do with a one-shot lead on the 72nd hole of a major. That's a nightmare scenario and probably great fodder for a different column because an official should never be the story or interject himself or herself into things like that.

Plus, I don't think it's a rules official's place to inform a guy he might be breaking a rule when the guy should've known it for himself.

Golf, perhaps more than any other sport, is a stickler for rules. Ever heard that golf is a gentleman's game and that it polices itself? Of course you have. Whether or not you think the rule was dumb or the interpretation was flawed, what Johnson did was illegal under the rules as set forth by the rules committee.

Sadly, that rules infraction comes with a penalty. That penalty came at a horrible time, but it was the right call.

As a human being with a beating heart, I felt bad for Johnson. It was cruel, vicious, heartbreaking and tragic.

Oh, and completely avoidable.

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We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

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Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

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Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
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At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
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In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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