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12/05/2011 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's really only one way to look at the LPGA Tour in 2011:
The Year of Yani.
That means Yani Tseng, of course. Tseng began the year as the No. 5 player in the world, nearly a full point off the average of No. 1 Jiyai Shin. Shin's 10.60 point average then now pales in comparison to Tseng's current average of 18.16, nearly double that of her nearest competitor.
To put it in layman's terms: there's Yani Tseng, and there's everyone else.
Having already passed the status of the "Next One," Tseng dominated the LPGA Tour in 2011 like few have before. She has successfully taken the torch from Lorena Ochoa, who retired not long ago, and, at the young age of 22, figures to hold on to the torch for a bit of time.
It's rather early to speculate, but when all is said and done, Tseng could conceivably challenge Kathy Whitworth's record of 88 LPGA Tour victories. It's possible that we've witnessed the coming out party of the greatest female golfer ever.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Yani Tseng
Duh.
Tseng had seven LPGA Tour victories -- two majors -- and 11 overall wins in 2011, all while no other golfer got more than two titles. If Cristie Kerr, who finished second on the money list, doubled her earnings, she'd still fall short of Tseng's nearly $3 million.
Barely old enough to legally drink in the United States, Tseng is already a third of the way to the all-time major championship record of 15.
Tseng won her second LPGA Championship and second Women's British Open in 2011 and finished second to Stacy Lewis in an exciting Kraft Nabisco Championship. She made 21 cuts in 22 events, finishing in the top five in 12 of them and the top 10 in two more.
She led the tour in scoring average by almost a full stroke and was the only player who averaged under 70 strokes per round. Tseng had 58 more birdies than anyone else, five more rounds under par and led the tour in driving distance.
It was a historic year by any measure, and someday she'll complete the career Grand Slam with a U.S. Women's Open championship. It's quite possible we haven't seen the best of this superstar, and she should be a treat to watch for the next decade or so.
Runners up (but really, there was no competition): Lewis, Suzann Pettersen.
TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR - Kraft Nabisco Championship
It can't all be about Tseng, can it?
The Kraft Nabisco Championship was one of the rare points in 2011 where Tseng was beaten, but her presence all the way to the finish helped make this tournament the most exciting of the year.
In the season's first major, Tseng was looking to successfully defend her title and had a two-stroke lead heading into the final round. But Lewis lurked long enough to take the lead midway through the round, making some incredible shots down the stretch (one of which will be mentioned later) to hold on.
It's difficult to think that Tseng's year could have been more impressive if it weren't for Lewis' clutch play that Sunday. Lewis broke through after three previous top-10 finishes in majors and took the customary leap into Poppie's Pond. The jump wasn't all that successful, as her mother broke her leg, but that will heal, and Lewis rode the victory to quite a season.
She said afterward that beating Tseng reminded her that she could play with -- and beat -- the best in the world. Looking back after the year Tseng had, it may have been the most impressive performance of the year.
Tseng finished with an out-of-character, two-over 74 that day, so Lewis may have caught a break, but one particular putt at the end of the round helped her seal her first career victory...
SHOT OF THE YEAR
...Lewis headed to the 71st hole of the Kraft Nabisco Championship with a two- stroke lead, but was visibly nervous for good reason.
Here was Lewis, who didn't have an official win, battling what we now know to be one of the greatest female golfers ever. Even a two-shot lead, with two to play, has to feel like nothing, knowing what Tseng can do.
Lewis showed her nerves by hitting her tee shot into a greenside bunker, while Tseng had a birdie chance from the edge of the green. Oh no, Lewis must have thought -- the pressure seemed to be winning the battle.
Lewis wedged out of the sand trap to the fringe, about 25 feet away, and Tseng followed with a bad miss on her birdie chance, and the ball rolled just inside where Lewis was.
What followed was the shot of the year.
Lewis seemed to have no shot to save par and was resigned to make bogey, which still would have left her with a likely lead. It would have been okay, but a par would probably seal the tournament. The ball started out to the right, and Lewis could only stand and watch as it rolled perfectly right to left and into the cup.
It was an unbelievable moment, the dagger in Tseng's chances after the now-No. 1 missed her par putt and fell behind by three. After Lewis parred the last hole, history was made.
"I just couldn't believe I made it," Lewis said at the time. "I knew I had a good shot at winning from there, but I was just trying to control my emotions and stay calm."
She had a tough time doing that, but it would be hard for anyone who just accomplished what Lewis did. She went on to finish fourth on the money list, only $1,000 behind Na Yeon Choi for third.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Hee Kyung Seo
Seo won the Rookie of the Year award quite convincingly in 2011, more than doubling the points of runner-up Christel Boeljon. She didn't get a win, but managed to finish an impressive 21st on the money list in her first season with $619,428.
Seo nearly captured a major in her first stint on tour, going to a playoff at the U.S. Women's Open after tying So Yeon Ryu atop the leaderboard on the final day. A bogey on the second playoff hole ultimately doomed her, but it was one of the more impressive and surprising performances of the year.
In all, Seo had two top-five finishes and another top-10, missing only three cuts all year. She'll likely be heard from again in the coming years.
Runners-up: Boeljon, Tiffany Joh, Jenny Shin.
GOOD YEAR
Pettersen - She finished the year as the No. 2 player in the world, posting two titles in 2011 and finishing fifth on the money list. A year after being listed on the 'Bad Year' of this review, Pettersen finally made up for it with her first victory in nearly two years at the Sybase Match Play Championship. She followed with her first stroke-play win in just as long at the Safeway Classic, shedding the choke label she was beginning to receive.
Brittany Lincicome - Other than Tseng, there were three two-time winners in 2011, and Lincicome was one of them. She took the ShopRite LPGA Classic and Canadian Women's Open, adding to her Kraft Nabisco Championship title in 2009. It was the first year Lincicome had won multiple times in a season, and she didn't miss a cut all year.
Karrie Webb - The last of the four multi-winners in 2011, Webb finished only 14th on the money list, but at age 36 she keeps churning out victories. She managed to keep her career win total (38) ahead of her age and will look to become the 12th player to win 40 times on the LPGA Tour in 2012. Webb won consecutive events early in the year before fading, but she also did not miss a cut in 2011.
Lewis - Anyone who beats Tseng on a Sunday at a major has to have a good year regardless of whatever else happens, right? It was Lewis' only win, but she finished fourth on the money list and had five top-fives and 12 top-10s overall.
BAD YEAR
Jiyai Shin - She began the year at No. 1, but is now No. 7 after going winless in 2011. After posting multiple victories for three straight years, Shin couldn't add to her eight career victories and never cracked the top five in her last 11 events. She had a pair of runner-up finishes, but those came early in the year. Shin cashed only two six-digit paychecks all season.
Michelle Wie - She's still getting by on name value, but when does that end? After going winless for the first time since 2008, Wie needs to start performing before her star fades completely. She posted runner-up finishes at the season-opening LPGA Thailand and the Canadian Women's Open, but was mostly down the leaderboards at most events. Might people have expected too much from her too soon? For the record, Wie and Tseng were born in the same year.
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A graduate of
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.
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