Women's golf rankings a carousel at the top

Golf Betting Lines

08/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As we prepare for yet another week of Phil Mickelson chasing Tiger Woods for the No. 1 world ranking, let's not forget what is happening this season in women's golf, where the top spot has changed hands seven times in the last 17 weeks.

While the Tiger vs. Phil storyline may flood galleries and boost TV ratings, until now it has been Capone's vault: all build-up and no payoff.

The real change is happening on the women's side of the game.

And it's happening on almost a weekly basis.

After Ai Miyazato captured the Safeway Classic on Sunday for her fifth LPGA Tour victory of the season, she assumed the No. 1 ranking for the third time since June.

The 25-year-old Japanese star is the winningest player on a major North American tour this year, and one of three players who have held the No. 1 ranking since Lorena Ochoa's retirement in May.

It's been passed back and forth more often than my Ping 1-iron the last time I threw the old lady in my bag for a round.

A timeline:

On May 3, a day after Ochoa stepped away, South Korea's Jiyai Shin became the No. 1 player following a victory in Japan. She was only the third player to hold the position since the rankings' inception on Feb. 21, 2006, following Annika Sorenstam and Ochoa.

A week later, Ochoa dropped out of the rankings altogether as she settled into retirement and Miyazato took her spot at No. 2.

The real rankings carousel didn't begin spinning until June. And it started with a medical emergency.

Shin missed two consecutive tournaments after having an appendectomy the Wednesday before the State Farm Classic. Miyazato won the second event, the ShopRite LPGA Classic on June 20, and assumed the top ranking the next day.

It was a short-lived stay.

Kerr's record-setting, 12-shot win at the LPGA Championship vaulted her four places to No. 1 on June 28 and she held the position for 21 days until Miyazato slipped past her during an off-week for the tour.

Miyazato's lead on July 19 was just .0006 points over Kerr -- a virtual tie. But it only lasted seven days. Shin regained the No. 1 spot by winning the lucrative Evian Masters in France over one of the best non-major fields in women's golf.

Shin's reign lasted through Yani Tseng's win at the British Women's Open, but Kerr passed her last Monday following another off-week. It was another brief reign, ended by Miyazato's win over the weekend.

So what's the big deal? And who cares about women's golf anyway?

Well, you should. The rankings back-and-forth is good for the women's game, adding the extra drama needed in the wake of Ochoa's departure. It was the second time in less than two years the LPGA lost its biggest star, leaving a vacuum that needed desperately to be filled.

Instead of one player stepping in to fill the void, however, many have risen.

In fact, the LPGA might want to try harder in hyping the battle for No. 1, particularly with so many viable contenders.

If the PGA Tour and its networks can have success in getting fans interested in the FedEx Cup race by keeping a running update of players' positions, why can't the LPGA do the same thing for the rankings?

Consider this: At one point Sunday, Miyazato and Kerr were tied for the lead, with No. 3 Shin one stroke back and No. 4 Suzann Pettersen two strokes behind. Any one of them would have been No. 1 with a victory.

If the same thing happened on the men's side, it would look like this: Woods and Mickelson tied for the lead, with Lee Westwood one back and Steve Stricker trailing by two. A race for the men's No. 1 on the line.

The outcome Sunday was up in the air until Kerr dunked her approach shot into the water on the 18th hole and made bogey. The stroke not only affected the outcome of the tournament, allowing Miyazato to win by two shots with a closing par, it affected the world rankings.

"Kerr-plunk," wrote the dutiful employee who updates the LPGA's Twitter feed. "Unless Ai does something disastrous, that might be the tournament."

And it was. The re-shuffled rankings looked like this on Monday: Miyazato trailed by Kerr, Pettersen, Shin and Tseng to round out the top five. Miyazato's lead for the moment is still only about a half-point over Kerr.

"I think it's going to be back and forth again, because all the top-five players are just playing so good this year," Miyazato said Sunday. "I don't really feel like I'm that far above everyone else, so that's why I think that the rankings will still keep on changing."

The race for the men's No. 1 ranking is exciting, yes, but it hasn't developed into anything more than a race at this point. Woods, despite all his recent struggles, has held the spot for 272 consecutive weeks.

Mickelson enters this week's Barclays only .26 average points behind -- .23 fewer points than last week and almost a half a point closer than he was heading into PGA Championship. But he has yet to step forward to answer the call with a performance befitting the No. 1 ranking.

On the women's side, meanwhile, players can smell blood in the water.

"I'm dying to get into that mix," No. 8 Paula Creamer, the U.S. Women's Open champion, said recently.

Jump right in. The water's warm.

Playsoccergamble Golf Betting News

<< Champions Tour's Tradition moves to Shoal Creek
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shoal Creek will host a Champions Tour major next season, it was announced Monday. The Birmingham club, best known as the controversial host of the 1990 PGA Championship, will be the site of the re-name

<< Mido joins Ajax
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax confirmed the signing of Egyptian striker Mido on Monday on a one-year contract. The 27-year-old was allowed to leave Middlesbrough on a free transfer, and he returns to Amsterdam after

<< Goydos withdraws from playoffs opener
Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Goydos has withdrawn from The Barclays. The PGA Tour said Monday that Goydos did not give a reason for pulling out of the tournament. Only the top 125 players on the regular season points list made the

<< Caldwell joins Wigan on free transfer
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan completed the signing of defender Steven Caldwell on Monday on a free transfer. Caldwell, 29, was released by Burnley at the end of last season after the club was relegated to the Championship, a

<< Bears sign veteran QB Collins
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears added depth to the quarterback position on Monday by signing veteran Todd Collins to a one-year contract. Collins, who turns 39 in November, has completed 381-of-674 passes for

Report: Huet loaned to Switzerland >>
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have reportedly made the move everyone was expecting over the summer, finding another circuit for goaltender Cristobal Huet. According to the Swiss website 20 Minutes Online, th

Brewers release P Riske >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers announced Monday the release of relief pitcher David Riske. A corresponding move will be announced on Tuesday. Riske appeared in 23 games for the Brewers this season and recorde

Boston College WR Larmond out for season >>
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston College wide receiver Colin Larmond, Jr. will miss the entire 2010 season after suffering a serious knee injury on Saturday. Larmond, a junior, was the team's leading returning rec

Red Wings re-sign Abdelkader >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings and left winger Justin Abdelkader agreed to terms on a two-year contract Monday. Abdelkader, 23, appeared in 50 games with the Red Wings last season, recording three goals and six poin

Phillies add Hall of Famer Sutter as consultant >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Monday that Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter has joined the organization as a minor league pitching consultant. "Over the next several weeks, Bruce is going to help u

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Sheets

NFL Office Pool Sheets

MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury. Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.