Donald named European Tour Player of the Year

Golf Betting Lines

12/15/2011 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Luke Donald was selected as the European Tour's Golfer of the Year on Thursday, giving him a sweep of the Player of the Year awards.

The Englishman was tabbed as the PGA Tour Player of the Year on Tuesday.

"To have the accolade of European Tour Golfer of the Year means an awful lot to me and I will certainly look back on this year with a lot of fond memories," said Donald. "It is always nice to be appreciated, especially from the people in the sport who know the game inside out. They have recognized what I have done this year and it is very gratifying to have that validation."

With his third place at the Dubai World Championship, Donald clinched the European Tour's Order of Merit. He also topped the PGA Tour's money list making him the first to top both lists in the same season.

Much like his strong finish on the European Tour, Donald needed a top-two finish at the PGA Tour's final event to win that money title. He birdied six holes in a row on the back nine en route to victory at Disney World. That win helped him fend off two-time winner this year, Webb Simpson, to claim the money crown.

"The manner in which I came through to win both money lists was, I think, the thing that pleased me the most about the season," Donald admitted. "Going to Florida and winning that tournament when I had to was very important as it gave me the incentive to go on and succeed in Dubai."

The 34-year-old Englishman kicked off his year with a victory at the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship. He followed with wins at the Scottish Open and the tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

It was after his win at Wentworth that Donald took over the top spot in the world rankings. He has remained there since.

Voters selected Donald over a group that included three of this year's major champions - Masters champ Charl Schwartzel, U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy and British Open victor Darren Clarke.

Thwgreek Golf Betting News

<< Avs and Sharks close home-and-home in San Jose
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche haven't won a road game since late October and look to end their woes as the visitor tonight against the San Jose Sharks in the back end of a home-and-home set from HP Pavilion. Colorado is winless

<< Struggling Coyotes host Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The month of December hasn't treated the Phoenix Coyotes so well as evidenced by a 2-5-0 ledger. The club hopes a quick two-game homestand will do the team some good, starting with tonight's showdown versus the Edmonton Oiler

<< Jets resume homestand against Capitals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Jets will resume a six-game homestand tonight versus the Southeast Division-rival Washington Capitals at MTS Centre. The Jets are in the midst of playing 11 of 12 games as the host and won the opener of the ho

<< Red Wings and Preds battle in Music City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators both seek a fourth straight victory this evening as the two Central Division rivals get together at Bridgestone Arena. The Red Wings have won eight of their last 10 games and a

<< Elliott and stingy Blues host Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers are no strangers to posting shutouts, but they saw the tables turned on them last time out. Given the hot play of St. Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliott, the Rangers' offense cou

Costa steps down as Spanish captain >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former French Open champion Albert Costa has stepped down as the Spanish Davis Cup captain, just two weeks after guiding the powerful Spaniards to their third Davis Cup title in four years. Costa will no

Villa breaks leg in Barca's Club World Cup win >>
Yokohama, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona and Spain striker David Villa broke his left leg Thursday, marring the Spanish club's easy 4-0 win over Al- Sadd from Qatar in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals. Adriano scored a first-half

Twins sign OF Willingham to 3-year contract >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have agreed to terms with outfielder Josh Willingham on a three-year, $21 million contract. Willingham set career-highs in home runs (29) and RBI (98) while hitting .246 in 136 games

Minnesota signs Wells, Lee >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves signed veteran swingman Bonzi Wells and rookie guard Malcolm Lee on Thursday. Wells last played in the NBA during the 2007-08 season, when he split the year with Houston and New

Nets sign Udoka >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets signed free agent forward Ime Udoka on Thursday. Udoka spent last season with San Antonio, appearing in 20 games off the bench and totaling 14 points and 19 rebounds. A seven-

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable 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 football sportsbook needs.