This Week in Golf -- January 12th through January 15th

Golf Betting Lines

01/09/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - SONY OPEN IN HAWAII, Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii - Now that the first week is in the books, the PGA Tour really gets started with its first full-field event of 2012.

For the second week in a row, the tour is in Hawaii, where Mark Wilson will attempt to defend his championship at the Sony Open. It was the first of his two titles in 2011, winning two of his first three events before falling back to the middle of the pack the rest of the year.

It was a marathon for Wilson, who had to play 36 holes that Sunday because of poor weather earlier in the week. He managed to outlast Tim Clark and Steve Marino by a pair of strokes to earn nearly $1 million, his second biggest paycheck of the year.

The top-ranked player in the field is No. 5 Steve Stricker, who is coming off a victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Stricker, who is now a 12- time PGA Tour champion, has been one of the best golfers of recent years, posting eight wins since the start of 2009.

Other than Stricker, some of the more recognizable names in the field include reigning PGA Champion Keegan Bradley, three-time major winner Vijay Singh and FedEx Cup runner-up Webb Simpson.

Additionally, last year's Nationwide Tour money leader J.J. Killeen and Harris English, who won as an amateur on the Nationwide Tour last year, will get their first crack at the PGA Tour since earning their cards for 2012.

Unlike the Tournament of Champions, the Sony Open ends on the traditional day of Sunday. Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds.

Next week is the Humana Classic, renamed from the Bob Hope Classic, which was won by then-rookie Jhonattan Vegas in 2011.

EUROPEAN TOUR

JOBURG OPEN, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa - Reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel will attempt to capture his third straight Joburg Open this week in the sixth running of the event.

Schwartzel has dominated at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in his hometown, winning by four and six strokes, respectively, the last two years. Last year, he rode the momentum from the win all the way until April, when he posted a shocking Masters victory and vaulted himself into mainstream golf conversation.

Now ranked No. 9 in the world, Schwartzel heads into this event with a new title that goes with Masters champs: the favorite. Unfortunately for the South African, he has yet to post another win since Augusta, but is returning to his most familiar surroundings.

Only five players on the European Tour have previously won the same tournament three years in a row, most recently Tiger Woods in 2005-07 at the WGC - CA Championship and WGC - Bridgestone Invitational.

Schwartzel's biggest competition will likely come from fellow South African and two-time U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen, who posted a third-place finish at last week's Africa Open.

Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds, and the European Tour remains in South Africa next week for the Volvo Golf Champions, won by Paul Casey in 2011.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

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