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05/07/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When it comes to playing in their hometown or even home state, golfers revel in the pressure of showing off in front of their closest fans.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are the perfect examples of this. The two have combined for nine wins -- six for Tiger, three for Phil -- at the Buick Invitational in La Jolla, which is within driving distance of where the two grew up.
Mickelson also won the FBR Open in Scottsdale two times. That event is near Arizona State University, where Mickelson played collegiately.
Other players that come to mind who always seem to play well in their local area include -- New Jersey-born, long-time Rhode Island resident Brad Faxon, who won four of his eight PGA Tour titles in New England; Kentucky's Kenny Perry, who parlayed the hometown crowd to a 2-1-1 record at the Ryder Cup last year; and you can't overlook Davis Love III.
Born in North Carolina, Love played golf at UNC and has collected eight titles in the Carolinas. He won twice in Greensboro and has six wins at the Heritage in South Carolina.
The subject applies because this week, PGA Tour rookie Jeff Klauk has a leg up on the entire field, and that includes Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk, who call the TPC Sawgrass their home course.
Klauk is playing The Players Championship for the first time as a professional, but he will be not be playing the TPC Sawgrass for the first time. That happened when he was 10!
Klauk's father, Fred, retired from his job as the course superintendent at TPC Sawgrass after last year's Player's Championship. Dating to his days as a teenager, Jeff has done just about every job you can think of around this venue.
The 31-year-old recalled Wednesday that the first time he started doing work around the course was in high school, after a speeding ticket incurred while returning from a junior golf event put him in a financial pinch.
Within two weeks, the younger Klauk was pressed into service cutting the grass on the greens, filling divots and doing anything to earn the money he needed to pay the ticket. That grunt work turned into a regular job for Klauk. Thanks to that experience, Klauk knows nearly every nook and cranny of the TPC Sawgrass. He realizes that isn't totally to his advantage though.
"Familiarity-wise, I think I definitely have an advantage, but I've never played it under these fast conditions which they're going to be," Klauk stated. "I mean, my lines off the tee, I feel very familiar with where I'm going to hit it. But you know, this golf course changes so much, even from last week to this week, and it's going to change a lot from yesterday to tomorrow. An advantage? Maybe a little bit, but experience-wise, no, some of the regular guys have got it."
So how does he plan on attacking the golf course this week?
"I've played the golf course with all the stands and stuff up, but definitely not with all the people around during a practice round," said Klauk, who estimates he's played over 1,000 rounds at the TPC Sawgrass. "So it kind of feels the same as when I'm out there playing with my friends and stuff like that, which is the way I'm going to try to approach the week, just like I'm out there playing with my buddies. Obviously I'll be nervous, but it'll be good, a good type of nervous."
Regardless of how he plays this week, Klauk owes a special thanks to Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Once those two confirmed they were skipping the Players Championship, Klauk was officially in the field, and could not get bumped out if a non-qualifier for the tournament won last week and gained entry into the field this week.
LIKE PERRY LAST YEAR, KELLY TO SKIP BRITISH OPEN
Last year, Kenny Perry decided to skip the British Open so he could play in the opposite event, the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. He did this so that he could have a better chance at earning a solid finish, and then gain a spot on the United States Ryder Cup team. Perry accomplished that mission, thanks in part to his tie for sixth in Milwaukee.
Jerry Kelly, a Madison, Wisconsin native, is going to follow Perry's lead and skip the British Open to play the U.S. Bank Championship. Kelly's reason for skipping the season's third major championship is completely different though.
In recent months, Kelly has been doing nearly everything he can to save the event, because U.S. Bank announced that it will not renew its contract as the tournament's sponsor after this season. Kelly, who had already committed to the British Open, realized that his efforts to salvage the tournament would be tougher if he wasn't going to play it himself.
So, he contacted British Open officials and withdrew his name from the field. And boy, is that a major turn of events. In recent years, Kelly had called out players like Perry and Fred Funk for skipping the British Open to play in Milwaukee. Now that his hometown event is in danger of disappearing, Kelly is doing whatever it takes to keep the event in Milwaukee and on the PGA Tour schedule.
"I had my British Open entry, and I got a sick feeling in my stomach that I'd miss Milwaukee and it would be the last one," Kelly admitted. "And it better not be the last one. How can I call out all these people without backing it up myself?"
MINI-TIDBITS
- Spanish great Seve Ballesteros made his first public appearance recently after undergoing four surgeries and chemotherapy to remove a cancerous brain tumor. By his own estimation, Ballesteros is 90-percent recovered from his surgery. "I suffered like a dog, but the fact that I was a professional sportsman and used to competing and fighting helped me," Ballesteros said.
- Among the record 9,086 golfers that put in an application to play the U.S. Open were several professional athletes from other sports. That group includes Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, former NFL quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver, three former pro hockey players -- Grant Fuhr, Dan Quinn and Mike Dunham -- as well as Erik Hanson and Chris Sabo, who both played major league baseball.
<< Report: Manny Ramirez to be suspended for positive drug test
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez
has reportedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be
suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ramirez
<< Astros to conclude series with surging Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs are off to a hot start this month and will
shoot for a two-game sweep of the Houston Astros tonight at Minute Maid Park.
The Cubs improved to 5-1 in May after recording a 6-3 victory over the Astros
in the
<< Mets shoot for fourth straight win in finale with Phils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets will try to extend their season-high
winning streak to four games when they wrap up a brief two-game series versus
the National League East-rival Philadelphia Phillies tonight at Citi Field.
New York open
<< Marquis to take mound in Rockies' rematch with Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Marquis seems to be enjoying his time with the
Colorado Rockies and will take the ball this afternoon against the San
Francisco Giants in the finale of a two-game series at Coors Field.
Marquis, who spent the last tw
Manny Ramirez suspended 50 games for positive drug test >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez has
been suspended 50 games for testing positive under Major League Baseball's
drug policy.
Details of the positive test were not revealed, but Ramirez said it
Chelsea-Barca ref smuggled out of England >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former referee Graham Poll has revealed Tom
Henning Ovrebo has had to be smuggled out of the country after the Norwegian's
controversial handling of Chelsea's Champions League semifinal second leg clash
with
Canada holds off Latvia in quarterfinals at Worlds >>
Bern, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stamkos and Dan Hamhuis both
registered a goal and an assist, as Canada overcame a challenge from the pesky
Latvians to post a 4-2 win in the quarterfinals at the 2009 World Hockey
Champio
Roma ends Spalletti rumors >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma sporting director Bruno Conti has quashed
speculation suggesting Luciano Spalletti is on the verge of leaving the club.
Roma have endured a topsy-turvy season and are currently sixth in the Serie A
tab
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Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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