Las Vegas has Woods as huge favorite to win British Open

For bettors who like value, this year's British Open is like Christmas morning, according to Las Vegas sportsbook insider Chuck Esposito.

Tiger Woods, currently at 2 to 1 at Las Vegas casino sportsbooks, is the favorite by a wide, wide margin. If you think Woods will win, Esposito says you should grab him now. "Those odds will drop pretty quickly," Esposito said. "My guess is Tiger will be at 8 to 5, 6 to 5, or even before the British Open starts."

The odds are so skewed toward Woods--especially with his only near rival, Phil Mickelson, not competing at Turnberry this year--that the next player on the board, Sergio Garcia, is a 12-to-1 bet to win. Other contenders drop even further: Defending champion Padraig Harrington is 20 to 1, Henrik Stenson is 20 to 1, Paul Casey is 20 to 1, Rory McIlroy is 25 to 1, Geoff Ogilvy is 25 to 1, Ian Poulter is 25 to 1, Ernie Els is 35 to 1.

"There's real value there in players in that 20 to 40 group," Esposito said. "In fact, with those short odds, the house ends up rooting for Tiger because if one of those long shots come in the casino can really get burned."

The house also ends up rooting for Woods because he creates excitement around the casino when he's near the top at a major, Esposito said.

"We do really well at all the majors, and we'll have the British Open on all the big screens," Esposito said. "But if Tiger's in the lead, we get tremendous crowds."

The only real competitor to Tiger Woods on the board in Las Vegas is "The Field," currently at 8 to 5 odds. Keep in mind that "the Field," in the form of Lucas Glover, won the U.S. Open and paid off at 10 to 1.

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On Twitter, PGA Tour and LPGA golfers react to death of Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's death brought down Twitter yesterday, so we did a little digging to see if any of the golf world's avid Tweeters had anything to say about his passing. Almost as soon as the news broke, several players posted their thoughts and reactions. A sampling is below.

Stewart Cink: My favorite Michael Jackson moment came when @lisacink and her five best friends did the whole Thriller dance at our benefit party in March.

Suzann Pettersen: It is hard to pick one favorite song from the king of pop. just so many good ones... love em all. This is surreal!

Trevor Immelman: Man, real sad news about MJ. He was a true legend. Thriller album still stands as one of the best ever.

Annika Sorenstam: SAD day. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Hope the two global icons rest in peace. Thoughts with their families.

Yani Tseng: Michael Jackson died?! Awwww,that is saaaaad and im shocked !!!

Michelle Wie: Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett passed away today?!?!??!?!?! what a sadddd sadd day. may you both rest in peace.

Morgan Pressel: I guess everyone else just found out too...Michael Jackson died?? Not quite sure why I'm so shocked but I am...

Ian Poulter: tragic news about Michael Jackson, what a pop legend. such a shame to see him pass so early. may you rest in peace Michael.

Christina Kim: R.I.P. Michael Jackson. You were a musical icon, a genius in your own right. You inspired millions and changed the world. Youl be missed.

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What to Watch For: Saturday at the Players Championship

The obvious thing to keep an eye on is Alex Cejka's score. I'd put the over-under at 75, and recommend you take the over.

There is no one in golf I'd rather watch swing the club than Angel Cabrera. When he gets it going he makes the game look absurdly easy, and even with the humidity I'm not sure Cabrera broke a sweat during his second-round 65. I wouldn't be surprised to see him take it deep on Saturday and wind up with the lead heading into the final round.

All that said, what I'll really be watching on Saturday is Ian Poulter. At the Ryder Cup he summoned one of the gutsiest performances in ages and I thought it would begin his ascension into an elite player. He hasn't done much since but this Players represents a huge opportunity: to win for the first time in the U.S., to win for the first time anywhere in three years, to win for the first time against an elite field. Poulter proved at Valhalla he has the stones to get it done under excrutiating pressure. Now he needs a solid third round to put himself in position for a breakthrough victory.

Poulter withdraws from Singapore, and reality

Just when Ian Poulter, the fiery anchor of the ’08 European Ryder Cup team, was starting to grow on us, he pulls this stunt: withdrawing from the Singapore Open because his beloved driver was stolen.

The flashy Brit’s 8.5-degree Cobra Speed Pro S was swiped from a clubhouse in Shanghai during the HSBC Champions tournament last week and a replacement club failed to arrive in time for his first-round tee time in Singapore.

“I am really gutted,” Poulter said. “I have been thinking about it for four hours and I have decided to withdraw because my new driver will not arrive on time.

"It is disappointing because I did not come all this way not to play. But with so many world ranking points at stake if I played badly (by using a different driver) I may have lost ground."

This story won’t sit well with golf fans, or the folks running the Singapore Open. Players are attached to their equipment, particularly their drivers. We get that. (British golf writer John Hopkins, in a piece that defends Poulter—sort of—likened a Tour pro’s driver to “a tailor-made suit.”) But if Derek Jeter lost his mitt, would he sit on the bench and pout? If Lang Lang’s piano collapsed, would he not make do with another? If my laptop crashed … bad analogy.

And, please, if Poulter was genuinely “gutted,” wouldn’t he simply gut it out and play? Hell, this is the same guy who survived four holes at Doral this year without a putter. (Rolling putts with his wedge, Poulter played the closing quartet in even par—and drained a 20-footer on 18.) Philly Mick also comes to mind. Lefty played the first two rounds of the 2008 U.S. Open without a driver, albeit by choice. Packing no more muscle than a 3-wood, he shot 71-75—not brilliant, but hardly the kind of scores that might decimate his World Ranking.

And, please, Poulter’s driver went walking last week. In this epoch of immediacy, Cobra and FedEx couldn't synergize to get him a replacement sooner? And, if not, couldn’t Poulter survive a round or two with a near replica? As if another stiff-shafted Cobra Speed Pro S isn’t kicking somewhere around Singapore—or at least on eBay Singapore. (Hey, whaddya know! And only $139.50!)

Poulter’s going to regret this decision, just like he regretted saying that when he gets his game firing on all cylinders “it will just be me and Tiger.” Tiger, you might recall, won the U.S. Open with a broken leg.

But could he have done it with a loaner Sasquatch?

Ian Poulter rolls the Ryder Cup dice

By withdrawing from this week's European Tour event, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Ian Poulter can no longer earn an automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team. If the Englishman, who is known for his flamboyant clothes and emotional play, is going to compete at Valhalla, it will now have to be as a captain's pick.

Had Poulter decided to play at Gleneagles, as he originally intended, he might have garnered enough European Ryder Cup points to make the team. But Poulter has played in only 14 PGA Tour events this season. To maintain his PGA Tour card and full playing privileges in the United States, he has to play in 15 events this season. In the end, he was forced to make a difficult decision — play in Europe and possibly qualify for the Ryder Cup or compete in the United States and keep his U.S. PGA Tour card for 2009.

"It has been an extremely difficult decision to take given my burning desire to represent Europe again in defending the Ryder Cup in the United States," he said on the European Tour's Web site. Poulter was on the 2004 team that won at Oakland Hills.

He continued by saying, "I have called Nick Faldo and told him of my decision, and hope that my performance so far this year will earn one of his two wild card picks."

The top five players on the European Tour's Ryder Cup World Points list, along with the top five players on the European Points list who have not already qualified, are all given a place on the team. Poulter, who was the runner-up at this year's British Open, is currently 11th on the European points list and seventh on the world list.

With only one week remaining to earn points, here are the 10 players who would currently earn automatic selection to the European team:

1.    Padraig Harrington
2.    Sergio Garcia
3.    Lee Westwood
4.    Henrik Stenson
5.    Robert Karlsson
6.    Miguel Angel Jimenez
7.    Graeme McDowell
8.    Justin Rose
9.    Soren Hansen
10.  Oliver Willis Wilson

Other players looking to impress Faldo and earn a captain's pick include Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Martin Kaymer, Carl Petterson and Colin Montgomerie.

(Photo by John Biever/SI)

Pressure Mounts for Euros and Faldo

Members of the media are supposed to be neutral when it comes to who wins and who loses. Our job is to call it like we see it.

But Nick Faldo, Europe's Ryder Cup captain who will be sitting in the CBS tower behind the 18th green this week, will surely be pulling for the stars from across the pond.

Ten of Faldo's Ryder Cup players will be chosen automatically. The five highest-ranked players on the World Ryder Cup Points list (which is based on world ranking) make the team, along with the five highest-ranked players on the European Ryder Cup Points list (which is based on European Tour earnings) not already on the team.

On the eve of the PGA Championship, here are the players Faldo would automatically have on his roster:
1    Lee Westwood
2    Padraig Harrington
3    Henrik Stenson
4    Miguel Angel Jimenez
5    Robert Karlsson
6    Graeme McDowell
7    Oliver Wilson
8    Søren Hansen
9    Martin Kaymer
10  Justin Rose

Faldo gets two captain's picks, but he surely never imagined that he'd need to use one to get Sergio Garcia (the sixth-ranked player in the world) on the squad. Garcia is currently sixth on the World Points list. Ian Poulter, who was the runner-up at this year's British Open, is seventh.

After finishing tied for sixth at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, Darren Clarke (10-7-3 in five Ryder Cups) moved up 10 spots on the European Points list to No. 23. Paul Casey (3-1-2 in two Ryder Cups) went from No. 19 to No. 15 after finishing tied for eighth in Akron, but both he and Clarke need strong showings if they want to play at Valhalla in September.

In May, Faldo said that Colin Montgomerie needed a strong finish this season to make the team. "It all depends where he is in that last six weeks," he said. "That is going to be real key for me."

Montgomerie finished tied for 58th at Royal Birkdale and is No. 16 on the European Points list, but Monty could still play his way onto his ninth Ryder Cup team with a strong showing at Oakland Hills.

No European-born player has won the PGA Championship since Tommy Armour defeated Gene Sarazen in  1930. It would be a dream come true for any European player who won, and for Faldo, sitting behind the 18th green, it could make some tough decisions a whole lot easier.

(Photo by Gary Bogdon/SI)

Poulter leaves his mark on Birkdale's practice green

SOUTHPORT, England -- A British Open championship can be won or lost on the greens. Just ask Sergio Garcia.

Ian Poulter, who averages 30.39 putts per round, has seen his putting average go up every season since 2005. So if England's golfing peacock wants to hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday, he knows he'll need to make his share of putts.

To help him get it done, Poulter put himself through a marathon practice session at Royal Birkdale on Monday afternoon. Over the course of three hours, dressed discreetly in black, Poulter hit the same 20-foot putt again and again. To ensure his aim and alignment were perfect, he used an Eye Line, which lays on the ground and has a mirrored surface that allows you to see if your eyes are over the ball and your shoulders are parallel to your target line.

But after missing several putts in a row, Poulter asked if the Eye Line was aimed properly. David Leadbetter, who works with Poulter, told him the trouble was his right wrist was breaking down through impact.

To help Poulter get a feel for releasing the club properly without breaking his wrist, Leadbetter made him hit putts left-handed. Swinging in the opposite direct and hitting the ball with the back of his Odyssey Black Series i #1 putter, Poulter proceeded to make two of three 20-footers.

After switching back to his normal right-handed putting style, Poulter's form was noticeably better and he beamed with confidence. "I can't miss," he said as ball after ball rolled into the hole.

Poulter continued to practice as evening set in, and eventually he wore the grass on the green away in the spot where he addressed his putts (right, click to enlarge). A friend who was watching him said in a thick brogue, "Ian, tomorrow they'll be placin' a cement plaque on that piece of ground. You're certainly not makin' friends with the superintendent today!"

Ian Poulter loses his cool and then withdraws with injury

If you have ever played the game, you know the feeling Ian Poulter had on the 12th hole Friday at Torrey Pines. Complete and utter disgust.

After carding a 78 in the first round, the peacock of the PGA Tour was even par through 11 holes before his drive found the right rough. Standing over his ball with a wedge in hand, he took a practice swing and what appeared to be a pound of spinach flew into the air. The wheels in Poulter's head turned, but finally he addressed the ball, made a lashing swing and watched his shot squirt five feet forward and 10 feet left, landing in the first cut of rough.

That was it. Enough. Poulter took two steps, raised his club like an axe and brought it down head-first into the moist rough. He took a few steps toward his bag, and with the shaft still quivering in the ground, he spun around and presented his right middle finger to the divot he'd created.

After a moment, Poulter hit his third shot on the 504-yard par 4 with a hybrid. The shot landed short and right of the green. From there, he pitched the ball across the green, three putted, tipped his visor to the crowd and walked away with a triple bogey.

Decked out in pink checked pants, matching pink shoes and a pink shirt, Poulter parred the 13th but scored double bogies on the 14th and 15th holes before withdrawing from the event due to an undisclosed injury. See photos of Poulter's meltdown.

(Photo by John Biever/SI)