BEHIND THE LINES: With Tiger Woods out, Jim Furyk is the one to beat

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BEHIND THE LINES

With Tiger Woods out, Jim Furyk is the one to beat

Buick Open odds have Furyk at 10-1. Kenny Perry is next at 12-1.

By Lonnie White
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

June 26, 2008

Shortly after Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open, he announced that he was done for the season because of reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

That was bad news for gamblers who had consistently bet on Woods' domination over the PGA Tour. No more sure bets with Woods, who had won four tournaments and finished second and fifth in six starts this season.

Woods would have been an overwhelming favorite for this weekend's Buick Open in Michigan. In eight career starts at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, Woods -- who did not play last year because of the birth of his daughter -- had won the event twice with six top-five finishes.

With Woods now absent from the Buick field, oddsmakers have made Jim Furyk the favorite at 10-1 odds.

Furyk, the 2003 Buick Open champion, has a strong record at Warwick Hills, with top-10 finishes in each of his last seven starts on the course.

But Furyk, who has a streak of 37 consecutive under-par rounds in the Buick Open, is anything but a clear-cut favorite. He's followed closely by several other golfers: Kenny Perry (12-1), Justin Leonard (15-1) and Heath Slocum (20-1), with Brandt Snedeker, Scott Verplank and Ben Crane at 25-1, according to

Golfodds.com.

Rocco Mediate, who pushed Woods to a 19-hole playoff at the U.S. Open, is listed at 50-1, and Brian Bateman, the 2007 Buick Open winner, is listed at 150-1. In tournament matchup bets, Furyk is listed at -125 over Perry (+105); Leonard is listed at -120 over Slocum (even); and Snedeker and Verplank are listed at -110.

Pro basketball

Wagers on the No. 1 choice for tonight's NBA draft have been pulled off most sportsbooks after an overwhelming number of bets were made in support of Memphis point guard Derrick Rose being selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first overall pick.

"The bettors have backed Derrick Rose since the line opened . . . No matter how high we have moved the line in favor of Rose, which closed at -700, they have continued to heavily back him," Bodog Sportsbook Manager Richard Gardner said.

"So therefore, we have suspended wagering on the first overall pick."

Soccer

The second semifinal of Euro 2008 will take place today between Spain and Russia at Vienna.

The Las Vegas Hilton's sportsbook has Spain listed as -170 favorites over Russia, which is +150. For a 90-minute result bet, Spain is - 1/2 at even, while Russia is + 1/2 at -120.