In February, Mahan won the elite World Golf Championships Matchplay Championship and, became the first two-time winner on the US tour this year. The 29-year-old triumph will boost him to fourth in the world rankings, sending him into the Masters, as the highest-ranked American. It is the first major tournament of the season that starts on Thursday at Augusta National.

Mahan, 29, said that he was looking forward to attempting to capture his first Major championship at Augusta National starting on Thursday, as the victory at Houston Open boosted his confidence. Mahan confidently hit his tee shot down the middle of the fairway, and then knocked his 203-yard approach to 21 feet, standing on the 18th tee with a one-stroke lead. When the ball landed safely on the green, he gave caddie John Wood a high-five. This year, Pettersson (71) finished with eight pars for his second runner-up finish. Louis Oosthuizen (75), the third-round leader was another shot back at 14 under.

A couple years back, there used to be a point when critics wondered if Hunter Mahan had the chutzpah to be a truly great player. It seems he surely made a point this year with couple of wins and a WGC victory. He would collapse on the weekend or go MIA for a handful of tournaments, every time he appeared to be on the verge of breaking out. He never had the will and the consistency to win. However, it is clear Mahan is a different player, after four months into the 2012 season. The swing has never looked better under pressure-packed situations and there is consistency and confidence too.

In order to qualify for next week’s Masters, Ernie Els was one of a number of players who needed a win at Redstone. The big South African posted a final-round 70 to finish tied for 12th on 278. He has played in the last 18 Masters.

Few oddsmaker are considering Mahan as a favorite, as he goes into the Masters. A green jacket does not seem out of the question, when one has played as well as he has over the last couple of months. The betting odds for this week’s Masters – Tiger Woods 5, Rory McIlroy 61/10, Phil Mickelson 12, Luke Donald 81/5, Lee Westwood 22, Hunter Mahan 30.

Just two weeks ago, Donald had surrendered the top spot to Rory McIlroy. Although, he ended the Northern Ireland prodigy’s reign by capturing the $990,000 crown in the $5.5 million event, the Englishman’s final tune-up for next month’s Masters.

The reigning money list champion of both the US and European PGA tours, Donald has never won a major title. He hopes his lofty status does not mean he draws attention away from young superstar McIlroy or 14-time major winner Woods.

While Woods coming off a strained Achilles tendon plans to play the Tavistock Cup 36-hole exhibition and the PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational in the coming week, neither Donald nor McIlroy plans to play again before the Masters.

This week, Donald plans some practice sessions with McIlroy and next in Florida and the top ranking figures to be a topic of conversation. With Americans Furyk (69) and Garrigus (64) and South Korea’s Sang-Moon (68) at the Innisbrook resort’s Copperhead course, Donald shot a closing five-under-par 66 on Sunday to finish regulation play tied at 13-under 271.

With Donald the only player to find the dense rough off the tee, the playoff took place on the par-4 18th hole. Even though, Garrigus put his second shot only seven feet from the cup Donald blasted his approach six feet from the hole. He produced a spectacular 159-yard approach from the rough with a 7-iron that barely cleared greenside bunkers to set up his winning birdie putt, on the first playoff hole.

Finishing tied 16th with a final round 66, Geoff Ogilvy was the top-placed Australian, leaving him five shots outside the play-off. South African Retief Goosen opened with a double bogey and made bogeys on two of the next four holes to fall out of contention, finishing on 277. He shared the lead with Furyk after 54 holes despite nagging back pain.

Last year’s winner Justin Rose will be defending his title. Rose wins his first of the year as he would love to break out in this tournament. Although his best finish this year is third on the PGA Tour, he currently ranks 27th in the FedEx Cup standings. In the Tavistock Cup, he does have a tie for second. Even though Rose is better than average at getting the ball on the green in regulation, he is not the best first ball hitter among the favorites.

Does Phil Mickelson stand a chance as he will be the biggest name on the entry list for this year’s event? Compare to Mickelson, Ryan Moore and Bo Van Pelt may have a better shot at competing for the trophy. Even though Mickelson is the big name in the tournament he does not have a shot this year, he ranks fifth in the FedEx standings.

This season, Bo Van Pelt has not won a tournament although in the Memorial he does have a shot to win his first of the season. Van Pelt is also solid if he gets in trouble as he is stronger off the tee on the first shot. Even though Ryan Moore is overdue for a big win on the PGA Tour, his best finish this season is fourth in the Northern Trust.

In PGA Betting Odds, Luke Donald is the favorite to win the Memorial at +750.

Dating back to 1946, this tournament is one of the oldest events on the PGA Tour. With legend Ben Hogan winning five times, the club is steeped in tradition. The club has a trophy room named in Hogan’s honor and a bronze statue of the great man overlooking the 18th green.

By measuring just over 7000 yards, the old style par 70 course isn’t long by today’s standards however it tends to play a lot shorter with generally fast firm fairways. Even the shorter hitters can average up around 300 yards here. Both for position from the tee and to the tightly guarded greens, solid and accurate iron shots will be the key to success at Colonial. Those will go low this week that can shape their shots to seek out the pins. Look for a winning total around the -20 mark.

Zach Johnson closed with two superb rounds of 64 to finish three clear of England’s Brian Davis last season. The 2007 Masters champion will be among the favorites for this week’s event as he has shown solid form of late.

There should be plenty of scoring in the low 60s as it’s a relatively easy course the 11th most straightforward on last year’s PGA Tour and. Even though this is a layout where a 59 could be possible, the course record is 61. Get golf betting odds for this tournament closer to the May 19 starts.

Golf Betting will be available at online betting sites closer to this event, which starts April 28.

The early list of commitments for the Zurich Classic show the tournament is one that many of the best players in the world look forward to. Graeme McDowell ranked fifth in the world, Steve Stricker ranked eighth and Luke Donald ranked 10th, are three of the top ten golfers that have made it a habit to make their way down to the Big Easy every year.

McDowell and Stricker are average ball strikers but they should do well in this year’s tournament. Another key entry to watch is Jhonny Vegas. Vegas has been impressive early on this season and he will be one of the biggest bangers off the tee for this event.

Two other good golfers to keep an eye on in this tournament will be Rickie Fowler and Camilo Villegas. Fowler is another big hitter off the tee that is not afraid to make a mistake with an aggressive play. Villegas has not played much this season but he is also another golfer that will out drive much of his competition.

Looking for a veteran to make a run in this tournament? Nick Watney is only 30-years-old but he is a good bet to make a solid run in this tournament. Watney will be one of the biggest long ball hitters in the tournament and he will be looking to establish himself before the Players Championship.

Five of 144 players entered in this week in San Antonio completed in the top ten at the season’s first major just a week ago. This week, Texan Ryan Palmer, fellow Aussie Geoff Ogilvy, Bo Van Pelt, defending Valero champion Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy will all participate. The field also includes Angel Cabrera, Scott Verplank, Ricky Barnes, Stewart Cink and Anthony Kim as well as a number of other PGA Tour professionals.

On the AT&T Oaks Course in San Antonio, Texas, the field of 144 strong will be fighting it out, to be the victor for a prize of $1,116,000 as well as 500 FedEx Cup points being on offer. At $6.2 million, the total Prize Purse for the competition is set, 1,116,000 of which will be given to the winner.

To defend the title, last year’s winner Adam Scott will try to make come back and he will do the same after tying for second place at the Masters at a strong total of 12 under par.

The golf betting picks have gathered some momentum after the end of the recent major championship. The sportsbooks have Ryan Palmer at 28, Geoff Ogilvy at 133/10, Bo Van Pelt at 27, Adam Scott at 119/10, Angel Cabrera with 41, Scott Verplank at 47, Ricky Barnes at 51, Stewart Cink with 51 and Anthony Kim at 35.

Lawrie fired out of the blocks with an eagle three at the par five on the Golf du Palais Royal course, as one of the late starters who set off from the 10th tee. Before back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17thm the Dubliner recorded five pars, giving him an outward half of 32.

Lawrie was clear of defending champion Rhys Davies of Wales, John Bickerton of England. He came up with two eagles and five birdies on the par-72 Golf du Palais Royal course. After going round in 67, India’s Shiv Kapur is also tied for second place.

At the Golf de l’Ocean course, Bickerton meanwhile produced a five-under 66 with the field split across the two courses for the opening two rounds. He is a stroke superior than David Horsey and South African George Coetzee as well as Oscar Floren and Lloyd Saltman. At the latest European Tour event in Morocco, battling New Zealand golfer Michael Campbell is five shots off the lead after his first round.

Before dropping late shots to card a three under par 69 at the Hassan II Trophy in Agadir, Campbell led the field on five under at one stage. With Peter Lawrie leading the way after shooting an eight-under 64, Campbell is at present tied for 12th. Since 2005, Campbell has not won a tournament nor he has recorded a top-10 finish on the European Tour since September 2008.

The online sports betting sites will post their recent betting odds little later.

In the tiebreak, the Mustangs earned the complete nod as their No. 6 player’s final-round score was inferior than that of the Mavericks, although UT-Arlington and SMU both came in at 13-over 1,093 for the tournament. However, UT-Arlington’s Paul McConnell, with his 2-under 70 for a one-stroke triumph over SMU’s Kelly Kraft at 214, claimed medalist honors. He moved from fourth into first place.

Kevin Lucas fell back with 79. He entered the final round tied for fourth but still finished in a tie for 20th. In the final round, Scott Smith and Chris Cho each fired even-par 72s and jumped up to finish tied for 28th and tied for 43rd, respectively. At the event, Gavin Kwon was tied for 48th. Andrew Augustyniak and Brian Knoll each tied for 59th.

The Falcons shot a 382 in the final round to finish the tournament with a score of 1165 (+85), scoring their top five of six competitors. For the third time this season, Ryan Peterson finished top-ten. Peterson finished in a tie for fifth place and he had shot a 73 (+1). Zahkai Brown was behind Peterson. In the final round, Brown finished tied for 26th and carded a 3-over-par 75. After the conclusion of Day 1, Steve Sorenson was in 51st place.

The 26-year-old Levin fired four birdies and one bogey. He took a one-shot lead over 2009 Honda champion South Korean Yang Yong-eun, American Kyle Stanley, Australians Stuart Appleby and Greg Chalmers and Greg Chalmers. In the opening round of the Honda Classic in Florida, Luke Donald was unsatisfactory with three-over-par 73. At the 11th, the world number three made a triple-bogey seven, with second hole and sits six shots, following leader Spencer Levin. 73s was carded by the Northern Irish duo Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.

In a round of 70, England’s Lee Westwood had four birdies and four bogeys, while Ross Fisher shot 76. As weather wreaks mayhem in Florida, Rory McIlroy caught in new fight over Tiger Woods. As Lee Westwood started, a birdie at the last saw his end. He was one of the better ones, at level par.

The wind wreathed at the PGA Championship Course, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, things became more intricate for the golfers. Bakerton native David Bradshaw had triple bogeys on holes 16 and 17. Because of darkness at the Honda Classic on the PGA National Resort and Spa Champion Course, action was suspended. Bradshaw did not complete the first round. Other 12 golfers had the same experience.

The various golf betting odds for the Honda Classic tournament are Matt Kuchar (11/8), Luke Donald (11/8), Rory Mcilroy (11/8), Lee Westwood (1), Ernie Els (21/10), Michael Bradley (4), Spencer Levin (1) and Graeme McDowell (11/8).

Steve Stricker, last year’s winner will return to secure his title and look to score another cool million dollar win. From Luke Donald and Dustin Johnson, last year Stricker’s toughest opposition came.  For the Riviera Country Club, Stricker, Donald and Johnson all set up well as well as will once again favorites heading into the tournament.

Phil Mickelson will be also a favorite that must be considered for this year’s event. Mickelson has returned to form as a great ball striker as he won the two Northern Trust Opens before Stricker. At the Riviera, Mickelson has shown he knows the intricacies of playing the thinking mans course.

As Tiger Woods’ first PGA event ever, he will return to the site. Believe it or not, Woods missed the cut after shooting a 72 and a 75 as he played in the event as a 16 year old. Tiger can do some damage on this Riviera course as he will be looking to get on track for the 2011 season.

In order to win the Northern Trust Open, Fred Couples is the dark horse. Fred’s third place finish in 2009 can be attributed to his superior ball striking in the tournament as he plays well at Riviera. On Sunday, look for Couples to on the leader board.

For this tournament Golf Odds have not yet been posted.