British Open Championship Hole-By-Hole Preview

Golf Betting Lines

07/14/2010 - St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - HOLE ONE - Par 4 - 376 yards: On the opening day of the Millennium Open this seemingly benign hole was rated the second most difficult on the course. A total of 36 players scored bogey or double-bogey against 15 birdies. The Swilcan Burn that curls down the right side of the fairway and across the face of the green is the cause of the problems. Unless the wind blows strongly from the west the approach is seldom more than a wedge and players should avoid the temptation to attack any pin position close to the front.

HOLE TWO - Par 4 - 453 yards: A new tee added 40 yards to this hole for the 2005 Open and brought Cheape's bunker on the left back into play at just over 300 yards. Championship pin positions are often found on the high left side of the green beyond a sharp ridge that can throw the ball left into a deep bunker or right towards the lower level of the green.

HOLE THREE - Par 4 - 397 yards: The ideal tee shot line hugs the right side, but the edge of the fairway is littered with pot bunkers and small gorse bushes. Crescent-shaped Cartgate bunker eats into the left side of the green and the putting surface falls away from a high left side.

HOLE FOUR - Par 4 - 480 yards: There are two choices from the tee: straight at the flag down a narrow strip of fairway hemmed in by dunes and gorse, or over the mounds on the left where the fairway opens out to merge with the 15th hole. But the further left the tee shot the more difficult the approach with a bunker on the left and the green sloping away to the right.

HOLE FIVE - Par 5 - 568 yards: The easiest hole on the course during most championships at St Andrews, reachable in two for today's professionals if the tee shot avoids the clutch of seven bunkers on the right between 270 and 320 yards. Fairway contours and the prevailing westerly wind gather the ball towards these traps and the aiming point is well to the left. The sheer size of the green - 92 yards from front to back - can frustrate many birdie chances.

HOLE SIX - Par 4 - 412 yards: Bunkers left and right are completely hidden from the tee as the hole drops to a lower level beyond a long, gorse-covered ridge. Shorter hitters will have to tiptoe their way through this minefield, but the power players will likely carry the ball beyond danger - unless the wind is strong out of the north-west. A ridge and hollow across the front of the green will do little to prevent a host of birdies.

HOLE SEVEN - Par 4 - 371 yards: The start of the St Andrews' loop of short par fours and two par threes where many winning scores have been forged. Most players will lay up into a flat area beyond a large mound where the seventh and 11th holes cross. From there it is just a short pitch over the vast expanse of Shell bunker to a green that runs downhill sharply from left to right.

HOLE EIGHT - Par 3 - 175 yards: If the wind swings round to the east, as it often does in summer, a simple short-iron shot can become as much as a five- iron. There are subtle contours in the largely flat green and the tough pin position is just behind the vertically-faced bunker on the left side.

HOLE NINE - Par 4 - 352 yards: Well within reach for a large percentage of players, especially with the prevailing westerly wind at their backs, the surprise is that this hole gives up far fewer birdies than it should. Gorse bushes creep close to the left edge of the green, but there is a wide expanse of open fairway between that and two bunkers on the right.

HOLE TEN - Par 4 - 380 yards: Although stretched by nearly 40 yards for the Millennium Open the green is still in reach for the longest hitters. Most players will be happy to avoid the two small bunkers on the right. Leaving a full wedge or sand-wedge approach can give a greater degree of control than chipping or putting from the fringe as the green falls away beyond a raised front.

HOLE ELEVEN - Par 3 - 174 yards: This tee shot can be anything from a nine- iron to a three-iron depending on the strength and direction of the wind. The green slopes dramatically from back to front and left to right. Come up short and the ball will run way back off the green. Too long and it drops 15 feet into a gully. Strath bunker at the front is small. Hill bunker to the left, meanwhile, is long and very deep.

HOLE TWELVE - Par 4 - 348 yards: A short but deceptively tricky par four where the bunkers that threaten the tee shot are all hidden from view. The top level of the two-tier green is only 12 paces deep and requires supreme accuracy with the approach. Many players will try to eliminate that shot by attempting to drive the green.

HOLE THIRTEEN - Par 4 465 yards: A new tee introduced for the 2005 Open brought the Coffins bunkers back into play at 280-310 yards on the left. The approach is over raised broken ground to a huge double green shared with the fifth hole. A shallow hollow filled with clinging rough on the left and a deep bunker on the right guard the entrance to the green at a hole that is consistently strong and often rates as the second most difficult on the course.

HOLE FOURTEEN - Par 5 - 618 yards: An out-of-bounds wall on the right and the group of four Beardies bunkers on the left leave a clearly defined target area off the tee. Then the direct route to the green must carry the huge expanse of Hell bunker 80 yards short. If the wind blows strongly from the east this is a genuine three-shot par five. The face of the green rises steeply before dropping away back and left.

HOLE FIFTEEN - Par 4 - 456 yards: There is little threat from Sutherland bunker in the middle of the fairway unless the wind blows strongly from the east. Beyond the bunker the fairway is pinched from both sides by low dunes and the trio of Rob's bunkers, some 80 yards short of the green, may catch downwind tee shots from the real power players. The wide entrance to the green is mounded on both sides, with sand on the left.

HOLE SIXTEEN - Par 4 - 423 yards: The fence that marks the route of the old railway into St Andrews runs all the way down the right from tee to green and there is only a narrow strip of fairway between the fence and a cluster of three bunkers known as the Principal's Nose. The percentage option is to lay up left of the bunkers, leaving a short-iron to a green that has a sharp ridge curving across the front. The green is bunkered left and behind.

HOLE SEVENTEEN - Par 4 - 455 yards: An extra 40 yards have been added to the hole that already has a reputation as the toughest par-four in championship golf. This means a minimum carry of 260 yards over the replica railway sheds to reach the ideal position on the right edge of the fairway. The green angles away from the player from front right to back left behind the vertically-faced Road bunker. An over-hit second shot will fall off the back of the green on to the road.

HOLE EIGHTEEN - Par 4 - 357 yards: There will be many players in the field capable of driving this green in the right conditions, but for anything that comes up short the choice of second shot can be vital, particularly when the pin is set just beyond the deep Valley of Sin at the front of the green. The traditional links shot, the low pitch and run, has a greater chance of success than a high-flying, fast-spinning wedge that can easily screw back off the green.

Course descriptions provided by www.opengolf.com.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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