The Players Championship might have just ended, but with Tiger Woods snagging his fourth PGA Tour victory of 2013 it seems not calling him the favorite at next month's U.S. Open is downright clueless.

Las Vegas agrees, and with the new odds comes an even heavier betting burden for Woods at 7/2 (he was a 9/2 favorite less than a month ago). Rory McIlroy is still behind him at 12/1, with Lee Westwood snagging the third spot at 20/1 despite that whiff during his third round at the Players.

The rest of the odds are below, with some fairly juicy numbers expected for a fun Open at Merion.

Read More »

Tee times are out for the 2013 Players Championship, and be prepared to see some of the biggest names in the game all playing together.

Tiger Woods will be paired with Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker, but that might not even be the most marquee threesome that plans to take on TPC Sawgrass come Thursday morning.

[Also: Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn hit the red carpet in NYC]

Phil Mickelson is paired with Justin Rose and Webb Simpson, while Rory McIlroy will go out with Adam Scott and Steve Stricker.

The pairings just keep getting better with the likes of Graeme McDowell, Keegan Bradley and Bubba Watson going out together and Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk highlighting a very American threesome.

The rest of the groupings and tee times are after the jump, so check out which group looks the most appealing for golf's fifth major.

Read More »

This year I was coerced by a hockey writing friend of mine to do a weekly one-and-done golf pool that allows you to pick one golfer, never to use them again in 2013. Since I'm doing it for fun (and DEFINITELY not for money, no way, no how), I figured I'd post my weekly picks here, with who I've already used under it and my record for the year, and against the others in the pool. We're calling this Darts in the Dark.

Wells Fargo pick: Bill Haas

It has been a weird year for picking golfers. Tiger Woods seemed like a lock at the Masters only to flame out over the weekend. Phil Mickelson has been incredibly hot (at the Waste Management) and ridiculously cold (everywhere else) and Rory McIlroy hasn't woke up from his golf hibernation.

It's a year that has seen a guy named Billy Horschel become arguably the best player in the game to date and players like Hunter Mahan struggling to break 80. It's gotten so bad around these parts with picks that a buddy of mine who, if gambling was legal, puts a lot of money on sporting events changed my name in his cell phone to "Don't Take Golf Picks Bacon."

But, alas, I keep on plugging away. Bill Haas has five top-10s this season and has missed only one cut, and despite a missed cut here a year ago has finished fourth twice including 2011.

Season Stats

Wins - 0
Top-10s - 4
Top-20s - 3
Missed Cuts - 2

Current Pool Standing - 53 out of 72 players

Already used - Steve Stricker (2nd at Hyundai), Mark Wilson (MC at Sony), Robert Garrigus (T-16 at Humana), Nick Watney (T-4 at Farmers Insurance), Kevin Na (T-36 at Waste Management), Dustin Johnson (MC at Pebble Beach), Retief Goosen (MDF at Riviera), Luke Donald (T-33 at Accenture), Fredrik Jacobson (T-25 at Honda Classic), Charl Schwartzel (T-16 at WGC-Cadillac), Webb Simpson (T-17 at Tampa Bay), Sergio Garcia (WD at Bay Hill), Keegan Bradley (T-10 at Shell Houston), Billy Horschel (T-3 at Valero Texas), Phil Mickelson (T-54 at Masters), Jeff Overton (T-42 at Zurich Classic)

This year I was coerced by a hockey writing friend of mine to do a weekly one-and-done golf pool that allows you to pick one golfer, never to use them again in 2013. Since I'm doing it for fun (and DEFINITELY not for money, no way, no how), I figured I'd post my weekly picks here, with who I've already used under it and my record for the year, and against the others in the pool. We're calling this Darts in the Dark.

Zurich Classic of New Orleans pick -- Jeff Overton

This week marks the second week in a row where the PGA Tour takes a little nap between the Masters and the Players Championship. It isn't a bad thing, as both events are at fun golf courses with solid fields, but we tend to forget about some names in the field that have a good chance at snagging a two-year exemption with a win.

Last week it was Graeme McDowell snagging his first PGA Tour victory since the U.S. Open, and this week I'm going with Jeff Overton to snag his first ever PGA Tour win at the Zurich Classic.

Overton has been playing well, with a T-27 in Houston followed by a T-7 at the Valero Texas Open, his last start, but it's his play in New Orleans that looks like he will be in the hunt come Sunday.

In 2010 Overton finished second alone to Jason Bohn, and finished T-18 a season ago thanks to a final round 65. I like his chances this week, and think he will definitely be near the top of the lead come Sunday.

Season Stats

Wins - 0
Top-10s - 4
Top-20s - 3
Missed Cuts - 2
Current Pool Standing - 51 out of 72 players
Already used - Steve Stricker (2nd at Hyundai), Mark Wilson (MC at Sony), Robert Garrigus (T-16 at Humana), Nick Watney (T-4 at Farmers Insurance), Kevin Na (T-36 at Waste Management), Dustin Johnson (MC at Pebble Beach), Retief Goosen (MDF at Riviera), Luke Donald (T-33 at Accenture), Fredrik Jacobson (T-25 at Honda Classic), Charl Schwartzel (T-16 at WGC-Cadillac), Webb Simpson (T-17 at Tampa Bay), Sergio Garcia (WD at Bay Hill), Keegan Bradley (T-10 at Shell Houston), Billy Horschel (T-3 at Valero Texas), Phil Mickelson (T-54 at Masters)

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• New college football playoff faces a tough dilemma
• The final Shutdown Corner NFL mock draft
• Yu Darvish reminiscent of MLB pitching legend
• Red Wings' playoff streak isn't over just yet

You guys all remember that incredibly simple ad by Nike years ago with Tiger Woods just bouncing a ball on his wedge. Sure, the tricks were far from easy, but it was Woods, with that goofy noise in the background, going between his legs, behind his back and finally hitting it down the fairway.

Nike brought in Rory McIlroy, Nick Watney, Paul Casey, Kyle Stanley and Suzann Pettersen to relive that ad, but with a little more camera editing.

Team Swoosh bounces the ball back and forth between them to that same tune we heard years ago with Tiger. The new ad is above, with the original below. Which one do you prefer? It has to be the old one, right?

The Masters just wrapped up on Sunday evening, and while there is still plenty to talk about, it wouldn't be sports if we didn't look ahead.

The U.S. Open is just 59 days away, and the odds are out on the second major of the year. Tiger Woods is the betting favorite at 9/2 (Note: he opened at 5/1), with Rory McIlroy coming in at 10/1 and Lee Westwood at 20/1. Masters champion Adam Scott is right behind those names at 25/1, with all the others after the jump.

Read More »

• Brandt Snedeker, coming into the Masters with a big question mark following some health issues, posted his third straight round under par at Augusta National to find himself in the final group. Snedeker's 3-under 69 was bogey-free, and the current FedEx Cup champion will be searching for his first major win on Sunday at the Masters.

• The Australians are trying to buck the trend of never winning a green jacket, with Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman all right behind leaders Snedeker and Angel Cabrera heading to Sunday.

[Watch: Breaking down Snedeker's and Cabrera's day]

• Tiger Woods stole the headlines early on Saturday with the news that he would receive a two-shot penalty for an illegal drop on Friday. It was a huge debate at Augusta National, with some thinking Woods should be disqualified and not just deducted shots, but the ruling bodies decided against forcing him to leave early.

• It was a solid start to the round for Tiger Woods with a birdie on the first, a hole that has haunted him in the past, but it took him getting to the back nine before he could really get on a roll. Tiger made three birdies over his final seven holes to post a round of 2-under 70, leaving him four back of the leaders.

• One of the best rounds of the week came on Moving Day, when Tim Clark went out early and shot a solid round of 5-under 67. Clark was 2-over heading into Saturday but made five birdies over his first seven holes to jump a ton of players and get himself into contentions at Augusta National.

• Matt Kuchar opened the 2013 Masters with a tidy 68, but his Friday 75 dropped him off the front page of the leaderboard. No worries, as Kuchar shot a sweet 69 on Saturday to jump into the top-10.

• Nick Watney opened his Masters with a 78, but consecutive rounds in the 60s has him back in the conversation. Watney shot a third round 68 to get into red figures and with an outside shot at his first major championship.

• Phil Mickelson's bid for a fourth green jacket is all but over after his second straight tough day at the Masters. Mickelson's 77 on Saturday included three water balls on his trip around Amen Corner and consecutive double-bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12.

• Rory McIlroy was hopeful heading into Augusta National after a solid showing in San Antonio, but his game disappeared as he shot a third round 79 that included just one birdie.

• Fred Couples did it to us again at the Masters, grabbing a share of the lead before giving it back during his third round at Augusta National. The 1992 winner couldn't keep the dream run going, shooting a third round 77 to drop all the way in a tie for 18th.

"Absolutely, I made a mistake. Under the rules of golf I took an improper drop and I got the penalty." -- Tiger Woods, on his drop on No. 15 from the second round

Well, here we are, one round left of the 2013 Masters. It's always bittersweet when the first major of the year is almost over, but the good news is we have absolutely no idea who is going to win it.

If Brandt Snedeker wins it will mean that he is truly one of the most dominant golfers on the planet. Angel Cabrera snagging a third major and a second Masters would mean that the guy with no regular PGA Tour victory is definitely a Hall of Famer.

Tiger Woods has a chance to make a run and snag his first major from behind, Jason Day and Adam Scott could be the first Australians to win a green jacket and Matt Kuchar could show us that his play as an amateur in 1998 was not a fluke if he took home the jacket that he's always dreamed of having.

Basically Sunday is going to be awesome, and we can't wait. Oh, and an added bonus? No controversy to deal with!

Don't miss a thing this Masters weekend!
Follow @ShaneBacon, @JayBusbee and the Devil Ball Golf Facebook page!

Related Masters coverage from Yahoo! Sports
• Expecting Tiger Woods to disqualify himself is antiquated and absurd
• Tiger Woods still in the Masters hunt despite disaster at 15
• Fourteen-year-old Tianlang Guan settles back to earth at Augusta

Thursday at the Masters was stolen from the likely hands of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy by a 14-year-old kid playing in his first Masters.

Tianlang Guan became the youngest player to ever play in the Masters on Thursday, and play he did. The youngster who most predicted wouldn't break 80 on a good day shot a round of 1-over 73, highlighted by an incredible birdie putt on the 18th green.

[Related: Tianlang Guan's mom packs lunch as 14-year-old takes on Masters like a veteran]

That should impress you plenty, but if it doesn't, just look at the list of PGA Tour players, winners and major champions that he beat on Thursday at Augusta National.

Read More »

All right, this is just great. Ben Crenshaw, the two-time Masters winner and certainly one of the most beloved figures in Augusta this week, gave the fans one more big thrill at the Par-3 tournament on Wednesday. Crenshaw won another piece of crystal with his ace on the 7th, a shot that required both style and grace.

Elsewhere on the course, Nick Watney aced the 9th, but no reaction anywhere on the course could compare with this beauty.

Crenshaw, one of the oldest men in the field, tees off at 12:24 p.m. in a group with Tianlang Guan, the youngest, and Matteo Manasserro, another youngster. Even if Crenshaw isn't around for the weekend, he's already carved out another fine moment.

-Follow Devil Ball Golf on Facebook and Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee all week long for updates from Augusta.-

This year I was coerced by a hockey writing friend of mine to do a weekly one-and-done golf pool that allows you to pick one golfer, never to use them again in 2013. Since I'm doing it for fun (and DEFINITELY not for money, no way, no how), I figured I'd post my weekly picks here, with who I've already used under it and my record for the year, and against the others in the pool. We're calling this Darts in the Dark.

There are a number of reasons I'm picking Phil Mickelson this week at the Masters. First, if not for a guy named Tiger Woods he'd be the man that everyone was backing this week, no matter his play heading in. Second, the Masters is like a long nap on a Sunday after returning from a bachelor party in Vegas; you get up, you feel so much better and you realize you might just make it to work on Monday.

Augusta National was built for Phil Mickelson, and if the guy can avoid the big numbers (two triple-bogeys a season ago and only missed out on the Bubba-Louis playoff by two shots) he should be in contention come Sunday, and even if he doesn't pull it off, I still see him finishing in the top-10.

Augusta is a left-hander's paradise, and Phil is the best of that bunch.

Season Stats

Wins - 0
Top-10s - 4
Top-20s - 3
Missed Cuts - 2
Current Pool Standing - 40 out of 72 players
Already used - Steve Stricker (2nd at Hyundai), Mark Wilson (MC at Sony), Robert Garrigus (T-16 at Humana), Nick Watney (T-4 at Farmers Insurance), Kevin Na (T-36 at Waste Management), Dustin Johnson (MC at Pebble Beach), Retief Goosen (MDF at Riviera), Luke Donald (T-33 at Accenture), Fredrik Jacobson (T-25 at Honda Classic), Charl Schwartzel (T-16 at WGC-Cadillac), Webb Simpson (T-17 at Tampa Bay), Sergio Garcia (WD at Bay Hill), Keegan Bradley (T-10 at Shell Houston), Billy Horschel (T-3 at Valero Texas)