The 1999 Open champion knows that a lot of people will be left gobsmacked by his decision not to tee up at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on June 14. However, Lawrie insists that if he focuses on European Tour competitions, he will have a better chance of gaining valuable Ryder Cup qualification points.

Last month, the Aberdonian qualified for The Masters and at the 43 in the world rankings, he is well within the top-60 automatic qualifying berths for the second Major of the year. Ahead of today’s 100th anniversary of the Spanish Open in Seville, Lawrie spoke about his decision. He will play alongside Jose Maria Olazabal, the 2012 European Ryder Cup skipper, for the first two rounds.

The 43-year-old said that he is not going to play the Nordea Masters in Sweden the week before the US Open either because there is a long run of events after that and if he is to miss an event on the schedule then it is the US Open. He added that his record in the US Open is not good and he understands that it is a Major but he feels he has more chance of playing well at the BMW International Open the week after the US Open.

Meanwhile, Gary Woodland has given his injured left wrist another week to heal by withdrawing from the Wells Fargo Championship. He said that there is no structural damage and he has been cleared to play by doctors, but he really feels it is necessary to rest one more week. He added that he looks forward to returning to Charlotte next year. With one more week of rest, he said that he would be ready to go next week at the Players Championship. Russell Knox of Scotland will replace him in the Wells Fargo Championship.

The upcoming US Open has betting odds – Rory McIlroy-9, Tiger Woods-10, Lee Westwood-16, Phil Mickelson-16, Luke Donald-20.

Batting was the real challenge for them and the first century stand between Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook in the five Tests they have played in the UAE and Sri Lanka tells its own story. On the way to achieving that, they have played very well. Strauss was under a lot of pressure and with everyone looking to see how he did and wanting him to do well; things have never been easy under such circumstances.

Even though he scored 61, there would have been mixed emotions for him. Getting out in the fashion that he did would have definitely infuriated him. Although he played well, he got out by edging the ball while trying to cut Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Strauss 61 set the tone of England’s intentions and that is a captain’s primary task. He badly needed runs here and while he did not break the hundred drought that has lasted 24 innings. Strauss played his first and only sweep after tea in the 39th over of England’s innings in an act of self-denial.

Alastair Cook was equally abstemious in their 122-run opening partnership. He finished the day unbeaten on 77. However, while he was on 45, he did play a reverse-sweep for four, as England enjoyed their best all-round day of Test cricket this year.

In the first hour on Day 2, Angelo Mathews scored fifty and guided Sri Lanka. They were 252/6.England would like to wrap up the Lankan innings as early as possible when they start the Day 2 proceedings at P Sara Oval in Colombo on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Skipper Mahela Jayawardene pulled Sri Lanka out of trouble on Day 1 after he cracked his second century in consecutive matches.

England’s batsmen have had a very difficult year in 2012 and there are many statistics that show the same. One such fact is that the partnership between Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss was their first fifty opening stand of the year, after which Cook nudged Rangana Herath off his hip in the 21st over. Against India, they had ended the English season with a brace of good contributions; 186 at Edgbaston and 75 at The Oval and carried this endeavor past three figures during the ultimate session to lay a rock-solid foundation.

The best betting odds for Sri Lanka are (20), while for England (4/9).

To stay alive in the race for the Southeast Division title, Capitals badly need a win. In the fight for the Atlantic Division, the winning points can be of good help for the Flyers to catch the Rangers and the Penguins.

The Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom is reported to be on the ice for about 35 minutes with strength and conditioning Coach Mark Nemish. He suffered a concussion on Jan. 3 and he is striving hard for his way back. Some reported that Backstrom has been on the ice for the time in the last nine days.

Philadelphia faltered their chances during the power play against Florida on Tuesday. In the 2-1 loss to the Panthers, they went 0-for-4 with the extra man. All four advantages, including a 42-second 5-on-3 power play came in the first period of the play. In their last 10 games, they are just 4-for-26 on the power play. Their performance was below par their season rate.

In the Capitals’ last four games, Ovechkin appears to be hitting his stride at the perfect time with five goals. Ovechkin getting hot now could be bad news for the Flyers. He has 22 goals in 25 NHL games against Philadelphia. For Flyers, forward Scott Hartnell in his last four games has scored three goals with two goals being game winners.

Backstrom remains sidelined by a concussion while goalie Tomas Vokoun is out with a groin strain. Defenseman Andrej Meszaros will remain absent for the Flyers as he underwent surgery to remove a disc fragment from his back.

Ted Lilly (3-3 4.67) will be on the mound for the Dodgers opposing Carlos Zambrano (4-1 4.38).

While Los Angeles is the favorite on the -120 moneyline, the game will probably be a close. The over/under is set at 7.5.

The two teams have split the games in this series thus far. Chicago won the first game 4-1 and Los Angeles took the second 5-2.

The Dodgers have performed poorly against right-handed pitching lately, going 11-17. That’s a problem for Los Angeles, as the Cubs will put Zambrano, a righty, on the mound. The Dodgers haven’t met expectations when favored recently, winning just 47.4% of its games when favored. Los Angeles has been even worse when it is favored at home, posting a 6-8 record.

Chicago has been strong against left-handed pitching this season, going 6-3. That’s good for the Cubs, as the southpaw Lilly will be on the mound for the Dodgers. You can feel confident betting against Chicago as the underdog. When the money is against them, they have won just 40.0% of their recent games.

Lilly has been pitching well this season for Los Angeles and has gone 2-1 recently. Lilly has been eating up innings recently, averaging 6.0 innings per game in those starts. In his last start, the Dodgers defeated Pittsburgh 10-3 on Tuesday, May 10 behind six innings from Lilly.

Zambrano has pitched well this season, going 2-1 in recent starts. Additionally, Zambrano won his last start against Los Angeles 5-1 on Wednesday, May 4. Zambrano has been a workhorse recently, averaging 7.0 innings per game in those games.

Both bullpens should be rested and ready to go if called upon. The Dodgers’ relievers have pitched 7.0 innings in the last three games, while the Cubs’ have pitched 8.1 innings.

While Chicago has been okay in its last ten games, Los Angeles has struggled. The Cubs are 5-5 during that stretch scoring 34 runs and giving up 31. On the other hand, the Dodgers are just 3-7 and have allowed 42 runs while scoring 29.

As Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol jumped all over the Thunder on their home court to win in the first game of the series and take the home court advantage, they were the dominant players for the Grizzlies in Game 1. The Thunder’s bench stepped up and made some big time contributions as in Game 2 the game came down to bench production.

Even though James Harden was the big surprise, Eric Maynor scored 15 points, was 3-4 from three point land and gave the Thunder a major boost of energy off the bench. The guard got to the free throw line 11 times and never missed as he knocked down 21. In every game will Harden and Maynor be factors, don’t bank on it.

For the Grizzlies, Marc Gasol and Randolph will be factors in more games down the road. They will need to ratchet up the intensity in Memphis for Game 3 as they both had odd games in Game 2. Although Mike Conley is only a 26 percent shooter from behind the three point arc, he was the leading scorer for the Grizzlies in Game 2.

If the Thunder wants to be effective in Memphis, they will have to reel in Russell Westbrook. Westbrook will need to have his head on straight if the Thunder are to advance as he has made some poor decisions in the NBA Playoffs. The over/under total is 200 in basketball picks whereas the Grizzlies are a 3-point favorite.

In UFC Betting Odds, St-Pierre is a -360 favorite and Shields is a +280 underdog.

A native Canadian St-Pierre is known as one of the most complete fighters in Mixed Martial Arts, who is headlining the first UFC event in Toronto. Including Kyokushin, wrestling, Muay Thai, boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, his style includes a mix of several disciplines. As he’s been able to win by wearing opponents down in stand-up situations, by quick strikes that lead to knockouts and by out-maneuvering them on the mat, his versatility makes him extremely tough to opponents to prepare for.

Over Shields, a win for St-Pierre could lead to a fight against UFC superstar Anderson Silva down the road. To train for a spot on the 2012 Canadian freestyle wrestling Olympic team, St-Pierre has also hinted that he could soon leave UFC.

Shields, comes in with the momentum of a 15 match winning streak, although he is an underdog. His ability to make opponents submit when he gets them on the mat is his biggest strength. Even though Shields also employs some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing in his arsenal, he is an expert wrestler. After defeating Martin Kampann at UFC 121 in October 2010, Shields received his title shot.

Shields would become just the seventh different welterweight champion in UFC history if he upsets St-Pierre.

At 5-2 Boston is among the top favorites to win the NBA Championship whereas basketball betting lines has the Knicks at 50-1.

Even though this is the second season of the NBA, Amare Stoudamire and the Knicks have not been world beaters since their addition of Carmelo Anthony. The Celtics learn how to play without a steady big man in the middle as they will need to change gears.

The word old has been kicked around by many close to the organization as result for the Celtics over the last six games is a 3-3 record. In the Eastern Conference the Celtics last three losses came to the No. 1 seed. The No. 2 seed Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls as well as a loss to the Washington Wizards.

The age and health of their big man and team motivator Kevin Garnett will be one question revolving around the Celtics. The Celtics have a chance if Garnett is ready to go and healthy for this series although if he struggles and is battling ailments the Celtics may make a quick exit.

In this series, Carmelo Anthony and Stoudamire also have something to prove. Since leaving the Denver Nuggets, Anthony has been ridiculed. The Knicks have been average at best since his arrival in New York as the Nuggets have flourished without him. In basketball picks, the New York Knicks are favorites to win this match.

For this race NASCAR Odds are not yet available.

In regards to speed and banking Texas Motor Speedway is very similar to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After this week as well the same drivers that had great weekends in Las Vegas should be at the top of the scoring pylon.

In Texas the Roush Fenway contingent of Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards will not be the only drivers running up front.  Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson Gordon lead the Hendrick Motorsports group in Texas. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race of his career on the fast banks of Texas as both drivers have run well on this fast intermediate track.

Of both races held in Texas last season don’t forget last year’s winner. Denny Hamlin looked unbeatable in 2010 as he swept the two NASCAR Sprint Cup races whereas his teammate Kyle Busch has never won on the mile and a half track.

In this race Tony Stewart will be the wild card. The driver/owner has benefited from Stewart’s relationship with Rick Hendrick as he is off to the best start of his career. Stewart and his Hendrick satellite team are out performing their Hendrick brethren as they have taken off this season.

Look for Martin Truex Jr., a possible 40-1 shot, to win the Texas race if you are looking for a long shot in the Texas Samsung Mobile race this weekend. Truex is not afraid to bury the throttle heading into turn one as he has qualified well on the fast track.

The Factor won Saturday’s running of the $300,000 Rebel Stakes (GIII) at Oaklawn Park, with Martin Garcia riding for trainer Bob Baffert.

In the 51st running of the Grade 2 race the horse dominated from the start. By returning $4.80 as the favorite after finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.19 over a fast track, paid Horse Racing Betting backers well.

Second behind favorite Uncle Mo at +350, the Factor is at +500 in Kentucky Derby Odds to win the May 7 race at Churchill Downs.

The Factor, a gray Kentucky-bred colt by War Chant, set fractions of 23.33, 46.77, and 1:10.98 as it held a big lead throughout the race. As it sprinted toward the finish line, the horse eventually opened a six-length lead. About a neck before Archarcharch in a field of nine 3-year-olds, Caleb’s Posse, a 24-1 Racing Odds long shot, came in second.

Dreaminofthewin, Elite Alex, and Glint, three of the 13 horses slated to run in the Rebel Stakes ended up being early scratches. Alternation, another horse, was acting wildly in the starting gate, and was also scratched. What caused the start of the race to be delayed for about 10 minutes is the actions of Alternation, which had been a 10-1 favorite.

The Factor was coming off a front-running score in the San Vicente at his home track Santa Anita, which owned by Fog City Stable and George Bolton, has won 3 of 4 starts and the Rebel marked his two-turn debut.

In PGA Golf Odds, Kaymer was at +550 to win the WGC Cadillac Championship which warps up Sunday.

The event that will take place in Tampa Bay, Florida, Seventy of the world’s top 100 golfers on the PGA money list will be teeing off. Ricky Barnes, Jhonattan Vegas and the leading money winner for 2011 Mark Wilson will be some of the other favorites to watch for in this event.

Jhonattan Vegas is the most exciting and fun to watch of the three contenders. Including a win in the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs, Vegas has made the top 25 in four of the first seven PGA Tour events. Vegas has been a PGA Tour crowd favorite since as he gained a following after that win.

Even though Ricky Barnes did finish fourth in the Honda Classic and looked strong doing so, he got off to a bumpy start when he was forced to withdraw from the Bob Hope Classic. Although Barnes has become one of the better scramblers out of necessity, he will have to improve his driving accuracy.

In the first six events, the PGA money leader for 2011, Mark Wilson, has two wins. With his driving accuracy off the tee, his fast start can be attributed to his ability to hit greens in regulation.