January and February have been about fine tuning for Illinois head coach Mike Small, both for his game and for his players. The Illini open their spring stroke play schedule March 8 in Louisiana, but prior to that the Illini have been working on fundamentals and testing them in a pair of match play events. The second of those events is this weekend as the Illini meet Illinois State in the Seventh Annual Tinervin Cup Feb. 27 at Coral Creek Golf Club in Placida, Fla.

Las Vegas' GolfOdds.com Founder Jeff Sherman has released the PGA Tour golf betting odds for the WGC--Accenture Match Play Championship, and new world number two-ranked golfer Steve Stricker is the favorite to win with Geoff Ogilvy and Rory McIlroy, all at 15/1. But Sherman says there could be a bit more value on the underdogs in a match play tournament. Las Vegas is not only a great golf destination but is the home of the best golf betting information.

The PGA Tour stops at Torrey Pines this week for the event formerly known as the Buick Invitational. Nick Watney won the event last year. The defending champion has had great success in this event over the last decade.

The 57th annual PGA Merchandise Show starts today in Orlando with the 8th annual Outdoor Demo Day at Orange County National Golf Center. There will be approximately 90 companies demonstrating hard goods on the course's circular driving range.

The new rules regarding grooves will be adopted as a condition of competition for the 2010 U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open, as well as sectional (final stage) qualifying events for these three championships. The condition will not be in effect at local (first stage) qualifying events for the 2010 U.S. Open or at any of the USGA's national championships and team competitions that are contested by amateurs only. There is no local (first stage) qualifying stage for the U.S Women's Open or U.S. Senior Open.