When discussing contrarian betting in the NFL, there are many strategies that can be used to extract value each week. Betting against the public is one of the cornerstone philosophies implemented by Sports Insights, but there are many ways that bettors can use public betting information in conjunction with historically profitable trends.In last weeks column, I explained how bettors could find value by going against the public and buying low after a loss. Sportsbooks shade their opening lines to capitalize on public perception and, assuming books dont receive balancing action from their sharpest bettors, one-sided public betting will continue to inflate the number, which creates additional value for bettors willing to back the unpopular side of a game.The betting system featured in Week 5 focused on underdogs receiving less than 25 percent of spread bets, but the highest return on investment actually came at the 20 percent threshold. Since the start of the 2003 season, underdogs receiving no more than 20 percent of spread bets have gone The forgotten man of European golf surged into contention for a first win in three years at the Scottish Open.Italys Matteo Manassero was the youngest winner in European Tour history when he claimed the Castello Masters in 2010 aged 17 years and 188 days and added further titles in each of the next three seasons.The last of those came in the prestigious BMW PGA Championship in 2013 and helped Manassero reach a career-high of 25th in the world, but the 23-year-old arrived in Scotland a lowly 596th after just two top-10 finishes since the start of 2014.A change of technique in pursuit of more length off the tee was initially to blame for the slump in form, but Manassero admitted it then became a mental battle to rediscover the kind of form he showed on Friday with a 67 to lie two shots behind halfway leader Alex Noren.It has been really hard with a lot of ups and downs, mainly downs, said Manassero, who was just 16 in becoming the youngest winner of the Amateur Championship in 2009 and finished 13th in the Open at Turnberry a month later.I was feeling bad on the golf course. Every time I had an important or difficult shot I was missing it because of the [mental] approach. Its something that starts with little things and when you have never really played badly before, its hard and you keep going down.Manassero missed 16 cuts in succession from last years Irish Open and was 893rd in the world rankings following another early exit from Aprils Spanish Open.However, he showed signs of improvement the following two weeks in China and finishing 12th in Sweden and 13th in Germany recently confirmed he was back on the right track.I found in myself a way to get out of it, Manassero added. It was a slow process, it was not something that clicked and thats probably a good thing because I know why I am playing better and feel better.I got a lot of help, people not always cuddling me but telling me off for certain things.dddddddddddd You only want cuddles when you dont feel good but its the only thing you dont need probably.Its exciting, of course, being up on the leaderboard and when its by playing well and not just by scrambling well or by some sort of escape, its even more exciting and Im happy.Five birdies in the space of seven holes helped Noren card a flawless 66 to finish eight under par, a shot ahead of playing partner Eddie Pepperell (67) and New Zealands Danny Lee.Manassero shared fourth place with Branden Grace, Richard Bland and Jorge Campillo, with Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell a shot further back.Noren, who was eighth in the French Open last week, said: I like this place. Its a really fun course to play. Some weeks we play courses where its tough all the way around and here its kind of a really nice mix of tough holes and easier ones.Lee, who was the youngest European Tour winner before Manassero after victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic as an 18-year-old amateur, was supposed to be defending his Greenbrier Classic on the PGA Tour this week.But after devastating floods caused the event to be cancelled, the world No.48 decided to compete in Scotland and donate money for every birdie ($500) and eagle ($1,000) he makes to the flood-relief efforts in West Virginia.I know its not that much to help everybody but Im trying to make as much money as possible to add a little bit of help, Lee said. It was a huge breakthrough for me to capture my first PGA Tour victory last year and ever since Ive been playing some great golf.Further down the leaderboard, 2013 champion Phil Mickelson recovered from two early bogeys to add a 69 to his opening 76 and make the cut with a shot to spare. ' ' '