Perry's 61 good for Travelers lead
Golf Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Cromwell, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Perry had chance at the magical 59 on Thursday, but settled for a nine-under 61 and the first-round lead of the Travelers Championship.
Perry needed to go two-under over his last three holes to become the fourth player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59, but missed birdie efforts from eight, 25 and 24 feet on the last three.
"I had it the back of my head," Perry said of his chances at joining golf immortality with a sub-60 round. "Today was a good day to do it. I just didn't get it done."
His 61 matched the course record at the TPC River Highlands. Kirk Triplett set the original mark in 2000, then it was matched by Phil Mickelson and Scott Verplank in the 2001 championship and Brad Faxon four years ago.
Paul Goydos and Charles Warren are tied for second place at seven-under 63.
Lucas Glover, three days removed from his U.S. Open Championship, birdied three holes in a row from the 13th en route to a five-under-par 65 and a share of eighth place.
"I played well. I'm very pleased," said Glover, who earned his first major title Monday at Bethpage.
As well as Glover played on Thursday, Perry was four strokes better in round one.
Perry broke into red figures with back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes. He flew up the leaderboard thanks to a spectacular run, which began with a birdie at the par-five sixth.
After that birdie, Perry caught fire. He birdied his next four holes for five in a row and that spurt moved him into a share of first place at seven-under par.
Perry had a decent chance at birdie at 11, but missed. He parred the 12th as well, then reached the green in two at the par-five 13th and two-putted for another birdie.
Perry drove the green at the par-four 15th and had 20 feet for an eagle. That putt missed the hole, but he tapped in from three feet for a birdie and now 59 was a very realistic possibility.
At the par-three 16th, Perry hit his tee ball to eight feet. His putt grazed the right side of the cup and his 25-foot chance at 17 never threatened the hole.
Perry needed to hole his second shot at 18 to join the sub-60 club, but he couldn't manage it. He played his approach to 24 feet and the No. 7 player in the world could not convert for one final birdie and a round of 60.
Perry lost a playoff at the Masters and hasn't finished inside the top 20 since.
Greg Chalmers, Tag Ridings, Spencer Levin and Boo Weekley are tied for fourth place at six-under 64.
Glover was joined in eighth place by Ricky Barnes, one of the runners-up at Bethpage.
"Today I wanted to come back and rebound, obviously, from what happened last week," said Barnes, the third-round leader at the U.S. Open. "But today reminded me of the first round of last week. Just really solid, hit a lot of greens, had a lot of good looks."
Glover and Barnes are tied at minus-five with David Toms, John Merrick, D.A. Points, Mathew Goggin, Jerry Kelly, Y.E. Yang and Aaron Watkins.
Defending champion Stewart Cink struggled on Thursday. He shot a one-over 71 and was of 36 players out of 156 in round one who failed to shoot even-par or better.
Devens, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kimberly Kim, the 2006 U.S. Women's Amateur Champion, knocked off Sara-Maude Juneau, 2 & 1, Thursday to win her third- round match at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. Kim advanced
<< Magic acquire Carter from Nets
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic have acquired All-Star guard
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Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez hit his 563rd career home run in the first inning of Thursday's game against the Atlanta Braves and in the process tied former Yankee great Reggie Jackson for 11th place on the all-time home ru
Fedorov returning home to Russia >>
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New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers selected Oklahoma
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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
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Horse Betting
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.