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06/14/2007 - Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Dougherty was the early first-round leader at the U.S. Open after finishing off a two-under 68 Thursday afternoon at Oakmont.
Angel Cabrera was a shot further back at one-under 69.
Tiger Woods and defending champion Geoff Ogilvy both shot one-over 71 playing the same group, and a host of other well-known players were in the mix.
Wearing a brace on his left wrist, Phil Mickelson was on the practice green well ahead of his 1:36 p.m. (et) tee time.
Dougherty's number was already one shot better than the leading 18-hole score at Winged Foot last year, when Colin Montgomerie's 69 was the highest first- round score to lead a U.S. Open in 20 years.
Indeed, there were plenty of low scores early Thursday when it looked like the rain Oakmont received on Wednesday might have slowed the greens considerably and given the players some advantage.
"I certainly think it's helped us because it softened up the greens today," said Dougherty, who needed just 11 putts to shoot 32 on the back nine. "You can get putts to stop relatively close to the hole."
Dougherty had four birdies to go along with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 7 and 8. His last birdie was set up by a 54-degree wedge shot to six feet at the 17th, a 313-yard par four.
The 25-year-old Englishman, who is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory, said he though the course was "easy." Not that he wanted everyone to know he said it.
"I hate saying it ... Especially if a USGA official picks up on that," he commented.
Still, there were only around a dozen players at even-par or better when Woods finished. Bubba Watson and Jose Maria Olazabal were in the clubhouse with even-par 70s.
David Toms started hot and was an early leader, but he made five bogeys on his last six holes and shot a two-over 72. Pablo Martin, a 21-year-old Spaniard, was tied with Woods and Ogilvy at 71.
Oakmont was showing its teeth.
Woods hit his first drive at No. 1 into one of the course's 210 bunkers and opened with a bogey, but came right back with a 15-foot birdie at the second hole to get to even-par. He made par from bunkers at the third and fourth, then rolled in another 15-foot putt for birdie at the sixth.
He was even-par around the turn, though, after making a bogey from a bunker at 288-yard, par-three eighth, then slipped to one-over with a two-putt bogey at the 10th.
Hitting into another bunker at the 12th, Woods made bogey and fell to two- over. But he made a good par after hitting into a bowl-like scoop in the green at the 13th, then later moved back to one-over with a three-foot birdie at the 17th.
It was a grinder's round from the world's top player.
"The golf course is playing hard, and this is with pretty benign conditions and pretty favorable pin positions," Woods said. "You know the U.S. Open is going to be a grind."
Woods missed the cut last year at Winged Foot when he opened with back-to-back rounds of 76, then admitted he wasn't ready to play so soon after his father's death.
Thursday, he did just enough to almost guarantee that wouldn't happen again.
"I hit enough fairways to at least give myself a chance," said Woods, who has won two U.S. Opens and 12 majors overall. "When I didn't, I just put it back in play."
The weather Thursday was overcast and cool with a slight breeze -- perfect playing conditions even if the course toughened steadily as the first round wore on.
"Oakmont probably will never play easier than we had it in the first nine holes," said Ogilvy, whose birdies included a six-foot putt at the 13th.
<< Saint Peter's drops football
Jersey, City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saint Peter's College will no longer
sponsor football as an intercollegiate sport as of July 1, 2007.
The announcement was made after months of deliberation.
"We feel that at this time with the
<< Dodgers dismiss Murray; Mueller serves in interim
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers announced
Thursday they have dismissed hitting coach Eddie Murray and named Bill Mueller
interim hitting coach.
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<< Marshall suspended three games for tackle on Cooper
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee
announced Wednesday that new Toronto FC defender Tyrone Marshall - just
acquired from L.A. on Wednesday for striker Edson Buddle - will be suspended
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Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have released
veteran safety Donovin Darius.
Darius spent nine years with the Jaguars, who made the Syracuse product the
25th overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft.
Injuries
Padres' Kouzmanoff leaves game with injury >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin
Kouzmanoff left Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with a lower
back strain.
The 25-year-old left in the fourth inning after flying out to right f
Two share lead in France >>
Lumbres, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ireland's David Higgins and Australian
David Bransdon each posted rounds of six-under-par 65 to share the lead after
the opening round of the Open de Saint-Omer.
Another Australian, Simon Nash, is o
'Wolves acquire veteran forward F Howard >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired
forward Juwan Howard from the Houston Rockets for guard Mike James and forward
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Germano, Padres down D-Rays >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Germano tossed six scoreless
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Germano (5
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
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