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Rickie Fowler and Vijay Singh are among 10 players tied for seventh at minus- two.
Scott was one of six players -- along with Trevor Immelman, Lucas Glover, Steve Marino, Hunter Mahan and Aronimink member Sean O'Hair -- that competed at Aronimink in the 1997 U.S. Junior Amateur and are also playing this week.
At the par-four 10th, Scott's drive found the right rough, and his second made it to the right fringe. However, he three-putted for bogey from there to slip back to minus-two.
"I think the key to my round was hitting a lot of fairways, which gave me an opportunity to hit the greens. The few fairways that I did miss, I didn't get into too much trouble," Scott stated. "It was kind of a stress-free round, which is a nice way to start."
Haas caught fire in the middle of the back nine, his opening nine on Thursday. After three pars to open his round, Haas drained a 16-footer for birdie on the 13th.
Haas carded five straight pars around the turn. He converted a 15-footer for birdie on the fourth to move to minus-five. At the seventh, his tee ball missed the fairway well left, but he had a clear shot to the green.
The other five that played the U.S. Junior here with Scott are outside the top 10 after one round. Glover withdrew after nine holes citing illness, Immelman carded a one-under 69, Marino posted an even-par 70, Mahan stumbled to a two- over 72 and O'Hair struggled to a six-over 76 that included a seven-over 42 on his opening nine, the back nine.
Bandon, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cheyenne Woods put on a near-record performance, besting Alex Stewart, 8 & 7, to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, nearly matched the 9 & 7 posted four different times in tournament history, with the last coming in 2006. She moved on to face Annie Park, who beat Julie Yang, 1-up, at Bandon Dunes' Bandon Trails course.
Defending champion Emily Tubert was knocked out by Brianna Do, 1-up. Tubert led as late as the 13th hole before surrendering the lead and eventually the match.
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Club Cup Disable Edge At France >>
Guillermo Ochoa Leaves Gardner Against World >>
(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."
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