Delahoussaye leads by two in Canada

Golf Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brent Delahoussaye fired an eight-under 62 Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of the Canadian Open.

Delahoussaye's 62 at St. George's Golf & Country Club matched the tournament's 18-hole scoring record. Leonard Thompson, Andy Bean and Greg Norman all shot 62 at Glen Abbey, while Hunter Mahan also carded a 62 at Angus Glen North.

"I am shocked. I mean I knew I was playing well, and I didn't even really know how many under I was at one point," Delahoussaye admitted. "I just kind of kept going and kept trying to make birdies. I am a little shocked that it's the tournament record and the course record."

Vance Veazey and Brock Mackenzie both shot six-under 64 and share second place. Hunter Mahan headlines a group of nine players tied for third at minus- five.

With a slightly different setup this week, players are starting on the first and ninth tees at St. George's.

Delahoussaye started his round on the ninth and reached the green in two with a three-iron and drained the eagle effort. Delahoussaye came right back with a short birdie putt on the 10th to quickly get to minus-three.

The 28-year-old birdied the 12th, but gave that stroke right back with a three-putt bogey on the 13th. After three straight pars, he birdied the 17th to head to the front nine at minus-four.

Delahoussaye got within one of the lead with a birdie on the second. He poured in three consecutive birdies from the fifth to jump into the lead.

"The key was hitting fairways. I figured the rough was going to be thick, after my practice round," Delahoussaye stated. "I just figured if I could keep it in the fairway I could still get it around the greens. I hit a lot of fairways today and the putter got hot. I made a bunch of putts, to be honest."

Delahoussaye hasn't had a lot of success this year on the PGA Tour, as he has made just three cuts in nine tries and his best finish was a share of 53rd at the Byron Nelson Championship. That stands as his best career PGA Tour finish.

"I've played bad all year, to be honest," Delahoussaye said. "I've been hitting it well, but I was just getting in my own way."

Veazey also started on the ninth and he got his round going right there with a birdie. He rolled in a 15-foot birdie effort on the 11th and followed with another birdie on the 12th.

The 45-year-old, who has won four Nationwide Tour events, parred the final six holes of his opening side.

Veazey sank an eight-foot birdie effort at the first and followed with a 15- footer at the second. He tripped to a bogey at the third, but erased that mistake with a 20-foot birdie effort at the sixth.

Veazey closed with a birdie on the eighth to get in at minus-six.

"The putter was the key ingredient to the score. You have to hit good shots into the greens because they have slope," Veazey said. "I had a lot of good looks today with the putter. So I think that's the key to playing well here is obviously putting it in the fairway, and then you have got to make putts."

Mackenzie was even-par through six holes with a pair of birdies and bogeys. He birdied the eighth and followed with an eagle on No. 9. Mackenzie birdied 10 and 11 to get to five-under. His final birdie was on the 16th.

Mahan was joined in fourth at five-under 65 by Rich Barcelo, Dean Wilson, Daniel Chopra, Charley Hoffman, Jimmy Walker, Spencer Levin, Steve Wheatcroft and Brian Stuard.

NOTES: Veazey's 64 matched his career-low round on the PGA Tour...Defending champion Nathan Green is tied for 37th after opening with a two-under 68...World No. 8 Paul Casey, the highest ranked player in the field, also carded a 68...Robert Garrigus and Brian Davis withdrew after their rounds.

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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."

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