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06/15/2007 - Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Englishman Nick Dougherty shot a two-under 68 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the U.S. Open.
His red number barely had any company.
Angel Cabrera was the only other player under-par following a tough round at Oakmont where the scoring average soared over 75. The Argentine was sitting one shot behind at one-under 69.
Jose Maria Olazabal and Bubba Watson were another stroke further back at even- par 70.
"The U.S. Open is brutal, it tests every aspect of your game," said Dougherty, whose early 68 held up through the afternoon tee times of Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Jim Furyk.
Tiger Woods played in the morning and opened with a one-over 71 to lead a group of 16 players who were tied for fifth place. Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy, Furyk, Singh and 51-year-old Fred Funk were among those at 71.
"The golf course is playing hard, and this is with pretty benign conditions and pretty favorable pin positions," said Woods, who had four bogeys and three birdies.
Woods made those comments early in the afternoon, when it looked like Oakmont might still yield some lower scores. The course was softened by rain that fell Wednesday, allowing for slower greens for the first dozen or so groups.
"Oakmont probably will never play easier than we had it in the first nine holes," said Ogilvy, who won his first major at Winged Foot last year.
Dougherty admitted the previous day's rain helped the early groups. His number was one shot better than the leading 18-hole score last year, when Colin Montgomerie's 69 was the highest first-round score to lead a U.S. Open in 20 years.
"You can get putts to stop relatively close to the hole," Dougherty said.
Some weren't so lucky, even those who played in the more favorable morning conditions.
Adam Scott (76), Henrik Stenson (79), Sergio Garcia (79), Paul Casey (77) and K.J. Choi (77) were among those who couldn't do enough to avoid the mistakes that can potentially end a player's U.S. Open on the first day.
Mickelson played with a black brace on his injured left wrist and opened with a four-over 74, a number that looked just good enough to keep him in the mix a year after his 72nd-hole collapse at Winged Foot.
He removed the brace to putt, revealing a bandage underneath. It's the same injury that forced his withdrawal from the Memorial two weeks ago and caused him to miss a start last week in Memphis.
"I'm not overly disappointed. It could have been a round that got away from me," Mickelson said.
Especially at Oakmont, where Mickelson said he may have originally suffered the injury while chipping from the long rough during a practice round a few weeks ago.
At its longest, the rough is around six inches deep -- same as it was at Winged Foot last year. Mickelson's toughest test may have come from a bunker shot on the back nine, which he blasted within inches to save par.
"I feel like I hung in there, and I'm excited to still be in it," he said.
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 thought the course was playing "easy." Not that he wanted everyone to know that.
"I hate saying it ... Especially if a USGA official picks up on that," he said. "It's still frightfully tough out there."
Indeed, 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. He came right back with a 15-foot birdie at the second hole to get back to even par.
"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."
Woods found bunkers again at the third and fourth holes, but made par, 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. Woods 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 -- and a far cry from his start at Winged Foot, where Woods missed the cut with two rounds of 76 not long after the death of his father.
"You know the U.S. Open is going to be a grind," Woods said.
In the other majors, he added, there are shots where you can take off. There are easy shots where you can "close your eyes" and hit it on the fairways and greens.
"On this golf course, there are none," Woods said.
<< Brind'Amour wins Selke for second straight year
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Carolina center Rod Brind'Amour won
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<< Astros' Everett placed on DL
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros shortstop Adam Everett
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Datsyuk takes home second straight Lady Byng Trophy >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings won
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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