Kaye leads in Ohio with course-record 63

Golf Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Kaye fired a course-record, eight- under 63 Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.

Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, broke the course record by two strokes on the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University Golf Club.

Scott Brown posted a 65 and is alone in second. D.J. Brigman, Nick Flanagan, Tjaart van der Walt and William McGirt share third place at five-under 66.

Kaye tripped out of the gate with a bogey on the second. He erased that mistake with a birdie on the fourth and came right back with another birdie at the par-three fifth.

The 39-year-old birdied the next par-three, No. 8. Kaye followed that with a hole-out eagle on the par-four ninth, which moved him to minus-four.

"I had a nice number and just tried to smooth an eight-iron 164 yards," Kaye said of his eagle. "The ball had eyes on it when it hit on the green. It went dead left, right in the cup."

Around the turn, Kaye picked up a birdie on the par-five 12th. He dropped in back-to-back birdie efforts from the 15th to move one ahead of Brown.

Kaye closed with a birdie at the last to push his lead to two strokes.

Brown was in the second group out in the morning wave off the first tee. He had a similar start to Kaye as he also bogeyed No. 2. Brown came back with birdies on three and five.

A birdie on the eighth helped Brown make the turn at minus-two. He converted a birdie chance on the 10th, then made eagle on the par-five 12th.

Brown birdied the 15th, then parred the final three holes to head to the clubhouse with the early lead.

"This is a very good golf course," Brown stated. "The greens are soft and it gives you a chance to be a little more aggressive, but you have to take some chances too."

Daniel Summerhays, who became the first amateur to win on the Nationwide Tour when he captured the 2008 crown, opened with a four-under 67. He was joined in seventh place by David McKenzie, Camilo Benedetti, Joe Affrunti, Michael Putnam and Kyle Stanley.

NOTES: Tommy Gainey, who earned his second win of the season last week and took over the top spot on the tour's money list, opened with a one-over 72, which left him tied for 77th...Benedetti aced the par-three eighth...There are 10 amateurs in the field this week with Russell Henley posting the best score, a three-under 68.

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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.