Dougherty's 68 leads Open early; Woods shoots 71

Golf Betting Lines

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.

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Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

 Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings 
Carolina Hurricanes  
San Jose Sharks     
Anaheim Ducks    
Philadelphia Flyers 
Calgary Flames     
New Jersey Devils 
Buffalo Sabres   
Dallas Stars    
New York Rangers  
Nashville Predators  
Vancouver Canucks 
Colorado Avalanche  
Minnesota Wild    
Tampa Bay Lightning    
Boston Bruins    
Florida Panthers   
Montreal Canadiens   
Atlanta Thrashers 
Toronto Maple Leafs  
Edmonton Oilers      
Phoenix Coyotes    
Los Angeles Kings      
New York Islanders   
Columbus Blue Jackets  
St. Louis Blues      
Pittsburgh Penguins 
Washington Capitals   
Chicago Blackhawks    
7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

Team     
Ottawa Senators      
Anaheim Ducks 
Detroit Red Wings   
Nashville Predators 
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames     
Philadelphia Flyers    
New Jersey Devils     
Buffalo Sabres    
Carolina Hurricanes       
Dallas Stars          
New York Rangers   
Minnesota Wild     
Atlanta Thrashers     
Montreal Canadiens    
Team        
Los Angeles Kings           
Tampa Bay Lightening   
Vancouver Canucks 
Boston Bruins       
Colorado Avalanche 
Edmonton Oilers  
Phoenix Coyotes  
Toronto Maple Leafs   
Florida Panthers 
Columbus Blue Jackets   
New York Islanders   
Chicago Blackhawks  
St. Louis Blues  
Washington Capitals 
Pittsburgh Penguins  
Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.