Feng leads State Farm by one

Golf Betting Lines

06/10/2010 - Springfield, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shanshan Feng fired an eight-under 64 Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the State Farm Classic.

Juli Inkster and Na Yeon Choi closed within one of Feng's lead as they both posted seven-under 65s at Panther Creek Country Club.

Anna Nordqvist, the 2009 LPGA Championship winner, headlines a group of five players tied for fourth at minus-six.

Cristie Kerr and Sophie Gustafson are among a group one stroke further back at five-under 67, while Michelle Wie carded a three-under 69 Thursday.

Yani Tseng, who has a chance to unseat world No. 1 Jiyai Shin atop the world rankings this week, opened with a four-under 68. Shin was forced to withdraw on Wednesday as she underwent an emergency appendectomy.

Feng, who has two top-10 finishes in five starts this season, flew out of the gate with three straight birdies from the second. She got up and down for birdie from a bunker at the par-five sixth for her fourth birdie.

The 20-year-old made the turn at minus-five thanks to a birdie on the par- four eighth.

Feng converted back-to-back birdie efforts from the 12th to get to seven- under. Her last birdie was at the par-five 16th.

"I had a bogey-free round. It's the only bogey-free round this year so far, so I'm really happy about it," Feng stated. "So it's my low round so far this year also, so I'm really happy."

It didn't hurt Feng that she played with Song-Hee Kim, who fired a 66 and is tied for fourth.

"I didn't think about her too much," Feng admitted. "I was playing my game, and I was leading all the time. I mean, I saw it on the scoreboard, but you didn't fear anything because the tournament is not over yet."

Inkster stumbled at the start of her round as she four-putted en route to a double-bogey on the par-four third. She caught fire later on the front nine, however.

The World Golf Hall of Fame member poured in six consecutive birdies from the seventh to soar up the leaderboard. After three pars in a row, Inkster closed with three straight birdies to share second at minus-seven.

"I was really happy I hung in there. I hit a lot of good iron shots on the back side," said Inkster. "I made a good par putt on No. 15. I drove it left. It was the only green I missed all day."

Choi played the back nine first and collected just two birdies over those nine holes. On the front nine, she moved to three-under with a birdie on the second. Choi poured in four birdies over her last five holes to get within one of Feng's lead.

Nordqvist was joined at minus-six by Meena Lee, Kim, M.J. Hur and Alena Sharp.

NOTES: Defending champion In-Kyung Kim opened with a three-under 69 and shares 29th with Wie, Meg Mallon and Karrie Webb, among others...Tanya Dergal got a spot in the field when Shin withdrew and carded a 68 in just her second start of the season.

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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.