Els and Schwartzel share first at Doral
Golf Betting Lines
03/13/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els was joined atop the leaderboard by fellow South African Charl Schwartzel after Saturday's third round of the WGC- CA Championship.
Els, the second-round leader, managed a two-under 70 at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, while Schwartzel, the first-round leader, fired a five-under 67 on Saturday. The pair is knotted at 12-under 204.
Padraig Harrington, like Els, a three-time major winner, bogeyed the Blue Monster 18th on Saturday. That hiccup cost him a share of the lead, but his five-under 67 has him alone in third at minus-11.
Robert Allenby carded a one-under 71 and is fourth at 10-under 206.
The field is chasing a pair of South African co-leaders, who did most of their damage on the front nine Saturday.
Schwartzel birdied the first and third holes, then rattled off back-to-back birdies at five and six. The last birdie at six tied him with Els, who was one-under after birdies at one and five and a bogey at two.
Els rolled in a nine-foot birdie putt at the sixth to move ahead by one, but Schwartzel, playing in the group ahead of Els, hit a fat shot out of a bunker to lose a stroke at seven.
Els unfortunately couldn't take advantage. His approach came up short of the green and he could no better than seven feet with his third. The Big Easy missed the par putt, but was still one clear of his younger friend.
Both players birdied the par-five eighth to keep Els a stroke in front. Two holes later, Els knocked his third to seven feet and converted the birdie effort to move two clear.
At the next par five, the 12th, Els missed a makeable birdie putt and at the next hole, the par-three 13th, had a four-footer for par go all the way around the hole and stay out.
"I was really starting to look good," acknowledged Els. "The ball horse-shoed out of the hole. That put some doubt in my mind down the stretch, which wasn't nice."
Schwartzel himself made a pair of amazing pars at 13 and 14 to keep his momentum going. At the short, par-four 16th, Schwartzel drove into a greenside bunker and converted an eight-foot birdie putt to match Els in the first.
Els hit into a bunker at the 16th and his sand shot stopped three feet from the hole. His swipe at it badly pushed the ball to the right and it stayed above ground.
The pair was knotted in the lead with Harrington, who three-putted from 40 feet at the last to fall one behind.
Schwartzel made a routine par from the right rough at the Blue Monster, then Els two-putted from 25 feet to set up the final-round pairing of the veteran and the kid.
"Obviously going to be a fun day playing with Ernie," said Schwartzel. "I've played quite a few rounds with him. I always enjoy playing with him. It actually helps my rhythm looking at him."
The two have a long history despite the 15-year age difference.
Els used to golf with Schwartzel's father and when Schwartzel didn't get into the field at last week's Honda Classic, he stayed with Els.
On Sunday, the two are adversaries. One is a certain Hall of Famer with three major titles. The other won twice this year on the European Tour and is primed for a breakthrough in a significant championship.
"You know you can win," said Schwartzel. "You still have to play the same golf down the stretch."
Bill Haas shot a two-under 70 and is fifth at nine-under 207, which is one better than Martin Kaymer, who fired a 66 on Saturday to get into sixth place.
Matt Kuchar (67), Paul Casey (68), Vijay Singh (70) and Soren Hansen (71) are knotted in seventh place at minus-seven.
NOTES: Defending champion Phil Mickelson managed an even-par 72 on Saturday, but grimaced and clutched his elbow at the end of his round. He released a statement saying basically it was a stinger and he should be fine...Els has one WGC title and that came at the 2004 American Express Championship.
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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.