Dougherty leads U.S. Open; Woods lurks

Golf Betting Lines

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.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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