Labelle Helps Dimarco Into Friday

Golf Betting Lines

Quinney, who was in the first group off in the morning, turned in five-under thanks to a birdie on the 17th. Around the turn, he birdied two of his first three holes. The 27-year-old drained back-to-back birdies from the par-four seventh to grab his piece of the lead.

 

LaBelle also started on the second nine Thursday and he opened with consecutive birdies from the 10th. He carded birdies on 15 and 18 to make the turn in four-under.

 

"It was just a solid round all day. The key to my round is I played the holes that don't set up well for me smarter," LaBelle admitted. "My game has felt good most of the year. Anytime you've gone through 18 holes without a bogey, you know you've saved a few shots during the round."

 

Ricky Barnes, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion, posted a seven-under-par 65 on Thursday, He shares seventh place with Boo Weekley, Jeremy Anderson, Josh Broadaway, Cliff Kresge and Knoxville Open winner Hunter Haas.

 

"I never saw it. I didn't see the flag," admitted Woods, who won this title last year and in 2000, both at St. Andrews. "Just left of the TV towers was where I was aiming. I was trying to hold it on the wind. I hit it pretty good."

 

This was Woods' second important eagle in as many days at Royal Liverpool. On Thursday, he drained a 35-footer at the closing hole to get within one of the overnight lead.

 

The 65s posted by DiMarco and Woods represent a new course record at Royal Liverpool, which has not hosted a British Open Championship since 1967.

 

Woods, much like Thursday's opening round, did not start out great on Friday. He three-putted for bogey at the third, but reclaimed the lost stroke and more with back-to-back birdies at four and five.

 

At the 456-yard, par-four 14th, Woods found the fairway off the tee. His four- iron approach landed 15 feet short of the hole, hopped a few times, then rolled the last three feet into the jar for an eagle.

 

Woods, who missed his first cut in a major as a professional last month at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, nearly holed a 40-foot birdie putt at 17, but made a small mess of the closing hole. At the par-five 18th, Woods pulled his drive left and was forced to lay up in the fairway. He hit an eight-iron 20 feet right of the hole, but missed the birdie putt.

 

His 65 on Friday is one off his best round in a major. Woods shot a 64 in the third round of the 1997 British Open and the defending champion has now posted 65 four times in one of golf's elite tournaments.

 

Woods has never lost a major with a 36-hole lead and in six of his 10 major championship victories, he has held at least a share of first after two rounds.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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