Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday June 4 1999 — Page Kuehne takes early lead at US Open WEST POINT Miss (AP) — Player are teeing red again at the US Women' Open this time on the scoreboard and not on their frustrated faces Kelli Kuehne fresh off her first LPGA Tour vic-- 3 tied the Women’f Open record with an 64 in the first round Thursday Yet she lead Mi Inskter ended her bogey-fre- e round of 65 with a pair of birdies at a kinder gentler Old Waverly Golf Club where 43 players completed their first rounds under par had only a one-stro- ke 10-fo- ot Thirty-nin- e player completed their sub-p- ar rounds Thursday Four of the 15 players who finished their darkness-delaye- d opening rounds today also finished under par Kuehne was still at after nine straight pars to begin her second round today Inskter joinedthe lead briefly with an opening Unfie but dropped back with a bogey at No 3 a 163-yato par 3 “The greens are holding extremely well on the par Ss you can birdie out here and the greens are rolling very true” Inkster said after her opening round “It’s in excellent shape Those combinations make for good scoring” Moira Dunn who missed the cut in her first two Opens (1996 and 1997) had an opening round 67 A 40-foputt at No 8 started a string of five birdies in her final 11 holes “It's supposed to be tough” Dunn said Dunn didn’t play last year at Blackwolf Run where only 10 player broke par in the first round and the best score after 72 holes was 290 As they walked up the 18th hole at Blackwolf after the second round a year ago Nancy Lopez Meg Mallon and Jane Geddes waved white flags in mock surrender No one in the trio that has com rd ot er Triple Crown not all at stake bined for 68 victories and seven majors could do better than 1 par there “I don't think I'll be coming up 18 with a towel on the end of my club Friday" Lopez said even in the first round after she had two double-bogey- s and finished with a 76 “Old Waverly is a fair US Open course but it still calls for great shots and some really good putting because the greens are tricky” she said On Thursday MaUoo hit a wedge that stopped 3 feet from the hole oo No 1 for a birdie six strokes better than her first hole last year Mallon finished in a large group at 70 two strokes better than Geddes Texan who won the Kuehne the Coming Classic last week after a top 10 finish at The Phillips Invitatiorud made seven birdies in a stretch to get to 65 Defending champion Se Ri Pak and Women’s British Open champion Sherri Steinhauer finished winner on at 68 Kame Webb a four-tim- e this tour year was Kuehne burned the right edge of the cup with an birdie putt on the 18th that would have given her the lowest round in Women’s Open histo63 by ry in relation to pat Her 64 tied the Helen Alfredsson in die 1994 Opm at Indian wood Golf and Country Gub in Michigan “I guess you could say I was m a zone” Kuehne said “Ball goes in the fairway ball goes near the pin ball goes in the hole It's a great reeling It was just one of those days when things came easy” Kuehne was once billed as die female version of NEW YORK (AP) — The way Bob Baffert sees it there’s more than the Triple Crown on the line in Saturday's $1 million Belmont Stakes More than the Triple Crown? “You’ve been missing the who sends out his star filly Silverbulletday against Kentucky Derby and boat" said Baffert 10-ho- le Preakness winner Charismatic as the colt tries to become racing's 12th Triple Crown winner “This is the best filly in the country against the best colt in the country It's like a heavyweight fight" The presence of Silverbulletday adds a dimension to the race that didn’t exist in any of the 25 Belmonts with a Triple Crown at stake For the first time a filly is in the field as a potential spoiler and not only is she in but she’s 18-fo- ot ments she received before she even had her tour card AP photo Kuehne stretches on the ninth tee after a delay due to lightning during the first round of the Women's US Open in West Point lead with an 64 Mississippi Thursday She took a KetU te one-stro- At 24 last Triple Crown winner still strong “He pulled it out under the most Affirmed enjoying added attention LEXINGTON Ky (AP) — His back is level and remarkably strong and his chestnut coat shows only the lightest smattering of white hair around the muzzle and eyes At age 24 Affirmed thoroughbred racing’s last Triple Crown winner looks as though he could join Charismatic and 12 other hones in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes — and maybe even win Brought from his stall to meet a tour group visiting Jonabell Farm cm Wednesday Affirmed strutted and posed as though he not Charismatic would be going for the Triple Crown this weekend : As he walked in circles on die lawn in front of the Jonabell stallion bam the 1978 Triple Crown champion's muscles were sharply defined and the ribs of his barrel chest were outlined by his taut shining coaL Showing a little spirit Affirmed tossed his white-blaze- d head against the lead held by Jonabell stallion manager Phillip Hampton His steps however were sure and steady belying any notion of skittishness “Even if you didn’t know he was a Triple Crown winner you would enjoy basis bring around him on an every-da- y just because of his personality” Hampton said “He's a real gentlemen He’s just an exceptional individual” As a camera shutter clicked Affirmed' gaze had the calm certainty of one accustomed to being the center of attention “He does have that command presence and he always knows when there's a camera around” Jonabell manager Timmy Bell said AP photo Tourists look over 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed Wednesday at JonabeK Farm in Lexington Ky Affirmed ia the last horse to win the Triple Crown “From a physical standpoint he defies age” It was 21 years ago that Affirmed made thoroughbred racing history by winning the Belmont in a riveting stretch duel with his equally famous rival Alydar That victory produced the sport’s last Triple Crown winner Since then six colts have won the first two races — the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness — only to lose in the Belmont including Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in '98 On Saturday it’s Charismatic’s turn and Affirmed's former jockey said he will be rooting for the D Wayne Lukas-traincolt to end the Triple Crown drought “Affirmed will always have his place in ed history and so will I" said Steve Cauthen who was 18 then and a Kentucky horse breeder now “Nothing will change if Charismatic wins the Triple Crown except it'll be good for racing” What’s missing this time though is the fierce rivalry that binds Affirmed to Alydar to this very day Alydar finished second in all three races coming closer to victory each time Affirmed won by 1 12 lengths in the Derby a neck in the Preakness and a mere head in the Belmont The most famous duel of course was the hut when Affirmed and Alydar battled side-by-si- down the final seven furlongs extreme situation" Cauthen said “Anyone that saw that race will never forget it and probably remember it as the greatest race they ever raw” Affirmed was retired to stud after the 1979 season having won 14 stakes races and more than $23 million Affirmed has not had as successful a stud career as Alydar who was euthanized in 1990 after breaking a leg in his stall or fellow Triple Down winner Seattle Slew now 25 and still standing at Three Chimneys But his progeny have been strong turf rumen and his daughters have made good broodmares Of the nearly 660 Affirmed foals who had reached racing age as of last fall 68 had woo stakes races As a group his foals had earned more' than $333 million Now when he's not in die breeding shed or posing for visitors Affirmed splits time between the paddock and his stall in the Jonabell stallion barn diagonally across from that of 1994 Horse of the Year Holy Bull There Hampton frequently finds the Prem Interleague play is still getting mixed reviews Fans seem to love it but play- ers such as Mark McGwire hasn't gained the notoriety they thought it would I think we should go back to the way the game of baseball is meant to be played” No such luck Big Mac Instead interleague play returns Pedro Martinez and John franco believe it's still abig miss “It doesn’t do anything for the for the third season starting tonight The featured matchups: New York Mets at New York Yankees Anaheim at Los Ange- screwed up the schedule and les and Oakland at San Francisco game” McGwire insisted “It Also McGwire and his St Louis Cardinals visit Detroit while Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs travel to Cleveland Once again it will be East teams vs East teams Central vs Central and West vs West But there's a new wrinkle this year Some natural rivals such as Yankees-Me- ts White Sox-Cuwill play six and Blue Jays-Exp- 2-- Derby and Preakness runner-u-p Menifee 7--2 in the morning line But to Baffert’s thinking Menifee doesn’t quite enter into the equation top-billi- ng “He’s had games up from the previous three “Six games is too much” Yankees manager Joe Tone said “If you have to have something like this three games is enough” Said Toronto outfielder Shawn Green: “It's kind of weird We play Montreal six times and some American League teams only seven or eight games” For those counting AL teams two-leng- MIAMI (AP) — What a showdown it 1867 and Tanya in 1905 More Derby-winni- recently Kentucky Genuine Risk was ng second to Temperance Hill in 1980 and My Flag was third in 1996 to Editor's Note “Running in the Triple Crown races is a one shot deal a filly cannot do the three races” said Baffert who found out the hand way unbeaten-as-a-3-year-o- ld 12-mi- le held a 114-1advantage last season The year before NL 7 clubs had a edge Crowds ran above the avenge 10 117-9- for those games though last season's attendance figure of 31447 dipped from 33407 in 1997 Nat- race Baffert feels he has little to lose and everything to gain “This is all about ‘my hone is better than your hone' " Baffert said Thursday morning outside Barn 50 at Belmont Park several hours after Silverbulletday went for an jog “It's the best filly against the best coh This is so big it ought to be on early-morni- ng Bailey who replaced Gary urally the upcoming games in Stevens as the filly's regular New York will be sellouts Minnesota and Milwaukee next week might not do so well Mike Lowell made a backhanded stop and threw to first for the game-endin- g ouL “That guy made a great play” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said “If he’s not on die line it’s a tie game” Mantei earned his sixth save in seven chances and lowered his ERA to 173 “I was throwing hard but who cares?” Mantri said “Mike saved me” LoweO who missed the start of die season following surgery far testirular cancer also hit blow his first major league homer a two-ru- n in the seventh to give Florida a 3--2 lead McGwire hit a solo homer his 17th before leaving the game as a precaution Mighty Mac said he expects to play tonight in Detroit Cubs 7 Padres 2 Sammy Sosa bomered for the second straight day and took over the NL lead with 19 as Chicago woo for the sixdi time in seven games Sosa who hit a nuyar league record 20 home runs lak June has two this month and IS home runs and 31 RBIs in his last 27 games He hit a solo shot in the first off rookie Malt Clement (1-who then allowed Henry Rodriguez's second IhreMun homer m a six-ru-n Giants 7 Phillies 4 Curt Schilling (8-- 3) failed to become the first pitcher with six straight complete games 6) th two have won — Ruthless in rider was aboard Silverbulletday once before winning the Ashland Stakes at Keeadand on April 3 Marlins double up Cardinals would have been: Matt Mantei throwing 100 mph against Mark McGwire “That would have been nice" Mantri said “That's the situation you like to be in Either I beat him with my best stuff or he beats me" The matchup never materialized because McGwire left Thursday night's game in the pTih inning iih tightness in his lower back Willie McGee taring in his spot grounded out Against Mantri wife two runners on to end the game and the Florida Marlins beat the SL Louis Cardinals 4-- 2 Mantei threw three consecutive 99 mph fadtiaih in the ninth His first pilch to Edgar Renteria hit 100 and the crowd roared when the speed registered on the scoreboard “I heard everybody cheering” Mantri said “I looked up and said 100 mph? Damn!" But after Mantei retired the first two batten Joe McEwing singled and took third on a single by Remain That brought up the No 3 hhta in die order normally McGwire “That would have been a good matchup” Marlins interim manager Fredi Gonzalez said “I would have left die dugouL I didn't warn AP photo to see that one” Instead McGee stepped to the plate He hit Florida Mains shortstop Max Gonzalez suomsUy makes too throw to line but Louis a Canfmtf Joseph McEwfng sharp grounder down the third-bas- e fret for tin tatoto play after forcing 8L chances two ’ already’ Baffert said While Charismatic who will be ridden by Chris Andey attempts to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 and abo earn a $5 million bonus from Visa Silverbulletday looks to be a worthy opponent having overwhelmed die filly ranks by winning her last right races including easy victories in the Kentucky Oaks and Susan Her times the Black-Eye- d notes Baffert have routinely been faster than the cobs’ Is it the right move to challenge die boys in the Belmont and try to foil a Triple Crown? Of the 926 horses who have run in the Belmont Silverbulletday will be just the 21st filly Only stallion gazing out his window which overlooks a pasture and a line of trees “I think he’s a very content horse” Bril said “I think he enjoys his lifestyle” when his other filly Excellent Hampton said Affirmed's breeding book Meeting came off a good effort in recently has been trimmed to about 45 the Derby and then had to be pulled mares a year up in distress in the Preakness “We’re just dying to sustain him here in “The Derby wasn't the right the latter years” he said “By him still seetime for Silverbulletday we ing mares and doing a good job of it he's wanted to run her in the Preak turned back the hands of time a little” ness and we were really dejected Cauthen bred one of his mares to his for- when she drew the No 14 post mer mount in 1998 and now is raising a The time is right now” Affirmed filly When the Although Silverbulletday who former jockey came to visit Affirmed earwill be ridden by Jerry Bailey is lier this week he showed off a snapshot of putting her the foal to Hampton streak on the line in the 1 Fanfare down as interleague play returns tonight By Tho Associated the third choice at 1 behind favored Charismatic at 1 and 4-- Tiger Woods because of her consecutive US Women’ Amateur titles and the lucrative endorse- 11 4-- 2 since Orel Henhiser in 1988 getting knocked out after seven innings Staked to a 4-- 1 lead after Philadelphia scored three in the sixdi at Veterans Stadium Schilling was rocked for four runs four hits and a walk in the seventh Jeff Kent was with three RBIs single that tied it at 4 in including a two-ru-n the seventh Ellis Burks drove in the tun with a sacrifice fly Brewers 4 Astral Dive Nilsson bomered twice and doubiod as Milwaukee avoided a three-gam- e sweep at home: Steve Woodard (5-gave up one run and six hits in six innings Shane Reynolds (7-allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 2-- 3 innings to lose for the third time in four starts White Sox 18 Bine Jays 3 Pit Hentgen isn't pitching like a Cy Young winner Hentgen lost his third straight start Thursday at Toronto giving op five runs and 10 hits in 2 2--3 innings as the Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-- 3 “I'm embarrassed with the way I hare been who had his throwing” said Hentgen (4-go-ahe- 5) 5) 4) shortest onting since going two innings against Boston on June 13 1995 “It would be easy to quit but I don’t fed like I'm quitting out there” |