Tiger, Phil within Striking Distance After Round One Of US Open

By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
Published: June 12, 2008

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The focus fell to golf’s biggest stars, with
fans crammed together a dozen deep in spots at Torrey Pines to see
how Tiger Woods dealt with a tender knee and whether Phil Mickelson
could overcome so much U.S. Open heartache in his hometown.
The lead belonged to the obscure.
Kevin Streelman and Justin Hicks, neither among the top 600 in
the world ranking, each shot 3-under 68 on Thursday to borrow the
spotlight and take a one-shot lead in the opening round of a U.S.
Open that showed a slightly softer side.
They were among 11 players who broke par at Torrey Pines, after
only two were in red numbers after the first round last year.
Woods and Mickelson were not among them, then or now.
The world’s No. 1 player grimaced and pursed his lips, unable to
disguise his pain. No, it wasn’t his left knee that had cartilage
cleaned out during a surgery two months ago. It was a three-putt to
close out his 1-over 72, leaving him four shots out of the lead and
one shot behind Mickelson, who shot 71 without a driver in the bag.
Woods expected soreness in his knee. He didn’t expect his first
double bogey in 416 holes.
“To make two double bogeys and a three-putt and only be four
back, that’s a great position to be in, because I know I can clean
that up tomorrow,” Woods said after his first competitive round
since the Masters.
Streelman might not be a household name, but Woods knows him.
The 29-year-old PGA Tour rookie is known best for getting into
the Buick Invitational as the third alternate in January and
playing with Woods in the final group on the weekend. He was No.
1,354 in the world back then, all the way up to No. 608 now.
But he was back in his glory Thursday, saving par from
everywhere and making enough birdies for a dream start to this
major.
“It’s been an incredible run on the PGA Tour thus far,” he
said. “I don’t think what happened today has quite sunk in.”
Hicks played at the Buick Invitational, too - but it wasn’t the
same guy whose name was atop the leaderboard of the U.S. Open.
Turns out there’s another Justin Hicks, a club pro in San Diego,
who qualified for the PGA Tour event. He showed up in the gallery
to watch Justin Hicks, the Nationwide Tour player, fire off six
birdies on his opening nine and hold it together.
“A lot of weird stuff going on out there today,” Hicks said.
That includes the star pairing of Woods and Mickelson that
brought enormous crowds outside the ropes and more than 100 media
inside the ropes. Woods made his first double bogey since
September, worked his way onto the leaderboard and then made
another.
Mickelson, the guy who carried two drivers in his bag at the
Masters when he won his first major, didn’t have any in his bag for
the U.S. Open. He still managed to reach both par 5s on the back in
two, both times settling for birdie on his way to a 71.
“I felt like with the fairways being firm like they were today,
all I needed was a 3-wood,” Mickelson said.
Stranger still was the eclectic mix of players who managed to
break par.
Hicks is No. 722 in the world ranking, Streelman No. 608. Right
behind them was Eric Axley (No. 503), who has bittersweet memories
of this place. His caddie, Steve DuPlantis, was killed by a car
while crossing the street at the Buick Invitational. He shot 69 and
was tied with Stuart Appleby, Rocco Mediate and former U.S. Open
champion Geoff Ogilvy.
Playing in his fifth U.S. Open, it was the first time Ogilvy had
broken par.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els was in the group at 70,
although he stumbled slightly coming in. Someone mentioned that it
was his best golf in a U.S. Open in three years.
“But saying that, it’s been virtually impossible to break par
the last few U.S. Opens,” Els said. “I haven’t shot an under-par
score since TPC. So that means I’m doing something right.”
Not everyone did.
Defending champion Angel Cabrera didn’t make birdie until the
13th hole and shot 79. Sergio Garcia, hopeful his victory in The
Players Championship would carry him toward that first major, shot
41 on the front and salvaged a 76. Twenty players failed to break
80.
Woods and Mickelson each looked like they could have gone either
way, and both wound up in the hunt.
Woods often talks about getting back into the flow after a long
layoff, and that didn’t take long. He hooked his opening tee shot,
chopped out of the rough, then hit a wedge that bounded over the
green, leading to double bogey and plenty of murmurs.
“Getting into the flow of the round, it helps when you hit six
shots on the first hole,” he said.
It was his first double bogey since the opening round of the BMW
Championship last September.
“I figured you’re going to make bogeys out here,” Woods said.
“I just happened to make two on the very first hole.”
The plan was to get back to par, which is where everyone wants
to be at a U.S. Open, and Woods got there with a 5-iron from a
fairway bunker to two feet on the tough fourth hole along the
bluffs, a tee shot that slowly rolled down the ridge to five feet
on the par-3 eighth, and two powerful swings on the 612-yard ninth
to the collar of a bunker, from where he chipped to three feet for
birdie.
As for the knee?
There was no question it was hurting, especially when he took a
huge cut from the rough on No. 12 and went after his tee shot on
the 18th hole, a drive so long and straight that he had only 7-iron
for his second shot.
“It’s a little sore” was about all Woods offered after his
round, adding that he felt similar pain during his practice rounds.
But he was back to playing golf, continuing his pursuit of the
18 professional majors won by Jack Nicklaus, and what really made
him sore was dropping shots with careless mistakes.
The worst came on the 14th, when he was just short of the green
in two and stubbed a pitch that didn’t clear the collar of thick
rough framing a bunker. That double bogey put him over par, and he
never got it back.
“Those two 6s, I didn’t take care of both par 5s on the back
nine,” Woods said, going over his round. “As I said, plenty of
holes to go. We’re all going to make mistakes out here.”
Mickelson made his share, starting with a three-putt bogey on
No. 5 for the first of three straight bogeys.
He was four behind Woods through 12 holes, tied with him two
holes later after a two-putt birdie on the 13th and a beautiful
approach to three feet on the 14th. Each birdied revved up the
gallery even more, the cheers evenly divided for Woods, a six-time
winner of the Buick Invitational, and Mickelson, who grew up in San
Diego.
“It was pretty interesting to tee off at 8 o’clock and have
this many people out here,” Mickelson said.
They saw just about everything but the guys leading the
tournament.