Bernhard Langer's potentially
great first round at the U.S. Open on Thursday came to an end on a hole where
he expected it to continue.
Langer was 3 under par when
he came to the par-5 13th and hit a drive that left him a 4-iron to the green.
But his ball clipped the top
of a tree and fell into the pond in front of the green. After a drop and a two-putt,
Langer had a double-bogey that left him 1 under.
``I had a 7 on a hole where
I could have taken a 4,'' Langer said. ``That's a huge change, but there's nothing
I can do about it now.''
Langer followed with bogeys
on 14 and 16 finished 1 over.
``I would hit the same shot
again, just further to the right,'' he said.
Scott Hoch also saw his round
unravel on 13. His second shot rolled up right next to the pond and he tried to
hit a wedge with his left foot in the water.
The ball plopped in the middle
of the pond, Hoch - 1 under when he started the hole - took a 7 and finished at
3 over.
WILD WEATHER
Oklahoma's weather showed the
U.S. Open its fickle side Thursday.
After three days of heat and
humidity that left players and fans wilting, Thursday's overcast skies came as
pleasant relief.
``It was perfect,'' said Rocco
Mediate after a 1-over 71. ``The wind was gusty at times, but the golf course
set up perfectly.''
Then the skies went black.
At 3:15 p.m., the U.S. flag
over the clubhouse suddenly switched from north to south. Temperatures dipped
15 degrees. Fat drops of rain started falling.
Soon after, play was suspended
as a thunderstorm moved through.
``I thought the overcast skies
helped everyone,'' Matt Gogel said, standing under an umbrella and throwing a
backward glance toward the ominous clouds. ``Of course, now we have this tornado
thing. ...''
LOVE'S RETURN
Davis Love III headed to the
couch after shooting a 2-over 72 in his first competitive round in two months.
Love had not played since a
mid-April tournament at Hilton Head, S.C., because of a bulging disc in his neck.
``There's no problems yet,''
he said. ``I've got to go rest and see if the aftershocks hit me. But there were
times when I forgot I had a problem.''
The only thing bothering Love
was the way he finished: bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18.
``I scrounged around all day,
then I let it get away at the end after two perfect drives,'' said Love, who missed
the green with his second shot at both holes.
``I drove the ball extremely
well. I was no good with my short-iron shots. That's more of a timing thing. I'm
sure I will get sharper as the tournament goes along.''
GREENS ARE OK
The greens on Nos. 9 and 18
at Southern Hills, described by some players as severe and unfair earlier in the
week, seemed to pass the test during Thursday's first round.
``It's fine, and we knew it
would be,'' Phil Mickelson said. ``They knew they were trying to slow them down
and they did.''
Early leader Hale Irwin made
a two-putt par on 9, and took away any concerns about the slope and speed of 18
by knocking his approach inside two feet for a birdie.
``I know we were all concerned
about that in the earlier part of the week, but they have slowed them up to where
they are of sufficient speed to be manageable,'' he said.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING
The scoreboard put up by the
U.S. Golf Association was a bit misleading, to say the least.
The British press was fuming
over the listing of most foreign golfers as being from England, including Pierre
Fulke (Sweden), Mathias Gronberg (Sweden), Retief Goosen (South Africa), Padraig
Harrington (Ireland), Paul Lawrie (Scotland), Peter Lonard (Australia), Colin
Montgomerie (Scotland), Gary Orr (Scotland) and Phillip Price (Wales).
Those weren't the only miscues.
The home towns of Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh, born in Fiji and now
living in Florida, were given as Cleveland, where their management firm, IMG,
has its headquarters. The USGA apparently used the address on the entry form sent
in by their agents.
Then there was Angel Cabrera
of Argentina, whose surname was originally spelled as ``Cabrea.'' The USGA caught
that mistake shortly after play began.
DIVOTS
Phil Price of Wales withdrew
from the tournament after playing 14 holes due an undisclosed illness. He was
7 over at the time. ... Jimmy Walker experienced two new things with one tee shot
Thursday - his first U.S. Open, and his first tournament as a professional. Walker
was a four-time all-Big 12 player from Baylor. ... Stacy Prammanasudh has been
heavily involved in the U.S. Open this month. Prammanasudh, a University of Tulsa
player, missed the cut in the U.S. Women's Open two weeks ago. On Thursday, she
was the scorekeeper for the first group at Southern Hills. ... Former Oklahoma
State golfer Bob May, who shot a 2-over 72, doesn't exactly have a home-course
advantage. ``I've only played here four times, and the last time was nine years
ago on the day I got married,'' he said. ... Clark Dennis started with a birdie,
then was 6 over on the next six holes. He wound up shooting a 79. ``I hope the
wind doesn't lie down,'' he said. ``I hope every SOB out there has to deal with
the wind I dealt with.''
