Tiger in contention despite untidy round

Tiger Woods missed fairways and greens but saved the day with his putter in a two-over-par 72 in the U.S. Open first round on Thursday.

The eight-time major winner and twice U.S. Open champion hit only five fairways and half of the 18 greens in regulation and displayed little of the game that has made him the number one-ranked player in the world for the last 253 weeks.

"It was really tough out there today and I was extremely patient," the American said, adding: "I know how to play U.S. Opens.

"I've been down that path where you're going to get frustrated because you get some bad bounces or you hit a bad shot.

"It ends up in a bad spot and you end up chewing yourself out, but you've got to stay in the present, focus on the next shot and stay committed. That's the key and I did that the whole day today."

Playing early with little wind to contend with, Woods could only muster one birdie and lay six shots off the lead of early leaders Jay Haas and Japan's Shigeki Maruyama who hit four under par.

"I drove it alright," Woods said. "I hit probably three poor drives. I lost them to the right. But other than that I hit some good shots that didn't end up in the fairway."

Not since the Western Open last year has Woods led any event after the first round.

He has never won a U.S. Open from behind. He led both the 2000 and 2002 U.S. Opens from the first round onwards.

"There's an awful long way to go," Woods said. "We haven't seen the wind up yet. If that ever happens, if it ever comes up, this golf course is pretty tough.

"We saw the dots (pin positions) for tomorrow, and they're just as tough if not tougher than they were today."