First threesome left in dark at Open

Players admitted their unfamiliarity with Pinehurst No. 2 could leave them somewhat in the dark at the U.S. Open.

The threesome of Jumbo Ozaki, David Toms and Brandel Chamblee were in the dark -- literally -- as they began the 99th Open at 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

The U.S. Golf Association had moved up the first tee time about a half-hour to get as much light as possible late in the day in the event of afternoon thunderstorms in the North Carolina Sandhills.

But the fog-shrouded course was dark when the three arrived to warm up.

"I was out there before six and I was hitting (balls) but you really couldn't see the ground," Chamblee said of the driving range. "So, it was just, `How long are my arms?' and that's how I hit it. It was pretty dark."

"I thought they would have lights (on the range) because some of the places where we play early (on the PGA Tour) do, but I guess they just kind of wanted to be the Open," added Toms.

Both Toms and Chamblee said they woke up at 4 a.m. to get ready for the big day.

"I play early when I'm at home in Arizona because it's about 140 degrees by noon, so I get up at 6 when it's only 100 and go out and play," said Chamblee, who shot a 3-over-par 73. "It was OK today as long as I didn't think about the West Coast time I was really on.

"I usually warm up for one hour. This was brevity," Chamblee added of his early-morning routine. "It was just hit three or four shots. It was more like your warmups at home."

Only a handful of fans were on hand to see the opening of the Open, but some photographers used flashes to get frames of the three. One even went off during the backswing on Toms' first drive.

Toms, who shot a 4-over 74, laughed about the incident.

"On the first hole the cameraman was probably as nervous as I was."

JACK'S NOT BACK: Jack Nicklaus is back in a major after missing the Masters because of hip surgery, but the Golden Bear admitted his game left a lot to be desired Thursday.

Playing in his 43rd Open, Nicklaus bogeyed the first three holes and five of the first six en route to an opening-round 8-over-par 78.

"I feel fine, I'm just not quite strong enough yet," said Nicklaus, whose only birdie came on No. 8. "That was pretty obvious to me today. I was out there on a heavy (air) day trying to hit some shots out of the rough that I didn't have the strength to get through it."

Nicklaus was so short off the tee Thursday that he used woods on four approch shots to par 4s.

"Length is a major factor for me these days," said the 59-year-old, who has won four Opens in his illustrious career. "I can do fine if the golf course if fast enough.

"These guys are playing eight and nine irons (into greens) and I'm playing two and three irons," Nicklaus added. "That's hard to compete with, but I guess I'm getting a little bit of my own medicine. I had that a little bit the other ways for years."

Despite his high score, Nicklaus received his customary standing ovation as he walked to the 18th green. He tipped his cap.

"The USGA last year gave me a three-year exemption which was very, very kind of them, but I would much prefer to play better to deserve the invitation," Nicklaus said.

DALY START: John Daly's three straight birdies to begin his first round of the Open was a fast start, but not close to the tourney record.

That was set by Andy Dillard, who birdied the first six holes to begin the 1992 Open at Pebble Beach.

Dillard and George Burns hold the mark for consecutive birdies in an Open at six. Burns put together his hot streak at Pebble Beach (holes 2-7) in 1982.

The official scorer on the fourth hole originally had Daly starting with four consecutive birdies, but he actually got a par 5 on that hole. The score was corrected by Daly's caddie.

ON TIME: The USGA has been under the gun recently with slow play in the 156-player Open field.

But the first threesome of the day, teeing off at 6:30 a.m., played in about four hours, and the last group of the day was off the first tee on time at 3 p.m.

COLLEGE LEADER: Andrew Barnes can always say he once led the U.S. Open -- even if it was for only a few minutes.

Barnes, a rising senior at the University of Arizona, played in the third group off the tee Thursday and birdied Nos. 1 and 4 and was briefly alone atop the leaderboard.

"That was pretty neat," Barnes said.

It didn't last. Barnes bogeyed the fifth and seventh holes and carded a double-bogey on No. 8 to finish at 4-over 74.

BEAT THE CLOCK: Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Carlos Franco were put on the clock for slow play on the 11th hole. How did they know this?

If they didn't realize they were a full hole behind, they must have seen the USGA rules cart parked about 100 yards short of the 11th green.

Jack Reed, a USGA official, said the threesome was about four minutes behind schedule and he pulled out the stopwatch.

"We don't give warnings," he said. "If they can see thunder and lightning, they can see us."

They were back in position two holes later.

AP