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Mickelson Grabs Lead at US Open
Garcia Battles through Open Hecklers, Bad Shots
South African Trio in the Hunt at Storm-Struck US Open
Wrist Appears An Issue as Tiger Struggles at Open
Mickelson Grabs Lead at US Open
ARDMORE, June 14, 2013 (AFP) - Phil Mickelson shrugged off an overnight flight scramble and an early morning thunderstorm to post the clubhouse lead in the 113th US Open at Merion Golf Club on Thursday.
The American's three under 67, sandwiched around a 3 hours 32 minutes play suspension due to the bad weather, was still the target by the end of the day as half the field were unable to complete their rounds.
England's former world number one Luke Donald was best-placed among the chasers at four under through 13 holes.
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, appeared to be struggling with an injury to his left wrist after jarring it while playing out of Merion's thick and wet rough.
Mickelson skipped practise rounds at the course on Tuesday and Wednesday to fly back to California and attend his daughter Amanda's eighth-grade graduation ceremony, then flew back in time to start the Open on Thursday.
The airplane landed at Philadelphia at 4:15 in the morning and the 42-year-old left-hander reached the course 87 minutes later, well ahead of his 7:11 am tee time.
Seeking a first US Open title after finishing runner-up a record five times, Mickelson then set about tackling Merion's East course, hosting the US Open for the first time in 32 years.
That task he completed superbly, his sublime short game skills inspiring him to a 67, his lowest opening round in the US Open since 1999.
It gave him the luxury, as the clubhouse leader, of sitting back and watching the afternoon starters try to match him, knowing that, due to the delay, they would be unable to complete their rounds by nightfall.
Mickelson, who will turn 43 on Sunday, played down the difficulty of the flight logistics, saying that as a professional golfer he was accustomed to the situation.
"I got on the plane at 8:00, landed 3:30. Had a few hours sleep. We had a rain delay here, so I went and slept for an hour. I feel great," he said.
"So this is not that out of the ordinary; I do this about six, ten times a year where I fly back east red eye, play some outing and then come home. So it's not out of the ordinary."
With all of the 78 golfers who were in the 26 morning groupings having completed their rounds, big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts was closest to Mickelson, two strokes back after a 69.
At level par 70 were South African pair Charl Schwartzel and Tim Clark along with Americans Rickie Fowler and Jerry Kelly who had a double-bogey six at the tough 18th, and Australia's Jason Day.
English pair Justin Rose and Ian Poulter as well as Americans Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Steve Stricker were among those handily placed on 71.
There were early struggles for Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington, both of whom had 73s, while world number four Matt Kuchar disappointed with a 74.
The chase to match or better Mickelson's total by the 26 groupings that went out in the afternoon was further complicated by a second 45-minute holdup as another storm front swept through early evening.
By the time play was halted for the day, Donald led the hunt at four under through 13 with four players, including Masters champion Adam Scott, at two under with several holes yet to play.
Tournament favorite Woods, playing with the two men following him in the world rankings - Rory McIlroy and Scott - got off to an edgy start with two bogeys in the first three holes.
But he sunk a huge putt for birdie at the sixth to steady his round before jarring his wrist while hitting out of the rough at the 11th, minutes before play was called for the day.
Woods, whose last major win came at the US Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 when he won an 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate on what turned out to be a broken leg, is back near his best with four tournament wins this year already.
But to seal his comeback he needs to win a 15th major title and move to within three of the all-time record of 18 set by Jack Nicklaus when he won the 1986 Masters.
McIlroy, still waiting for his 2013 season to take off after an equipment change that has proved more problematic than he expected, was at level par when they came off.
The first round will be completed early Friday with organisers hoping to then get back on schedule to make the halfway cut by the end of the day.
Garcia Battles through Open Hecklers, Bad Shots
ARDMORE, June 13, 2013 (AFP) - Sergio Garcia struggled with hecklers and poor shotmaking on Thursday at the US Open, opening with a three-over par 73 and being chided by some spectators over a racism row involving Tiger Woods.
After Garcia's comment last month that he would serve Woods "fried chicken" should they dine together, considered an insult by African-Americans, the Spaniard was taunted by a few spectators.
One clucked like a chicken when Garcia was near. Another yelled the Spanish words for fried chicken. Yet another was the lone boo during polite applause as Garcia was introduced ahead of his opening tee shot.
"There were a couple here and there, but I felt the people were very nice for the whole day," Garcia said. "I think that almost all of them were behind me and that was nice to see."
Garcia's troubled round, getting himself into trouble and trying to get out, proved an apt metaphor for his off-the-course issues with Woods.
The 33-year-old Spaniard, still seeking his first major title, fired a double-bogey 6 at the 14th hole and a quadruple-bogey 8 at the 15th, but played the rest of Merion in three-under par, including an eagle at the par-5 second.
"Unfortunately two really bad holes, but that's the way it is," Garcia said. "The US Open doesn't give you much room. At 14, I slipped and obviously out of bounds and then I hit a bad tee shot on the next and went out of bounds.
"I guess I was just making my week a little bit tougher, but I tried to battle as much as I could coming in and I was able to shoot a decent score after being 7-over through eight."
Garcia responded with a birdie at the first, then eagled, and after a bogey at the par-5 fourth answered with birdies at the eighth and 10th, the latter being his last hole of the day due to Merion's unorthodox layout.
"I was able to make a nice recovery, I guess, so that was nice, but obviously I put myself in a tough situation," Garcia said of his round.
It was Garcia's first round in a major since his comment last month before the BMW PGA Championship when Garcia attempted a joke over what to serve Woods, saying, "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken."
The fried chicken remark sparked a racism furore much the same way that Fuzzy Zoeller had in 1997 when he suggested Woods serve fried chicken at a Masters champions dinner.
Garcia has apologized publically for the mistake and left an apologetic note for Woods in the locker at the US Open after exchanging a brief handshake on the practice range Monday at Merion.
World number one Woods had tweeted in response to the "fried chicken" remarks: "The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate ... it's long past time to move on and talk about golf."
South African Trio in the Hunt at Storm-Struck US Open
ARDMORE, June 13, 2013 (AFP) - A sizzling start for 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel helped a trio of South Africans fight near the top of the leaderboard in Thursday's opening round of the rain-hit US Open.
Schwartzel, who began on the back side, made three birdies in a row starting at the par-3 13th to grab a share of the lead at 3-under par, then surrendered bogeys at the 18th, fourth and fifth holes to the unforgiving Merion rough.
"I made three bogeys and that was all missed fairways, so it's very penalizing," Schwartzel said. "It's a lot tougher than what they say it is."
That left the 28-year-old from Johannesburg on level par 70, sharing third in the clubhouse with countryman Tim Clark with another South African, George Coetzee, only another shot off the pace.
US fan favorite Phil Mickelson led at three-under 67 with Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts second on 69 and half the field of 156 yet to finish after a first day that saw two thunderstorm delays for a total of four hours and 16 minutes.
For a layout that measures only 6,996 yards and has been softened by three heavy days of rain in the past week, Merion offers plenty of challenge for the world's top players and could be even stingier with birdies as it dries out.
"Everyone was talking about the length of it. It is short," Schwartzel said. "But the holes that are short, you're hitting 5 irons on the tee. There's nothing short about it.
"There's not much luck involved. You need to hit quality shots."
Clark, a 37-year-old from Durban, birdied two of his first three holes, the 12th and 13th, but took a double bogey at the fifth and a bogey at six and needed a birdie at eight to reach level par on a day when he felt so much more was out there for him.
"I had quite a few putts hit the hole," Clark said. "On the front I had a couple chances inside 10 feet. I would have been with two or three under. I probably played well enough to shoot that. You just can't make any mistakes.
"Even par and the way I'm playing, I feel comfortable with that."
Coetzee, a 26-year-old from Pretoria, opened with a birdie and added another at 11, but a bogey at the 14th and a bogey-bogey finish dropped him back.
"My irons weren't great but I was patient and got some opportunities," said Coetzee. "I left a couple of nice opportunities out there. I have to drive it well. That's the key this week.
"The rough is brutal, the fairways are hard and it actually plays very long with how wet it is. It's what you want in a US Open. It's tough."
Wrist Appears An Issue as Tiger Struggles at Open
ARDMORE, June 14, 2013 (AFP) - Top-ranked Tiger Woods stumbled to a two-over par start over 10 holes in Thursday's first round of the US Open and appeared to injure his left wrist blasting out of Merion's dense rough.
Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the all-time record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, might have hurt himself with his second shot on the first hole, following an errant tee shot by punching out of the deep grass.
Woods shook his left wrist after making the shot and later at the fifth hole seemed to wince after another shot to escape the tall grass, which had been made tougher by rains earlier in the day that delayed his start by three hours and 32 minutes.
The four-time US Open champion was shaking his wrist again after a blast out of the rough at the 11th.
At the very least, the wrist appeared to be an issue for Woods that contributed to a disappointing performance by the pre-tournament favorite, who would match the career record for US Open triumphs with a victory this week.
Woods has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open, where he limped to victory on what proved to be a broken leg. He has been nagged by knee and leg injuries since then as well as the infamous sex scandal revealed in 2009.
The latest injury fear brought back memories of a wrist injury suffered by Woods as an amateur at the 1995 US Open at Shinnecock.
Woods had to withdraw because of a wrist injury suffered when he tried to blast a ball out of dense underbrush.
Woods sandwiched two bogeys around a birdie in the first three holes of his roller coaster round, which came while paired alongside second-ranked Rory McIlroy and third-ranked Masters champion Adam Scott in the feature group.
Woods took another bogey at the fifth but answered with a birdie on the very next hole, only to make another bogey at the par-3 ninth.
At the 11th, Woods had a 2 1/2-foot par putt when darkness stopped play. He elected not to attempt the putt until play resumed Friday morning at 7:15 a.m. (1115 GMT).
"It's going to be a fast night," Woods said after his round. "I've got a lot of holes to play tomorrow. And hopefully I can play a little better than I did today."
Woods did not use the weather disruptions as an excuse for his struggles but also did not mention his wrist in comments provided by the US Golf Association.
"It's kind of the way the tour has been this year," Woods said. "We've had a lot of bad weather this year and this is the way it has been."
Scores on Thursday during the storm-interrupted first round of the 113th US Open golf championship at 6,996-yard, par-70 Merion Golf Club (78 players unable to finish due to darkness, will complete first round on Friday):
67 - Phil Mickelson (USA)
69 - Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)
70 - Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Tim Clark (RSA), Jerry Kelly (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Jason Day (AUS)
71 - Bubba Watson (USA), Dustin Johnson (USA), Steve Stricker (USA), Justin Rose (ENG), George Coetzee (RSA), Charley Hoffman (USA), John Huh (USA), Ian Poulter (ENG), Kevin Phelan (IRL)
72 - Hunter Mahan (USA), Stewart Cink (USA), Shawn Stefani (USA), Nicholas Thomson (USA), Mike Weir (CAN), Pan Cheng-Tsung (TPE)
73 - Nick Watney (USA), Paul Casey (ENG), Marcel Siem (GER), Sergio Garcia (ESP), Padraig Harrington (IRL), Michael Kim (USA), Chris Doak (SCO), Jaco Van Zyl (RSA), Kevin Sutherland (USA), Ryan Nelson (USA)
74 - Peter Hanson (SWE), Lucas Glover (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA), Brandt Snedeker (USA), David Lingmerth (SWE), Martin Laird (SCO), Jason Dufner (USA), Henrik Stenson (SWE), Simon Khan (ENG), Jay Don Blake (USA), Brandt Jobe (USA), Randall Hutchison (USA)
75 - Cliff Kresge (USA), Aaron Baddeley (AUS), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Boo Weekley (USA), Matteo Manassero (ITA), Ryan Palmer (USA), Douglas Labelle (USA), Matt Weibring (USA), John Hahn (USA), Mackenzie Hughes CAN)
76 - Ryan Yip (CAN), John Parry (ENG), Ted Potter (USA), Michael Campbell (NZL), Wil Collins (USA), Harold Varner (USA)
77 - Bill Haas (USA), Keegan Bradley (USA), Rory Sabbatini (RSA)
78 - Rikard Karlsberg (SWE), Yui Ueda (JPN), David Hearn (CAN), Geoffrey Sisk (USA)
79 - Ryan Moore (USA)
80 - Roger Tambellini (USA), Robert Garrigus (USA)
81 - Andre Svoboda (USA), Cory McElyea (USA)