June 12 The big three on day one

A huge crowd both outside and inside the ropes saw the theoretical best three players in the world tee off at 8.06 a.m. on the first day of the 108th US Open, but the fireworks which everyone anticipated never really materialised. What was noticeable was that Tiger and Adam Scott were in lively conversation for much of the day, while Phil Mickelson trudged along behind.

And yet it was Mickelson, playing in front of his home crowd, who finished with the best score of the three, a level par round of 71 despite an untidy front nine, which saw him 3-over-par at one point. Tiger came next, shooting a one-over-par 72, which given that he had two double bogeys and a three-putt wasn’t as bad as it could have been. And the Australian, Adam Scott limped in third with a two-over-par 73.

Perhaps the most newsworthy moment of their day came on the 18th tee, when Tiger seemed to wince after hitting a huge drive down the final hole. Remember, until today, he had not walked 18 holes in a day since having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on April 15th. After his round, he admitted his tee shot at the last hole had hurt, but suggested it was nothing to worry too much about. “It’s a little sore,” he said afterwards, “but I can walk. I guess I don’t need a cart yet. I’m four shots back which is pretty good and I can clear that up tomorrow.”

Interestingly, Mickelson didn’t carry a driver in his bag, despite the fact that this course measures 7,643 yards and is comfortably the longest course in major championship history. Instead, he drove with his 3-wood all day. And yet despite this, for much of the front nine, he didn’t drive it very straight.
“My game plan was that I don’t really want to hit it past 300 yards. Now if it rains then I’ll certainly pull driver out, but my game plan for months was if it’s firm fairways like I expected, then a 3-wood was all I needed.”
No rain is predicted and so Mickelson is expected to keep the driver out of his bag.