The players in the glamour group were ranked 1, 2 and 3. The guys at the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard were ranked 608 and 722. The biggest winner of all after Thursday's opening round might have been Torrey Pines, a course that muddled the field and blurred the distinction between great, good and mediocre - the way U.S. Open venues so often do.
Justin Hicks and Kevin Streelman, a pair of journeymen ranked in the deep triple figures, shot 3-under 68 to take the lead after a first round that that produced only 11 scores in the red out of 154 rounds completed.
The leaders were one shot ahead of Rocco Mediate, Stuart Appleby and Eric Axley, who came into the tournament ranked 503rd.
None of the below-par scores belonged to Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or Adam Scott, who are paired together for the first two rounds and did nothing to lose the tournament on the first day, but not much to live up to the hype, either.
"We're all going to make mistakes out here," Woods said.
The world's best golfer played his first competitive round since knee surgery two months ago and opened the day with a nasty hook into the rough, an overcooked chip over the green and a double-bogey, his first since last September.
"I figured you're going to make bogeys out here," Woods said. "I just happened to make two on the very first hole."
He came back with three birdies to get under par but scuffled on No. 14 for another double and three-putted on 18 to turn a possible birdie into a par. In the end, he was happy to be at 1-over 72, especially considering he needed two par-saving putts of 12 feet or more on the back.
Scott shot 73, while Mickelson finished at 71 and was also breathing a sigh of relief.
He was four behind Woods through 12 holes, but tied with him two holes later after a two-putt birdie on the 13th and a beautiful approach to three feet on the 14th.
"When I don't play the week before a major, I'm a little rusty on the front nine," Mickelson said. "I'm glad I was able to keep it in check and only shoot a few over and recover on the back."
Neither Hicks nor Streelman were talking about recoveries.
They played the kind of game you'd expect from someone with more impressive credentials.
Streelman was ranked No. 1354 early in the year and saw that number improve after making the Buick Invitational in January, right here at Torrey Pines, as an alternate.
He found out he was in the tournament six minutes before his tee time. Two days later, he was playing in the final twosome, alongside Woods. Streelman finished tied for 29th and saw his ranking climb 700 notches - a good experience to build on for the U.S. Open.
"I do enjoy this golf course," he said.
Originally Posted by Resident Tough Guy
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