Sections Sports

Lefty looked lost, but what ’bout Bubba?

Well, it turned out to be a beautiful day for Round 1 of the 112th US Open.

The fog rolled back to give way to sunshine as obnoxious polos paired with blindly white Ping visors shuffled down Lake Merced Boulevard and all across the Olympic Club’s hallowed grounds.

For any of you not fortunate enough to call in sick to work and grab a schwag bag full of U.S. Open goodies, here’s a quick recap of today’s action:

Lefty looked lost: We could’ve blamed Phil Mickelson’s opening drive into the trees on opening day jitters, or a lousy follow-through in the brisk Daly City air.

But then the guy bogeyed the first three holes and ended the first day with a 6-over 76.

We may have three more days of golf ahead of us, but Lefty will have to get his head together and get more than just one birdie just to break even.

Don’t get me wrong, it was very sportsman-like of him to say in his Wednesday press conference that he was excited to be grouped with Tiger Woods. But dang, he didn’t have to let Tiger steal the show, did he?

While we’re on The Subject Of Tiger: Woods cruised to a 1-under 69, going into the second round tied for second. Not too shabby for a guy who missed the cut at the Wells Fargo not long ago.

What ’bout Bubba? Masters’ champ Bubba Watson mirrored Mickelson’s troubles today, double-bogeying on the 18th hole and finishing eight-over par.

The other Wonder Squad: The other most-talked-about Day 1 grouping of McIlroy-Donald-Westwood didn’t fare much better. Lee Westwood finished 3-over, Luke Donald finished 9-over, and last year’s Open champ Rory McIlroy finished with a disappointing 7-over 77.

Other notables Rickie Fowler (+2), Ryo Ishikawa (+2), and Casey Martin (+4) all gave themselves a chance going into Friday. 14-year-old Andy Zhang overcame a shaky start — he carded a 7 on the first hole — on his way to a 9-over 79.

The current leader: Sitting pretty at the end of day 1 is Michael Thompson, whose 66 earned him a three-stroke lead over a quintet of second place challengers. Thompson has familiarity with Olympic on his side; he was runner-up at the 2007 U.S. Amateur, played in the exact same spot.

Last modified June 15, 2012 2:07 pm

Share
Topics Tiger Woods

This website uses cookies.