Singh, Kite Only Chase Record

Not everyone discovered them, but there were some low scores waiting to be found at Southern Hills and Tom Kite and Vijay Singh tripped over them on their way home Sunday when they closed with matching rounds of six-under 64.

They could have done even better. Both had chances to equal the low score in U.S. Open history (Johnny Miller’s 63 at Oakmont in 1973), but they missed birdie putts at the 18th.

Neither player figured in the outcome--Kite was at one-over 281 and Singh was at two-over 282--but going that low, they weren’t going to complain.

“[Shooting] 64 in a major championship is very, very low,” Kite said. “Obviously, it was one of those days.”

Singh said he had a short chat with his caddie afterward. “I said, ‘Why do I have a round like that when I can’t win?’ ” Singh said.

If there were any problems he encountered in his journey this week, besides not making enough putts, Singh said he might have over-thought Southern Hills and its reputation as a tough track to beat.

“Maybe I took it too seriously when we started,” he said. “You need to take it seriously, but I probably was a little bit too much into it, analyzed it too much. I should have enjoyed it more.”

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Sergio Garcia’s round in a word: awful.

His round of seven-over 77 included six bogeys and one double bogey. He had only one birdie, on the par-five 13th.

“I missed a couple of short putts and lost confidence in myself,” Garcia said. “I played the back nine pretty well. I just kept missing putts.”

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Poor play, continued:

“I putted like a dog,” Rocco Mediate said.

Mediate started the day one shot off the lead at four-under but shot two-over 72 and finished two shots behind.

“I hit shots you’re supposed to hit on Sundays at Opens. I didn’t putt good enough. It’s that simple,” he said. “Two three-putts on the front and missed a short one on No. 8, and that was the end of me, about. And three-putt on 11. But that’s what happens.”

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From Kite, who was asked if there was any difference in the atmosphere of the Open since Tiger Woods was not a factor: “It may be disappointing to you guys because that’s what you want to write about.”