Bringing ‘F’ Games

If you took away the television towers, media tents, extra security, big-tournament hype and the entry form of Tiger Woods, Thursday’s first round of the 84th PGA Championship could have passed for the first round of the Greater Milwaukee Open.

A lot of under-the-radar golfers say they enjoy the PGA Championship because, of the four majors, the course setup reminds them most of life on the regular tour.

So, what better way to celebrate Day 1 at Hazeltine National Golf Club than to offer a leaderboard led by Jim Furyk and Fred Funk, each of whom finished a weather-delayed day at four-under 68.

Thursday’s first round could not be completed because of an early-morning electrical storm that held up play for almost three hours.

Play was suspended at 8:19 p.m. local time, with 39 players still on course. Those players will complete their round this morning.

When the horn sounded, Furyk and Funk held a one-shot lead over Peter Lonard of Australia and Justin Rose of England, who shot three-under 69s. Lee Janzen, Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and Mark Calcavecchia were two shots behind at 70.

Tiger Woods, despite an ongoing struggle with his driver, shot 71, three shots behind the leaders.

Among other notables on the course when play was halted were Phil Mickelson, who was three over with three holes to play, and David Duval, who was even par with four holes remaining.

For starters, though, you could not have had a more Average Joe Invitational. Furyk and Funk represent an artist’s rendering composite of what the PGA Championship has strangely become.

Twelve of the tournament’s last 16 champions have called the PGA their first and/or only major title.

At day’s end, of course, you knew this was not an ordinary tournament because Woods was here, grinding out pars, telling himself over and over this really is a major tournament, one that counts just as much as the Masters in his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 professional major titles.

Woods had taken only one swing, his opening drive on the 10th tee, when the weather horn sounded in the morning and players scurried off the course.

They don’t take chances with lightning in golf, particularly at Hazeltine National. In the first round of the 1991 U.S. Open, spectator Billy Fadell was killed and five others were injured when lightning struck on the 16th fairway.

Woods never regained his rhythm after play resumed, struggling with his driver, but he survived consecutive bogeys on No. 18 and No. 1 to stay within striking distance of the leaders. Woods had 13 pars, three birdies and two bogeys, then headed to the practice range to correct a hitch in his swing.

“My backswing was off,” Woods said. “When that gets off, either I get defensive and hit it left or I get defensive and hit it right.”

At the par-four fourth hole, Woods’ wayward tee shot struck a course marshal.

“At least he could have kicked it out a little further than that,” Woods joked.

With Woods seemingly pacing himself for a weekend charge, the first-day leaderboard had a very ordinary look.

Not that Furyk, Funk, Lonard and Rose aren’t worthy players.

Each has amassed more than $1 million in earnings this year, yet none has distinguished himself in majors, although Rose did score a stunning fourth-place finish as a 17-year-old amateur at the 1998 British Open.

Furyk has had the ultimate yo-yo year, somehow combining six top-10 finishes, including a win at the Memorial, with missing the cut six times, including at all three previous majors: the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.

He has suffered through an inner ear problem and basked in the joy of the birth of his first child.

“It’s been a good year and a frustrating year all in one,” Furyk said.

Furyk, 32, perfectly fits the composite of someone who might make news here this weekend.

Reminded that a lot of first-time major winners have been crowned at the PGA Championship, he said, “That history probably isn’t going to help me too much.”

Furyk, whose swing was once described as looking like “an octopus falling out of a tree,” has five top-25 finishes in seven previous PGA appearances and is a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour. He posted his best PGA finish in 1997, tying for sixth.

Funk, 46, might best be described as a consummate touring pro. He has won five times on the PGA Tour, although not since 1998 at the Deposit Guaranty Classic.

His best PGA Championship finish was ninth in 2000, and he was steady as they come Thursday, his only bobble a bogey on No. 13, a par three. He needed only 24 putts.

Funk did not qualify for any of this year’s three previous majors, and made it into the PGA only because he ranks among the top 70 in the official money standings.

He knows that winning a major at his age is a major longshot, yet that didn’t stop him from enjoying the moment.

“It’s good to be up top for a while,” he said, knowing Woods may be ready to pounce. “He’s still one under, so the cream will rise to the top. That’s why they play four rounds.”

Lonard, a 35-year-old PGA Tour rookie, might have a little more staying power.

He finished 11th at this year’s U.S. Open at Bethpage and tied for 14th at the British Open and has shown he can handle whatever life hands him.

He was stricken in 1992 with Ross River Fever, a mosquito-transmitted virus that left him severely fatigued and with arthritis symptoms in his joints. The virus knocked Lonard out of golf for more than a year, he said, and he eventually worked his way back by taking a job as a club pro.

He said he didn’t worry much anymore about getting stricken again, even in a mosquito-infested place like Minnesota, because “every sort of place has some mosquito virus that scares the hell out of you.”

Lonard, who won twice on the Australian Tour, wouldn’t be in America if not for the friends who goaded him into entering qualifying school.

“They just started ribbing me, thinking I wasn’t good enough or something,” Lonard said. “So, I thought, ‘Right, well, I’ll come over and give it a go,’ and it all went all right so far.”