Woods Can Hack It

The rivalry that was supposed to have been launched three years ago at Medinah when Sergio Garcia whacked a six-iron off the base of a tree trunk and chased Tiger Woods down a fairway and then down the stretch has maybe, just maybe, picked up where it left off.

At Thursday’s opening round of the 102nd U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, Woods made a 20-foot birdie putt on his last hole, No. 9 in the split-tee format, to take a one-shot lead over Garcia on a day when very few golfers saw red.

Woods finished at three-under-par 67 and could consider it almost a masterpiece on a coarse course on which only six golfers out of 156 starters finished under par.

Garcia, who played in the morning, shot two-under 68. It appeared he and Woods were going to share the first-round lead until Woods rolled in his birdie putt in the twilight.

“It’s always nice to end on a birdie, I don’t care how bad a day you had,” Woods said. “For some reason, you end on a birdie, you sleep that much better.”

The only other players who finished under par were Jeff Maggert, K.J. Choi, Billy Mayfair and Dudley Hart, all at one-under 69.

Among those lurking at even par were Phil Mickelson and Nick Faldo, with 12 only four shots off the lead at one over.

The notables at 71 include Jose Maria Olazabal, Tom Lehman, Jean Van de Velde and Davis Love III.

“I hung in there,” said Woods, who had five birdies and two bogeys. “I grinded my way around all day. The golf course was playing really difficult today. I tried to stay out of trouble as much as I possibly could and when I did I just hacked it out and tried to make par the old-fashioned way.”

Wouldn’t it be something if Woods and Garcia could actually make this rivalry thing go the second time around?

At the 1999 PGA Championship, the 23-year-old Woods held off the 19-year-old Garcia by one shot to claim his second major title.

Since, Woods has won five more majors while Garcia still is looking for his first.

You still need two to tango and two to make a rivalry.

Golf seemed desperate at the time to anoint a challenger to Woods’ dominance, but Garcia has only talked a good game since.

With three rounds remaining, Garcia has positioned himself nicely.

“I was able to scramble around and save some good pars,” he said. “I was happy with that. I’ve got to keep it going.”

Garcia may have the country karma going for him this week, as his performance stood tall in the face of Spain’s splendid play in the World Cup.

Not that Garcia has time to break down his country’s dominance in winning Group B.

“I’m not thinking about Raul’s goals, or any of those guys,” Garcia said of the Spanish soccer team. “I’m thinking about scoring my own goals.”

You might call it a wild first day on Bethpage Black, where players struggled to come to grips with their grips on a treacherous course lined with 40,000 mostly boisterous New Yorkers.

Woods had the largest following, and was somewhat shocked when he was cheered uproariously upon emerging from a portable toilet between the 14th and 15th holes.

“I said, ‘Are you clapping because I’m potty-trained?’ ” Woods related.

Woods was not immune to the tough conditions, but he fought his way to the first-round lead thanks largely to his touch on the greens. He needed only 28 putts on 18 holes and said it was the best he has felt near the cup since his April win at the Masters, when he didn’t three-putt until Sunday.

“This is certainly a difficult course,” Woods said, “and you have to stay as patient as possible.”

Woods had to do his share of scrambling. He broke his three-wood on the practice tee Wednesday and banished it to his bag on No. 7 after hearing the supposedly repaired club rattle like a cheap toy. Woods hit a toned-down driver.

How tough was it out there?

Fifteen players shot 80 or higher, while only six broke par. There were 771 bogeys. The average score was 74.878.

The par-four, 479-yard 16th proved to be the most difficult, playing to an average of 4.57 shots.

Hale Irwin, a three-time U.S. Open winner who is playing this year thanks to a special USGA exemption, shot 12-over 82.

Irwin, 57, said he would be back to hack out another round today.

“That’s the good part of being a senior,” he said. “You forget things real quickly.”

Justin Leonard was cruising at one under until he hit a triple-bogey speed bump on the par-four 12th.

Love, considered one of this week’s favorites, was three under after nine holes but soon found himself one over after three-putting No. 15 for bogey and making double bogey on No. 16.

You could say his round went sort of haywire, the emphasis on hay.

“This is a great golf course to get to play, and when they mow the rough, it’ll be even better,” Love said.

Defending champion Retief Goosen got mowed under with a 79. David Duval shot a 78.

Believe it or not, it could have been worse.

Overnight showers dampened the course and softened the fairways and greens. With little wind, Bethpage Black was as benign as it’s likely going to get.

“This is as hard a U.S. Open as I’ve played, and that’s given we played in perfect conditions,” said Mickelson, still seeking his first major title. “The fairways are as tight as I’ve seen; the rough is as thick and as penalizing as I’ve seen.”

Mickelson predicted if the weather cleared and the winds started blowing that this weekend’s champion might finish at eight or nine over par.

The weekend weather, mercifully, is supposed to be wet.

“Even under these conditions, over par will most likely win,” Mickelson said.

Of course, Mickelson made the prediction before Woods closed shop with his 67.

Perhaps only Woods will finish in the red.

Or, better yet, maybe someone will step up to the challenge.

Sergio?

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

First Round

*--* LEADERS Tiger Woods...34-33--67 -3 Sergio Garcia...34-34--68 -2 Dudley Hart...33-36--69 -1 K.J.Choi...35-34--69 -1 Billy Mayfair...34-35--69 -1 Jeff Maggert...34-35--69 -1 Phil Mickelson...35-35--70 E Franklin Langham...34-36--70 E Michael Muehr...37-40--70 E Steve Lowery...36-34--70 E Padraig Harrington...35-35--70 E Stewart Cink...35-35--70 E Nick Faldo...35-35--70 E

*--*

*--* OTHERS Davis Love III...32-39--71 +1 Jose Maria Olazabal...35-36--71 +1 Jesper Parnevik...34-38--72 +2 Jim Furyk...36-37--73 +3 Ernie Els...35-38--73 +3 David Toms...34-40--74 +4 John Daly...35-39--74 +4 Colin Montgomerie...37-38--75 +5 Greg Norman...37-38--75 +5 Vijay Singh...41-34--75 +5 Lee Janzen...37-39--76 +6 David Duval...38-40--78 +8 Retief Goosen...37-42--79 +9

*--*