Scrambled Start

The first day of the 85th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club was your usual PGA crazy, lending credence to the idea that this is the hardest major to harness and handicap.

And you wonder why this was the first major victory for 12 of the last 15 winners?

They should change the PGA of America logo to a revolving door.

The last four major championship winners -- Rich Beem (82), Mike Weir (68), Jim Furyk (72) and Ben Curtis (75) -- shot a collective 17 over par Thursday.

Tiger Woods, the greatest player of this or maybe any generation, finished at four-over 74, and it could have been 80 if not for nine one-putts.

Meanwhile, two of the least likely candidates to take first hold of this major, Phil Mickelson and a lad named Rod Pampling, shot 66 to share the first-round lead.

Billy Andrade was one shot back after shooting 67 in the afternoon. He was the seventh alternate and made the field only after Larry Nelson withdrew because of a hip injury.

“I guess there’s some reason why I’m here,” Andrade said.

Weir and Lee Janzen were two shots behind after firing 68. Seven players were tied at 69.

Mickelson and Pampling are each looking for their first major title. Of course, this is Mickelson’s 46th attempt and Pampling’s third.

What could have possibly provoked this outburst?

Mickelson’s high-ball, go-for-broke game appeared ill-suited to handle a course where the fairways average 23 yards across and the rough has been raked as high as Don King’s hair.

One would have never suspected this might be the place Mickelson would make his long-awaited breakthrough. Then again, it’s early.

If Mickelson can go low today, though, the weekend should set up beautifully so long as the course dries out and Mickelson’s mouth doesn’t.

“It’s tough to play catch-up at major championships because the courses seem to progressively get more difficult as the week goes on,” Mickelson said. “You want to take advantage of it on Thursday and Friday.”

Mickelson took care of Thursday with a round that included six birdies and only two bogeys.

It was probably fitting that Mickelson warmed up for this major by tossing a few footballs with the Buffalo Bills, training in nearby Pittsford. What golfer and organization know more about not winning the Big One?

“It was nice to get away from the golf course and have physically and mentally a little bit of a break and get ready for today,” Mickelson said of his visit with the Bills.

And, really, who didn’t have Rod Pampling on their PGA short list?

How could anyone have missed the signs?

Pampling, a 33-year-old from Queensland, Australia, has missed the cut nine times on this year’s PGA Tour, six straight in one stretch.

In April, someone heisted his golf bag out of his garage in Dallas, leaving Pampling to brave the golf world with an unfamiliar set.

It was like losing 14 of his best friends, but, with some counseling, Pampling pulled through. He didn’t have to go far for help, as his wife, Angela, is a clinical psychologist.

“I’m kind of lucky,” he says in his PGA Tour bio. “I have a psychologist out there 24 hours a day.”

Pampling’s name happens to follow Arnold Palmer’s in the PGA media guide, but that’s about as close as the comparison gets.

In fact, you could print Pampling’s success in majors on a postage stamp. He was the first-round leader at the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie before posting a second-round 86 and missing the cut.

He also missed the cut at this year’s U.S. Open, but seems to think the PGA is meant for first-timers like him.

“Anyone who starts this week can win,” he boldly said.

Yes, it was just another day at the PGA.

A late afternoon power failure in the Northeast was preceded by outages all over the Oak Hill course.

Beem’s 82 was the highest first-round posting for a defending PGA champion, besting Jerry Barber’s 79 in 1962.

One former PGA champion, Bob Tway, shot 78; another, John Daly, shot 76, and ex-champs David Toms and Jeff Sluman both shot 75.

And you can forget about any Colin Montgomerie charge; his 12-over 82 will send him packing.

Curtis, the unlikely British Open champion, opened his second major with four consecutive bogeys and then actually settled down to finish with a 75.

“I’ll take it after the first four holes,” he said. “I just didn’t hit it very well. I have to hit more fairways and greens.”

Kenny Perry, from Kentucky and one of the favorites here, shot 75.

“When you don’t have a lot of local knowledge, a lot of experience, you get smoked in a lot of situations,” Perry said.

Woods, too, was a first-round mystery man, hitting only five of 14 fairways.

He pulled his “old” Titleist driver only three times, but it didn’t really matter what crooked stick he carried to the tee.

“I just need a little more trust in my swing,” he said. “I feel pretty good stepping over it and as soon as I come down I just don’t trust it on the way down.”

Luckily for him, Woods’ short game was solid, as he needed only 27 putts.

Woods, eight shots off the lead, has made 108 straight cuts, second in golf history behind Byron Nelson’s record of 113.

Woods will need to rally to make it 109.

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Leaderboard

First-round scores from the PGA Championship at

Oak Hill CC in Rochester, N.Y. Par: 35-35--70

LEADERS

*--* Rod Pampling 33 33 66 -4 Phil Mickelson 34 32 66 -4 Billy Andrade 34 33 67 -3 Mike Weir 34 34 68 -2 Lee Janzen 34 34 68 -2

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OTHERS

*--* Vijay Singh 35 34 69 -1 Ernie Els 36 35 71 +1 Sergio Garcia 37 35 72 +2 Jim Furyk 35 37 72 +2 Davis Love III 38 36 74 +4 Tiger Woods 38 36 74 +4 Ben Curtis 40 35 75 +5 David Duval 39 41 80 +10 Rich Beem 42 40 82 +12 Colin Montgomerie 41 41 82 +12

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