Woods has a finishing kick

His body language said a lot, the way Tiger Woods walked off the 18th green Thursday at Oakmont Country Club. He had swagger when he could have staggered.

Woods turned in a one-over-par 71 that he felt good about, probably because of the way he finished. At the 16th, he made an eight-footer to save par, then birdied the 17th with a three-foot downhill putt and saved par again at the 18th with an up-and-down from out of the rough.

“Key to my round,” he said. “Basically I could have lost three shots there, but I was able to keep it as it is.”

Woods said being three shots out of the lead isn’t all that bad.

“On this golf course, it’s fine, it’s right there,” he said. “You know if you shoot even, just three, four or five over par, you’re still in the tournament, and you’ve got to hang in there.

“You know that you’re going to get some bad breaks and some good ones and go along with it. And if you make a mistake, accept the ramifications of it.”

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Bubba Watson leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with his average of 316.2 yards but is only 162nd in driving accuracy, which would seem to put him in dire straits at any high-rough U.S. Open.

Watson, though, held his own with an even-par 70.

He averaged 300 yards and hit seven of 14 fairways.

Watson said he hit fewer drivers than normal but didn’t give up much distance.

Watson did not reach the 667-yard par-five 12th in two but still made birdie.

Watson said he hit driver, three-iron, sand wedge to two feet and made his putt.

“No matter if I bomb it off the tee or not, it’s going to be playing a three-shot hole,” Watson said.

Watson missed the cut in 2004, his only other U.S. Open appearance.

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Not a bad way to break in as a pro: Luke List, a 22-year-old from Vanderbilt, made birdie three on the daunting, 482-yard first hole, the one that Johnny Miller called the toughest opening hole in golf.

List was making his pro debut at the U.S. Open, but only because David Howell withdrew because of a wrist injury.

List failed to make the field after shooting 72-68 in sectional qualifying at Rockville, Md., but got in as an alternate.

Things didn’t go well after that opening birdie, though.

List shot a 77.

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Richard Ramsay of Aberdeen, Scotland, won this year’s U.S. Amateur Championship with a 4-and-2 win over John Kelly at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.

That earned Ramsay a pairing with Phil Mickelson at this year’s Masters and a draw with Woods at the U.S. Open.

What was that like?

“I think after playing with Phil, it was good,” Ramsay said, “but there is no kind of substitute for Tiger, because he’s a unique player.”

Ramsay played Thursday with Woods and Geoff Ogilvy, the defending U.S. Open champion.

“I’d have to be a robot not to be nervous playing with the defending champion and the world No. 1 in the U.S. Open,” he said.

Ramsay said there wasn’t much chit-chat in his group.

For Ramsay, who shot eight-over 78, there wasn’t much to say.

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Ben Curtis is known for winning the 2003 British Open and for wearing the colors and logos of different NFL teams, as part of an endorsement deal he has with the NFL and Reebok.

Curtis, from Ohio and a Cleveland Browns fan, wore the colors of the Steelers on Thursday. He wore the same outfit when he won the now-defunct 84 Lumber Classic last year, but Curtis said he didn’t feel as if he needed to explain his choice of clothing to any of the Steelers fans who noticed him Thursday.

“I’ll let them think whatever they want,” he said.

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Ogilvy, who shot 71, said that even though he won at Winged Foot, he isn’t really at ease in the Open settings.

“I still don’t think of this as my ideal chance,” he said, “but I seem to be doing all right, so I don’t know what it is.”

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Only five players have won the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year (Ben Hogan did it twice), and Zach Johnson seems unlikely to join that crowd after a first-round 76.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com

chris.dufresne@latimes.com