June 15, 2002	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1423

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FARMINGDALE (New York), June 14: Tiger Woods sank a 15-foot putt for birdie at the ninth, his 18th hole, for a three-under-par 67 and a one-shot lead after the U.S. Open’s first round on Thursday.

The world number one, attempting to become the first player since Jack Nicklaus, in 1972, to win the first two majors of the year, collected five birdies and two dropped shots on a cool and overcast day.

Sergio Garcia, who fired an opening 68, had led for most of the round before being overhauled by the late-finishing Woods as only six players in the 156-strong field broke par on Bethpage State Park’s tough Black Course.

The 22-year-old Spaniard, who holed a 20-foot putt for his final birdie of the day at the long 12th, picked up three shots in all and bogeyed the par-four sixth before finishing at two under.

US Masters champion Woods teed off at the par-four 10th, holed an 18-foot putt from the fringe for birdie at the long 13th and then picked up another shot with a good putt at the short 14th to move to two under.

Although he dropped his first stroke of the round at the par-four 16th after pushing his tee shot into the right rough, he got it back at the 18th by sinking a birdie putt from 20 feet.

Birdie number four followed at the par-four second, where Woods hit his approach to just five feet to move out in front on his own, but he then bogeyed the par-four sixth to slip back into a share of the lead before his telling finish.

The Spaniard was one stroke ahead of third-placed Americans Jeff Maggert, Dudley Hart and Billy Mayfair and South Korea’s K.C. Choi, who produced matching 69s on a 7,214-yard layout which had been softened by overnight rain.

A further shot back in a group of six tied for seventh was Phil Mickelson, who got off to a fast birdie-birdie start before faltering with a double-bogey at the difficult 459-yard 15th.

The left-hander, widely regarded as the best current player not to have won a major, ended the day level on 70 with fellow Americans Steve Lowery, Stewart Cink and Franklin Langham, Irishman Padraig Harrington and six times major winner Nick Faldo.

Davis Love III, the 1997 US PGA champion, had led the field earlier in the day at three under after an outward nine of 32.

But the 37-year-old from North Carolina stumbled on the back nine and slipped back down the leaderboard to finish with a one-over-par 71.

Twice champion Ernie Els was another top player to struggle, mixing four bogeys with a solitary birdie at the par-four ninth to card a three-over-par 73.

Defending champion Retief Goosen of South Africa, who won last year’s title in a playoff with Mark Brooks at Southern Hills, was also a late starter and battled his way to a nine-over-par 79 which featured bogeys at each of his last four holes.

Goosen’s playing partners, British Open champion David Duval and U.S. PGA champion David Toms, also struggled on the day.

Duval finished bogey-double bogey-bogey for a 78 while Toms, who launched his round with birdies at the first and second, dropped shots at five of his last eight holes to card a 74.

The United States Golf Association, who organise the second of the year’s four major championships, opted for the first two-tee start in U.S. Open history to shorten the playing

day and to allow for extra time in case of weather disruption.

Rain has been forecast for all four days of this week’s event.

First round scores:

67 Tiger Woods

68 Sergio Garcia (Spain)

69 Jeff Maggert, K.J. Choi (Korea), Billy Mayfair, Dudley Hart

70 Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Franklin Langham, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo (Britain), Steve Lowery

71 Craig Bowden, Tom Lehman, Todd Rose, Thomas Levet (France), Scott Hoch, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Tom Gillis, Davis Love III, Jean Van de Velde (France), Charles Howell III, Robert Karlsson (Sweden)

72 Jesper Parnevik (Sweden), Greg Chalmers (Australia), Paul Stankowski, Bernhard Langer (Germany), Ian Leggatt (Canada), Tom Byrum, Nick Price (Zimbabwe), Rocco Mediate, Steve Stricker, Niclas Fasth (Sweden), Billy Andrade, Steve Flesch, Bob Tway, Len Mattiace, Scott McCarron, Michael Campbell (New Zealand)

73 Angel Cabrera (Argentina), Paul Lawrie (Britain), Jim Furyk, Peter Lonard (Australia), Kirk Triplett, Brad Lardon, Donnie Hammond, Jay Haas, Justin Leonard, Hidemichi Tanaka (Japan), Taichiro Kiyota-a (Japan), Ernie Els (South Africa), Jeff Sluman, Kevin Warrick-a

74 Frank Lickliter, Darren Clarke (Britain), Kevin Sutherland, Shingo Katayama (Japan), Lucas Glover, Kenny Perry, Steve Jones, Robert Allenby (Australia), Chris DiMarco, John Cook, Craig Stadler, Mark Calcavecchia, David Toms, Phil Tataurangi (New Zealand), John Daly, Corey Pavin, Harrison Frazar, Steve Haskins, Jay Don Blake

75 Jim Gallagher Jr., Vijay Singh (Fiji), Paul Azinger, David Frost (South Africa), Colin Montgomerie (Britain), Tom Pernice Jr., Brian Gay, Peter O’Malley (Australia), Ben Crane, Spike McRoy, Mark Brooks, Jeeve Milkha Singh (India), James McGovern, Greg Norman (Australia), Scott Dunlap, Brad Faxon, Brent Geiberger, Tim Herron, Jason Caron, John Huston, Paul McGinley (Ireland), Scott Verplank

76 Shigeki Maruyama (Japan), Paul Gow (Australia), Jerry Kelly, Luke Donald (Britain), Pete Jordan, Craig Perks (New Zealand), Lee Janzen, Pat Perez, Mark O’Meara, Ryan Moore-a, Kent Jones, Ken Duke, Mario Tiziani, Joey Sindelar, Matt Kuchar, Olin Browne, Andy Miller.—Reuters