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| June 18, 2005 | Saturday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1426 |
Qualifiers Browne, Mediate upstage game’s big guns
PINEHURST (North Carolina), June 17: American qualifiers Olin Browne and Rocco Mediate upstaged the game’s biggest names by moving one shot clear early in the U.S. Open first round on Thursday.
While US Masters champion Tiger Woods battled to an even-par 70 and twice winner Ernie Els ground out a 71, Florida residents Browne and Mediate fired matching 67s in bright sunshine at Pinehurst’s No. 2 Course.
The rest of the so-called “Big Five” were hot on their heels, though.
Retief Goosen launched his title defence with a three-birdie 68, 2004 Masters winner Phil Mickelson returned a 69 and world number two Vijay Singh opened with a 70.
However, late starter Brandt Jobe, who is yet to win on the PGA Tour, had the chance to eclipse them all after also getting to three under with two holes to play.
Although conditions were not quite as tough as had been expected by the 156-strong field, PGA Tour veterans Browne and Mediate made the most of a set-up they both applauded as fair.
The 46-year-old Browne, who shot a 59 in qualifying nine days ago to book his place at Pinehurst, reeled off five birdies and two bogeys.
Mediate, 42, eagled the par-five 10th, dropped on 14 but also picked up shots on four and 16.
Nine-times major winner Woods, despite looking a little out-of-sorts and struggling for accuracy off the tee, offset two bogeys with two birdies to finish three strokes off the pace.
On a day when most of the field struggled to hold their approach shots into Pinehurst’s notorious domed greens, he was delighted with his effort.
Woods, who beat fellow American Chris DiMarco in a playoff for the Masters in April, made a bright start with a birdie at the par-five 10th, his opening hole.
He parred the next four holes to stay in touch with the lead before slipping back with bogeys at the par-three 15th, where he failed to reach the green off the tee, and the par-four 16th.
After completing the front nine in one-over 36, the 29-year-old picked up his second shot of the day at the par-five fourth. He parred the closing holes to stay in touch with the lead.
Woods, who hit only six out of 14 fairways, is bidding to match Ben Hogan as the only player to win the first two majors of the year on two occasions.
First round scores
67 Olin Browne, Rocco Mediate
68 Retief Goosen, Lee Westwood, Brandt Jobe
69 K.J. Choi Steve Jones, Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson
70 Toru Taniguchi, Adam Scott, Tiger Woods, David Toms, Tommy Armour III, Vijay Singh, Bob Estes
71 Angel Cabrera, Peter Lonard, Ernie Els, Shigeki, John Cook, Bob Tway, Chris DiMarco, Mark Hensby, Jason Gore, Michael Campbell, Stephen Ames, Thomas Bjorn, Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia , Fred Couples
72 Geoff Ogilvy, Nick O’Hern, Colin Montgomerie, Jonathan Lomas, Rory Sabbatini, Nick Dougherty, Nick Price, Jeff Maggert, Peter Jacobsen, Steve Allan, Paul Claxton, Richard Green, Robert Allenby, Steve Flesch
73 Stewart Cink, Corey Pavin, J.J. Henry, Michael Allen, Josh McCumber, Fred Funk , Spencer Levin, Ted Purdy
Leaderboard log-jam
ST OMER (France): A seven-way tie on 68 for the lead in the Aa Saint-Omer Open first round on Thursday was only one off the European Tour record leaderboard log-jam.
Only a three-putt bogey by Britain’s Jamie Little on the last prevented the record of 1995 in the European Masters first round and 1997 Scandinavian Masters second round, being equalled.
One of the leading septet, South Africa’s Hennie Otto, stumbled at the last two holes to miss out on sole lead.
Otto, who briefly led the 2003 British Open before finishing tied 10th, three-putted the final two greens for bogeys to card his three-under-par 68.
While Otto, who was second in the 2004 Hong Kong Open and this season finished tied third in the Spanish Open, is trying for his maiden title, Swede Martin Erlandsson is bidding to better a second place in the Wales Open only 11 days ago.
Erlandsson is the highest ranked player on the European Tour money-list in the field at 50th.
Leading scores
68 Neil Cheetham, Julien Clement, Martin Erlandsson, Raphael Eyraud, Birgir Hafthorsson, Per Nyman, Hennie Otto
69 Philip Archer, Diego Borrego, Jamie Elson, Ivo Giner, James Hepworth, Michael Jonzon, Jamie Little, Craig Williams.—Agencies
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