Woods, Mickelson trail long shots at U.S. Open

Kevin Streelman and Justin Hicks, neither one ranked among the top-600 players in the world, shared the first-round lead Thursday at the season's second major championship after shooting three-under 68s at tough Torrey Pines.

But their rounds could be compared to those played by Woods and Mickelson, who along with Adam Scott made up the featured threesome at the longest U.S. Open course in history.

Mickelson fared best, closing with a two-putt birdie at the 18th hole to finish his up-and-down round with an even-par 71.

"Wait till I hit it well," said Mickelson.

Woods was shaky in his first competitive round since having surgery on his left knee after the Masters. He started with a double-bogey on No. 1 and was never able to fully recover. Another double-bogey on the back nine and an uncharacteristic three-putt par at the 18th left him with a one-over 72.

"We're all going to make mistakes out here," said the two-time U.S. Open winner. "You're going to make more than two bogeys in 72 holes. I just happened to make two on my first hole."

A couple of fellow former champions were in the mix as well.

Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open winner at Winged Foot, was among four players who were one shot off the lead at two-under 69. Joining him in a share of third place were eight-time PGA Tour winner Stuart Appleby, five-time winner Rocco Mediate and 2006 Texas Open champion Eric Axley.

Two-time U.S. Open winner Ernie Els was part of a five-way tie for seventh place at one-under 71 -- completing the group of 11 players in red numbers. Vijay Singh, Luke Donald and four other players joined Mickelson at 71.

Woods, part of a large group at 72, hadn't played more than nine holes since his surgery on April 15, and it took him the same number of holes to get under-par on Thursday.

He sent his first drive into the thick kikuya rough on the way to his opening double-bogey -- a typical way to drop shots on a tough U.S. Open course. But he also produced one of the day's better highlights with a 190-yard bunker shot at No. 4 that set up a short birdie putt.

Woods went on to make back-to-back birdies before the turn to get under-par for the first time. The last one was aided by a spectator he hit with his long approach into No. 9, keeping his ball close to the green. Lucky as that was, Woods also did well to save himself on several occasions.

He hit into the gallery twice at the 12th hole, then hacked his third shot out of the rough and onto the front of the green to set up a 20-foot par putt. Woods saved par again at the 13th, this time from 12 feet, and he also rolled in a 20-footer to save par at the 15th.

But his round was marked by another double-bogey at the 14th, and Woods stressed his disappointment at not being at least even-par -- especially at Torrey Pines, where he's won six Buick Invitationals.

He three-putted for a par at the 18th, then made it clear his knee had bothered him.

"I got it back down to par and couldn't finish there," said Woods. "[My knee] is a little sore right now. It is what it is and I gotta deal with it."

Mickelson was more upbeat after recovering for his 71.

A San Diego native who grew up playing Torrey Pines -- he's won three Buick Invitationals on the course -- Lefty entered this week a near-favorite to win his first U.S. Open.

He played without a driver in his bag, opting for a long three-wood and an extra wedge instead.

"Under these conditions, that was my game plan," Mickelson said on a cool, clear Southern California day. "Obviously if the course gets wet, I'll add a driver. But it was more important to get the ball in the fairway."

Mickelson opened with three straight pars, then made three bogeys in a row ending at No. 7. He finally picked up his first birdie with a 20-foot putt at the par-four 10th, but that was erased by a bogey from the rough at 12.

He rebounded, though, with a two-putt birdie at the par-five 13th after he knocked his second shot onto the front of the green. Mickelson added another birdie at the 14th, then finished with his two-putt birdie at the 18th.

"Anything around par is kind of your target for the U.S. Open," he said. "And I should have a chance tomorrow to try to keep it around par."

It's likely the co-leaders were hoping the same thing.

Hicks, a 33-year-old qualifier who missed the cut in a Nationwide Tour event last week, said he was trying not to think about the small detail of leading the U.S. Open.

"I was just out there trying to put together a good round of golf," he said after finishing among the first wave of tee times.

Ranked 722nd in the world, Hicks played his first nine holes without a par -- six birdies and three bogeys put him at the top of the leaderboard. His second-nine holes were steadier: seven pars mixed with one birdie and one bogey. He made a three-foot birdie putt at No. 4, then missed a short putt to make bogey at No. 7.

It was a solid and surprising start for an unheralded player who suddenly found himself leading a major championship.

"I just knew it was a matter of getting a few good putts to fall," said Hicks, who missed the cut at Shinnecock Hills in 2004 in his only other U.S. Open start.

Hicks played the PGA Tour's Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in January and tied for the second-worst score before the cut. He has competed on the Nationwide Tour since then, mostly missing cuts.

Surprisingly, he doesn't see much of a difference between the two tours.

"We play a lot of great courses on [the Nationwide Tour], and if you play good golf out there, I certainly believe that you're capable of doing it out here," said Hicks. "And the proof's in the pudding."

Streelman tied Hicks with a round that included six birdies and three bogeys. He moved atop the leaderboard by himself with a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 2 -- his 11th hole -- and stayed there by making a 22-footer for par at No. 7.

But Hicks couldn't save par from the rough behind the No. 9 green, chipping 30 feet past the hole and two-putting for a bogey to fall into a share of the lead.

"It probably hasn't quite sunk in yet," Streelman said of sharing the lead, "but it's pretty cool."

The same time Hicks was missing the cut at the Buick Invitational in January, Streelman played well enough at Torrey Pines to find himself paired with Woods on Saturday. But he didn't break 75 the rest of the way, tying for 29th place.

"The main thing I took out of it was the necessity of rest," said Streelman, ranked No. 608 in the world. "I'm definitely going to take that into regards tonight and tomorrow."

Both co-leaders are hoping to avoid being just a footnote come Sunday.

Said Hicks: "I don't just want to be another guy that shows up and disappears."