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Browne and Mediate take Round 1 lead

David Howell of England fires out of a bunker on the 15the hole during the first round of the US Open at the Pinehurst Country Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina on Thursday. PHOTO: AFP

Journeyman Olin Browne made five birdies to shoot 3-under-par 67 and tie with Rocco Mediate for the first-round lead at the US Open on Thursday.

Browne shot 59 in the final round of qualifying last week, and continued the streak.

"I'm certainly very doubtful I'll get another opportunity to shoot 59 anywhere," Browne said. "But shooting 67? I'd rather shoot under par at the Open than 59 just" messing around at home.

Browne and Mediate played before the weather heated up and the course grew dry and brittle. Just behind them, at 2-under, were Lee Westwood, defending champion Retief Goosen and Brandt Jobe. Jobe, who twice got to 4-under before dropping two strokes over the last three holes, was the only player among the top five to tee off in the afternoon.

Phil Mickelson, K.J. Choi, Luke Donald and 1996 champion Steve Jones finished at 1-under. Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott and Tommy Armour shot 70.

Mickelson, who came to Pinehurst No. 2 and worked extensively on his short game in the lead-up to the Open, made two birdies over the first four holes, and after falling back to par sank a 15-footer on No. 18 to finish at 1-under.

"With all the time I put in, I should have gotten more of those up-and-downs," Mickelson said.

Mediate got to 3-under with a 50-foot putt for eagle on No. 10, gave the stroke back with a bogey on 14, but got back into a tie for the lead with a birdie two holes later.

"I think I vaguely remember that," Mediate said of his eagle. "I hit a 3-wood and didn't think I could quite get there. I was just trying to lag and make my 4, and it went right in the center of the hole."

Browne, meanwhile, was the story of the day.

In the first round of qualifying last week at Woodmont Country Club in Maryland, he shot a 73 and considered withdrawing so he could be ready for the US PGA Tour event that weekend. He played on, though, and shot 59 in the second round to join 21 others who qualified at that venue.

"The reason I was considering withdrawing from the qualifier wasn't because I didn't want to play," Browne said. "It was because it's hard to imagine shooting a low enough score to make it, and it would just take that much more out of me for the tournament."

While the score was a beauty, it won't go down in the record book because it was not an official US PGA Tour event. Only Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval have broken 60 on the tour.

Teeing off early, Woods hit his first drive onto a cart path, his second into the rough, and his third onto the dirt behind a huge tuft of grass, en route to his even-par round.

The day was a hot one, with temperatures in the high 20?sC, plenty warm to keep the spongy rough -- known officially as Tifway II Bermuda -- growing bountifully. Meanwhile, the fairways were starting to harden and, as the day went on, good shots down the middle were bouncing so much they didn't always end up there.

"It was already on the edge," Mickelson said. "I don't see how, under these conditions, where par is going to stay" a viable goal.

US PGA and Masters runner-up Chris DiMarco got a taste of the tricky, humpbacked greens, watching what looked like a well-hit wedge on No. 14 hit, stop for a moment, then slide off the back of the green. He got up and down to save par and finished with a 1-over.

That was tied with two-time champion Ernie Els of South Africa, who thought he hit the ball well but didn't get results.

"It's really unbelievable," Els said. "It's the only course we play that you have to aim away from the holes."
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