Overall, Dawson was pleased with how the Old Course held up in moderate wind.
"We have seen the players considerably stretched today," he said.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
Englishman Steve Webster was the only player besides Tiger Woods to reach 6 under on Thursday. Unfortunately, that was after nine holes. After finding six bunkers on the back nine, he wound up at 1-under 71.
"It's one of those courses," Webster said. "If you hit the fairway, you've got a chance to make birdie. If you don't, you're just coming out of the bunker sideways."
Webster made eagle on Nos. 5 and 9, and added two birdies on the front nine to reach the turn in 30.
"The crowd was beginning to gather and the TV cameras were coming," Webster joked. "I obviously saw my name up there on the leaderboard and I was playing well. I should have got a quick picture of it."
ROAD HOLE
The Road Hole provided plenty of entertainment, as usual. Duffy Waldorf was 1 under for his round when he made triple bogey on the 17th. Zach Johnson was even par until taking a 9 and shooting 77.
But not all the shots were bad.
The most spectacular moment came when Nick O'Hern and Steven Webster each hit into the bunker in front of the green. O'Hern went first and blasted out to about 2 inches. Not to be outdone, Webster hit his bunker shot to 4 inches.
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