The US Open gave Tiger Woods a rude welcome back on Thursday.
For Colin Montgomerie, it was a surprisingly happy return.
Playing for the first time since his father died, Woods ended a nine-week layoff with bogeys on his first three holes which sent him to his highest start ever in the US Open. He had to play the final six holes 1 under par to escape with a 6-over 76, leaving him seven shots behind Montgomerie in the toughest first round of this major in 20 years.
Woods looked somber at times, although that was more likely a product of Winged Foot than memories of his father.
"Everyone was looking for me to be more emotional," he said. "But I'm trying to put the ball in the hole and win the championship."
No one did that better than Monty.
A perennial contender at the US Open in his prime, Montgomerie overcame a rugged start by relying on his strength -- fairways and greens -- and his 1-under 69 was the only round under par.
Masters champion Phil Mickelson got off to a solid start in his bid for a third straight major, making a pair of 30-foot birdie putts and a bunch of short ones for par that proved equally important. He wound up at even-par 70, along with Jim Furyk, David Howell, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Steve Stricker.
Howell managed to make six birdies and was 4 under par with four holes to play. But he started missing fairways, which inevitably left him testy putts for par, and dropped four shots down the stretch, three-putting for double bogey on the 18th.
"Once I calm down a bit, it's still level par and it's a good round of golf," Howell said. "But right now I'm frustrated, and I'm fed up."
Mickelson didn't even bother trying to explain the degree of difficulty at Winged Foot, where 22 players shot in the 80s. The average score was pushing 80, the highest in the first round of a US Open since Shinnecock Hills in 1986.
"You've had to go play it to grasp it," Lefty said. "It's the toughest test we have all year."
It surely was a test of patience, including for Montgomerie.
He was 2 over after his first three holes, then holed a 10-foot par putt on the par-5 fifth that turned his fortunes. He started finding the short grass and kept his ball below the hole, and finished atop the leaderboard in the US Open for the first time since 1997 at Congressional. Still, the 42-year-old Scot kept it in perspective.
"My God, we've only walked seven miles," Montgomerie said. "There's a long way to go."
It felt like a marathon, players plodding along as they looked for relief from a course that demanded accuracy off the tee, precision to the greens and no time to breathe easy until the ball was in the hole.
Vijay Singh, coming off his first victory of the season last week at Westchester, had a steady round of 71 to join former Masters champion Mike Weir, John Cook and Fred Funk, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Wednesday.
Mickelson was wild at the start of his round in the morning, under cool, overcast skies. He missed six consecutive greens, but left himself in decent shape to save par and did that five straight times. Then came a 30-foot birdie on his ninth hole, No. 18, which showed how much his preparation paid off.
He started the ball well to the right, and watched the severe slope guide it back toward the hole until it disappeared, setting off a raucous cheer from the New York fans who again made the Californian feel at home.
"I had hit that putt a bunch in practice, and the first couple times I stroked it, I missed it 2 feet left or low and 3 or 4 feet short," Mickelson said. "I ended up playing about 8 or 10 feet of break and it swung right in there."
That was one of the few thrills on this day at Winged Foot.
Ernie Els saved a pedestrian round of 4-over by holing out from the ninth fairway for eagle and a 74.
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