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Published: Saturday June 20, 2009 MYT 8:20:00 AM
Updated: Saturday June 20, 2009 MYT 1:03:54 PM

Weir leads shooting 64, lowest score in six years in US Open(update)

Updates with "titbits" and all scores from US Open

FARMINGDALE, New York: Sunshine made a cameo at Bethpage Black and Mike Weir seized on the drying fairways and soft greens on Friday with a 6-under 64, the lowest score in the U.S. Open in six years.

Despite a double bogey on his back nine, the former Masters champion closed with back-to-back birdies for a two-shot lead over Peter Hanson of Sweden.

Not long after he finished, Weir and the late starters headed back out for the second round.

"It's about as easy as this course will ever play," Weir said between rounds.

Mike Weir of Canada pumps his fist after making a birdie putt on the ninth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., Friday. Weir was the leader after the first round with 6-under 64. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

"Our side definitely had a big advantage. For us to be able to play in nice conditions all day like this is huge."

Phil Mickelson, whose popularity in New York shot up even more after disclosing his wife has breast cancer, challenged for the lead until he missed some short putts coming in and settled for a 69.

Even after two bogeys on the last four holes, his spirits were high.

"We want to play as much golf as we can," Mickelson said.

Of the 25 players who shot par or better in the first round, only seven came from the first wave of tee times.

Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and American amateur Drew Weaver were the only early starters to break par.

The course played almost two strokes harder in the morning - averaging 74.8 to 72.9 for the afternoon players.

Tiger Woods, the defending champion, returned to finish 12 holes on Friday morning and slowly worked his way up the leaderboard with two birdies and a good par save that put him even for the tournament heading to the 15th.

Tiger Woods watches his shot out of a bunker on the 18th fairway during the first round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., Friday, June 19, 2009. Play was suspended on Thursday because of inclement weather. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Too bad he couldn't have stopped there.

He hit a drive into the deep rough and had a chip roll 50 feet down a ridge to take double bogey.

He had mud on the side of his ball and missed the green in the worst spot on the 16th for bogey.

And he made another bogey on the 18th after driving into a bunker.

Woods dropped four shots over the last four holes for a 74, his highest start at a major since a 76 at the 2006 U.S. Open, the only time he has missed a cut in the major.

Weir's great play put Woods right on the cut line - the 10-shot rule - and he could only hope the leaders didn't get too far away from him as more rain prepared to invade Bethpage Black on Saturday.

"I was even par with four to go," Woods said.

"It's not like I was hitting it all over the place. Hit a lot of good shots. Unfortunately, didn't finish off the round the way I needed to."

He finished the first round in a tie for 81st, extending his odds of becoming the first back-to-back winner in 20 years.

Woods has never won a major when trailing by more than seven shots after the opening round.

David Duval and Todd Hamilton, a pair of slumping British Open champions, were among those at 67. Rocco Mediate, who earned celebrity by losing to Woods in a playoff at San Diego last year, continued his U.S. Open joy ride with a 68.

Except for U.S. Open logos on flags and tee markers, it would have been hard to recognize this as the toughest test in golf.

The fairways remained soft enough that tee shots could not roll into deep grass.

The greens were like sponges, with so many shots hitting well beyond the hole and spinning back.

As the second round began, Mickelson hit one shot out of six-inch clumps of grass that hit the green and spun six feet back.

That type of action hardly ever happens at this major. Crews simply can't get the putting surfaces firm, not with so much rain over the last month.

Weir also has some good karma from sitting in his hotel room all day Thursday during the rainout.

The last washout in the first round of a major was in the 2003 Masters, which Weir went on to win.

The rain was supposed to make Augusta National a haven for big hitters that year, yet the Canadian kept it in play and relied on his irons to win his only major.

And that's what he did on Friday in the first round.

"I seemed to have my irons dialed in," Weir said.

"And I said, 'Let's just ride this."'

His signature shot of a career-best round in the U.S. Open came at the par-4 15th, which features a green 40 feet above the fairway.

Weir drove into the rough, but he hit a utility club that barely climbed onto the green and stopped 4 feet from the cup.

Ian Poulter was watching from his hotel room after a hard-earned 70 from the morning wave, and he must have been shaking his head as he Twittered, "did anyone see mickelson hit 6 iron on the 3rd hole par 3. yesterday we was hitting 3 iron."

Such is the luck of the draw.

Even so, it might be too early to determine if that continues. Woods wasn't even sure when he would tee off in the second round on Saturday, and a storm system was expected around noon packing perhaps another inch (3 centimeters) of rain that would stop play.

The fear is that if the course dries a little, mud will stick to the ball and really make this a fickle game. - AP


For more reports, pictures and videos on the US Open and other sports click here

Some titbits on the US Open

FARMINGDALE, New York: Mike Weir came within one stroke of matching the best round ever in any of golf's major championships.

There have been four 63s in the 108 U.S. Opens, the last by Vijay Singh in the second round at Olympia Fields in 2003. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf both shot 63 in the opening round at Baltusrol in 1980.

Those three rounds, like Weir's, were shot on courses that played to a par of 70.

The best round in relation to par was Johnny Miller's 8-under 63 in the final round at Oakmont in 1973, which gave him a one-shot victory over John Schlee.

There have been 10 63s in the US. PGA Championship, seven in the British Open and two in the Masters.

Weir made eight birdies and a double bogey for a 33-31--64 and said 63 wasn't on his mind.

"It really wasn't. I didn't think much about it," he said.

"I was just in one of those days where I was so focused on what I was doing."

AMATEUR HOUR: Three of the 14 amateurs in the field bettered or matched par and two of them completed their rounds in the morning when good scores were much tougher to come by.

Drew Weaver, the 2007 British Amateur champion and a student at Virginia Tech University, shot a 1-under 69, one stroke better than Cameron Tringale, who played at Georgia Tech, and Kyle Stanley, who played at Clemson University.

Weaver and Tringale both completed their first rounds on Friday morning when the course was still drying out from Thursday's daylong rain, while Stanley played his round under sunny skies.

Ben Martin, who also played at Clemson, was at 72, a shot better than Nick Taylor of Canada, who played at the University of Washington.

Rickie Fowler, who just finished his second season at Oklahoma State University, was one of the amateurs who made the cut last year at San Diego.

He shot an opening 78 at Bethpage.

"It's definitely a lot easier playing with a caddie in the rain," he said.

"In college golf you have an umbrella, bag and rain gear. It gets tough just doing that let alone playing in the rain, but this course is definitely a million times better than a college golf course."

David Erdy, the youngest player in the field at 19, qualified as an alternate and was paired with 2007 Masters champion Zack Johnson and Lee Westwood, who finished third in last year's U.S. Open.

"They were two great guys," he said after shooting a 78, "I talked to them the whole round. Lee was cracking jokes and Zach was just a great guy to be around."

YO, ROCCO: Rocco Mediate became a fan favorite in last year's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines when he lost to Tiger Woods in a 19-hole playoff.

He may be on the other side of the country this year, but his popularity was still evident as he shot a first-round 68.

He was asked how many times he heard his name yelled out on Bethpage Black. "About 4 million," he said.

"Unbelievable out there today. It was great, absolutely fantastic."

FILM STUDY: Ian Poulter completed a par round of 70 on Friday morning and knew he wouldn't be back to start his second round until some time Saturday.

He was asked what he planned for the rest of the day Friday.

"I'm going to watch 'Hangover' at the cinema," he said, referring to the popular comedy.

"I've heard it's very good - and it sums up my last three days."

DIFFERENT CONDITIONS: There were 13 rounds below par in the opening round and all but two - Drew Weaver and Graeme McDowell's 69s - were shot by the second wave of players who were able to play the entire round under sunny skies.

Weaver and McDowell were among those golfers who started their round in drenching rain on Thursday and finished it Friday morning before the sun broke through cloud cover.

Those who finished their first rounds were told they would not be starting their second round until at least Saturday morning, meaning another long day without golf.

"I'd like to get straight out there right now," McDowell said.

"The weather is perfect out there."

SIM SHOOTING: Michael Sim, the 24-year-old Australian who has won twice on the Nationwide Tour this year and is its leading money-winner with almost $400,000, shot a first-round 71, one of the top scores from the players who started Thursday and finished Friday.

"This is a different stage out here. You just have to stay focused and enjoy the moment. It's the hardest test in golf," said Sim, who would earn an in-season promotion to the U.S. PGA Tour with another Nationwide victory.

"I'm driving the ball well and my distance control has been really good. I don't think I really have too many weaknesses in my game now."

A FOOT SHORT: Sean O'Hair closed his 1-under 69 with a double-bogey 6 on No. 18.

"My goal this week was to not make any double bogeys because you know you're going to make your share of bogeys," he said.

"I had to take an unplayable lie off my tee shot, but if it had literally gone another foot I would have been in the fairway bunker and would have had a fair chance at a par. So the goal here is to just try to keep it in play and make pars."

STILL SEVENTY: Padraig Harrington, last year's British Open and PGA Championship winner, shot a first-round 76. Harrington hasn't broken 70 on the PGA Tour since a first-round 69 in the Masters. He missed the cut in the Memorial (75-77) and St. Jude Classic (72-72) the last two weeks. - AP

Scores Friday from the U.S. Open on the 7,426-yard, par-70 Black Course at Bethpage State Park (a-amateur):

Completed First Round

Mike Weir 33-31-64

Peter Hanson 34-32-66

David Duval 32-35-67

Todd Hamilton 32-35-67

Ricky Barnes 34-33-67

Rocco Mediate 34-34-68

a-Drew Weaver 37-32-69

Graeme McDowell 34-35-69

Lucas Glover 34-35-69

David Toms 36-33-69

Adam Scott 35-34-69

Sean O'Hair 33-36-69

Phil Mickelson 35-34-69

Jeff Brehaut 36-34-70

Ian Poulter 35-35-70

Ryan Moore 36-34-70

Johan Edfors 35-35-70

a-Cameron Tringale 36-34-70

David Smail 35-35-70

a-Kyle Stanley 36-34-70

Sergio Garcia 35-35-70

Soren Hansen 36-34-70

Ross Fisher 34-36-70

Fred Funk 33-37-70

Oliver Wilson 36-34-70

Michael Sim 36-35-71

John Mallinger 36-35-71

Justin Leonard 33-38-71

Kevin Sutherland 30-41-71

Francesco Molinari 37-34-71

Trevor Murphy 35-36-71

Anthony Kim 38-33-71

Camilo Villegas 33-38-71

Kenny Perry 34-37-71

Tom Lehman 36-35-71

Brandt Snedeker 36-35-71

Matt Kuchar 37-34-71

Andrew McLardy 35-36-71

Rory Sabbatini 39-33-72

Ben Curtis 36-36-72

Vijay Singh 36-36-72

K.J. Choi 37-35-72

Jim Furyk 37-35-72

Lee Westwood 36-36-72

Bubba Watson 36-36-72

a-Ben Martin 38-34-72

Azuma Yano 34-38-72

Rory McIlroy 36-36-72

Dustin Johnson 36-36-72

Hunter Mahan 37-35-72

Thomas Levet 35-37-72

Ryan Blaum 37-35-72

Casey Wittenberg 36-37-73

Bo Van Pelt 36-37-73

Henrik Stenson 35-38-73

Steve Stricker 36-37-73

Geoff Ogilvy 36-37-73

Tim Clark 36-37-73

Andres Romero 37-36-73

John Merrick 37-36-73

Ryan Spears 35-38-73

Peter Tomasulo 39-34-73

a-Nick Taylor 35-38-73

Steve Allan 36-37-73

Gary Woodland 37-36-73

J.J. Henry 36-37-73

Briny Baird 35-38-73

J.B. Holmes 34-39-73

Alvaro Quiros 35-38-73

Nick Watney 37-36-73

Justin Rose 35-38-73

Retief Goosen 36-37-73

Stewart Cink 35-38-73

Billy Mayfair 39-34-73

Jean-Francois Lucquin 35-38-73

Raphael Jacquelin 35-38-73

Brian Gay 38-35-73

a-Tyson Alexander 36-37-73

Shawn Stefani 38-35-73

Michael Welch 37-36-73

J.P. Hayes 36-38-74

Sangmoon Bae 34-40-74

Luke Donald 34-40-74

Angel Cabrera 36-38-74

Tiger Woods 37-37-74

Rod Pampling 37-37-74

a-Bronson Burgoon 36-38-74

George McNeill 38-36-74

Craig Bowden 37-37-74

Chris Kirk 37-37-74

Andrew Parr 37-37-74

James Kamte 34-40-74

Martin Laird 38-36-74

Darren Clarke 37-37-74

Stephen Ames 36-38-74

Cameron Yancey 36-38-74

Doug Batty 36-38-74

Simon Khan 40-35-75

Charlie Wi 36-39-75

Ryuji Imada 36-39-75

Robert Allenby 37-38-75

Paul Casey 36-39-75

Zach Johnson 39-36-75

Matt Bettencourt 37-38-75

Carl Pettersson 36-39-75

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castan 37-38-75

Darron Stiles 40-35-75

Cortland Lowe 38-37-75

Heath Slocum 37-39-76

Martin Kaymer 36-40-76

Padraig Harrington 41-35-76

Ben Crane 36-40-76

Eduardo Romero 35-41-76

Ken Duke 37-39-76

a-Vaughn Snyder 40-36-76

Cameron Beckman 38-38-76

D.J. Trahan 36-40-76

Stuart Appleby 37-39-76

Chris Stroud 39-37-76

Clark Klaasen 38-38-76

Colby Beckstrom 36-40-76

a-Matt Nagy 37-39-76

Angelo Que 37-40-77

Jose Manuel Lara 38-39-77

Richard Bland 36-41-77

Miguel A. Jimenez 39-38-77

Michael Campbell 38-39-77

Nathan Tyler 40-37-77

Kaname Yokoo 37-40-77

Scott Gutschewski 38-39-77

Charl Schwartzel 37-40-77

a-Rickie Fowler 41-37-78

Jeev Milkha Singh 39-39-78

Clinton Jensen 40-38-78

a-David Erdy 39-39-78

Simon Dyson 41-37-78

Josh McCumber 39-39-78

Kevin Silva 38-40-78

Michael Miles 40-38-78

James Nitties 40-38-78

Ernie Els 38-40-78

Matt Jones 40-38-78

Charlie Beljan 41-37-78

Greg Kraft 38-41-79

Eric Axley 40-39-79

Boo Weekley 38-41-79

Shintaro Kai 37-42-79

a-Drew Kittleson 38-42-80

Chad Campbell 38-42-80

Andrew Svoboda 38-42-80

Sean Farren 39-41-80

Steven Conway 39-41-80

David Horsey 45-36-81

a-Scott Lewis 40-41-81

a-Kyle Peterman 41-40-81

a-Josh Brock 41-42-83 - AP

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