Retief the Robot starts well in defense of title

Published 12:00 am Friday, June 17, 2005

PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) &045; While others stress about tough conditions, Retief Goosen just keeps playing. That’s why he’s the defending U.S. Open champion. And that’s why he finds himself near the lead once again.

Over a dry and breezy first round at Pinehurst No. 2, Goosen shot a 2-under-par 68 to finish one stroke off the lead Thursday &045; keeping himself well in position to capture his third U.S. Open title.

&uot;I only see them making it gradually tougher as the week goes on,&uot; Goosen said.

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On Friday, though, play began under cooler conditions with slightly overcast skies. Joe Ogilvie and Tommy Armour were among those to hit the first tee shots, with John Daly not far behind. Goosen was scheduled for a 1:10 p.m. tee time.

The low-key South African came to North Carolina to defend his title, only to be more or less ignored in the lead-up to the tournament, something he conceded bothered him a bit earlier in the week.

Also barely mentioned were Rocco Mediate and Olin Browne, both of whom teed off in the morning, and wound up leading after the first round at 3-under 67. Tied with Goosen a stroke behind were Lee Westwood and Brandt Jobe. Only Jobe played in the afternoon, when the wind started blowing, making the difficult course brittle and much harder to predict than in 1999, the last time the Open was played here.

&uot;It plays more difficult in the afternoon,&uot; said Jobe, who said it took a staggering 90 minutes for him to grind through the last four holes. &uot;But I’m happy. It’s a good start, but there’s a ton of golf to be played.&uot;

The crowded leaderboard included Phil Mickelson at 69, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh at 70 and Ernie Els, who shot 71 in the morning and thought conditions were quite difficult.

&uot;It’s really unbelievable,&uot; Els said. &uot;It’s the only course we play that you have to aim away from the holes.&uot;

That would be because of the humpbacked greens, which dried out as the day went on, making already unpredictable surfaces that much harder.

Mickelson spent much of the lead-up to the Open practicing at Pinehurst with short-game guru Dave Pelz. But some things you just can’t prepare for, like the ball landing in a patch of sand just outside a greenside bunker, the way it did on No. 16, where Lefty chipped out weakly and two-putted for bogey.

&uot;I don’t see how anybody will be under par in these conditions after 72 holes,&uot; Mickelson said.

As the day went on, tee shots hit down the middle bounced hard off the fairway and wound up in the rough. Soft, high approach shots went trickling off greens. That rough, meanwhile, just kept growing in the hot weather, turning club faces and snaring hosels.