Overnight, this course built on the sand hills of North Carolina, lost its teeth. Like a chameleon, it changed. Hey presto, just like that! And the upshot in this first round of the 114th US Open was a rather benign set-up that brought relief and little of the foreboding that had occupied minds in the run-up to the championship.
On a day which started grey and overcast, the sun only breaking through after a large chunk of the field had taken to the task of constructing a score that would allow the dream of lifting the famed old trophy, players recognised the benevolence of the weather gods and the USGA – who had watered the course in the morning after predicted rainfall failed to materialise – and duly served up more birdies than could have been envisaged.
Aggressive approaches
Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a birdie fest; but neither was it the drought predicted by so many.
And whilst players were required to demonstrate fortitude and patience, with the majority stubbornly sticking to pre-ordained game plans, there were also occasions when players adopted more aggressive approaches.
It led to a more-than-interesting opener to a championship where Phil Mickelson, for one, has grand designs on breaking into the elite Grand Slam club.
Graeme McDowell and Kevin Na, of the first wave of players, assumed the clubhouse lead with rounds of 68 – two-under-par – and, as if to confirm that even on what could be construed as something of a pet day in these parts, not everyone had it so comfortable.
Lee Westwood opened with a 75, while would-be Ryder Cup colleague Jonas Blixt struggled to a 77. Australian Robert Allenby, one of 11 players to have played in both the 1999 and 2005 US Opens here, signed for a 79. No, it certainly wasn't easy, not for everyone; just not as difficult as anticipated.
Mickelson, despite having ongoing problems with his putting, kept his dream alive. So far, in an honoured career, the left-handed golfer has put his hands on the Masters trophy, the US PGA and the Claret Jug - but not yet this US Open, which has eluded him. A six-time runner-up, a record, Mickelson has contended time and time again.
Yesterday, he opened with a solid level-par 70, three birdies and three bogeys.
Mickelson’s woes of late have been coming on the greens, and a switch to a claw-grip on his putting stroke – which he started in last week’s St Jude Classic – has been maintained here.
New grip
“It might be weeks, it might be months, it might be days, hours, I don’t know,” said Mickelson of the crossover to the new grip, which has been given the approval – for the time being – of
Dave Stockton
, his putting coach.
“It’s just one of those things. I putted just so well for a year and a half, and I’ve kind of overdone what I was doing and I’ve got to kind of settle back in. The club helps with my alignment, it keeps my lines straight and it takes some of pressure and hit out of it with the bottom hand.
“So when that starts to go away on my natural grip, I’ll go back to that.”
It may be a temporary solution to the problem, but Mickelson knows the importance of putting on these undulating and slick greens, running to 12 and a half on the stimpmeter, and of remaining in contention.
“I don’t feel like I’m hitting bad putts, I’m just missing them a little bit on the sides. I don’t feel like it’s far off,” claimed Mickelson.
In spite of his putting problems, he put himself very much into the mix here.
“I don’t know if it will be this week or next year or the year after. I do still have a hundred per cent confidence that I’ll be able to break through and get one. I do feel, though, that this tournament gives me a great chance or this golf course, because I don’t feel like I have to be perfect,” he said.
This No 2 course will, it would seem, become more challenging as the championship progresses.
And the importance of posting a good score early on wasn’t lost on McDowell, who tasted his only Major success – so far – when winning at Pebble Beach in 2010.
In shooting an opening 68 to share the clubhouse lead with Na, the Ulsterman showed patience and an ability to convert chances when the opportunities arose.
Right choice
McDowell’s decision-making was, more often than not, spot-on.
Which is an area that defending champion Justin Rose – who opened with a 72 – felt needed greater attention if he is to claim back-to-back titles.
Rose was actually four-over through the turn but salvaged matters after having what he termed a “hang-your-head moment” when duffing a chip on his eighth hole.
Rose, nursing a slight knee injury, insisted he was still very much in the mix.
“I’ve got to play some great golf for the rest of the week . . . . . I feel like I’m playing pretty free, feel like I’m playing the golf course more aggressively each day.”
