Winfield's Streelman, Hicks tie for first round of U.S. Open

SAN DIEGO -- Thick rough or not, something about Torrey Pines Golf Course agrees with Kevin Streelman.

The 29-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Winfield shot a 3-under-par 68 Thursday, tying him with Justin Hicks, another golfer who has toiled on the mini-tours for years, as the first-round leaders in the 108th U.S. Open.

"I do enjoy this golf course. The lines off the tee kind of suit my eye well," said Streelman, a 1997 Wheaton Warrenville South graduate who went on to a standout collegiate career at Duke before struggling several years to make the Tour. "Fortunately, I drove it well and my iron play was pretty solid today.

"I just really love this golf course."

Not many others felt that way.

Tiger Woods grimaced and pursed his lips, unable to disguise the pain. And no, it wasn't his left knee, though that was still tender from surgery.

It was the 3-putt to end his round, leaving him 4 shots behind the surprising leaders and 1 behind Phil Mickelson.

Woods expected soreness in his knee. He didn't expect his first double bogey in 416 holes.

What no one saw coming -- certainly not the gallery that stood a dozen deep to watch the all-star pairing of Woods and Mickelson -- was Streelman and Hicks tied for the lead at 3-under 68.

"To make 2 double bogeys and a 3-putt and only be 4 back, that's a great position to be in," Woods said after his 1-over 72, "because I know I can clean that up tomorrow."

Before Thursday, Streelman's claim to fame came at the Buick Invitational on the same striking, city-owned golf course perched on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As the third alternate, Streelman figured he probably wouldn't get a chance to play. So he was rapping a few putts to kill time when somebody tapped him on the shoulder and told him he was teeing off in a few minutes.

When he looked up, he was startled to see Woods in front of him, but he was too intimidated to say hello.

Even more jarring was seeing Woods with him on the first tee in the final group that Saturday after Streelman opened with a 67, then made it around the tough South Course on Friday with a 69 that put him in second place -- and under a big spotlight on the weekend.

"I was the last alternate to get in Thursday morning, six minutes before my tee time, and kind of raced out and went out and shot a 5 under on the other course and came back here and shot a 3 under, and all of a sudden I was paired with Tiger," Streelman recounted.

"That was definitely an eye-opening experience, and to this day one of the cooler experiences of my life."

Woods, the world's No. 1 player, said at the time he had never heard of Streelman, and when told that he was No. 1,354 in the world rankings, Woods replied, "I think he might be going up."

He rose to No. 608 entering play this week.

While Woods went on to win the Buick, Streelman faded, shooting 75-77 on the weekend to finish tied for 29th. Still, his $33,063 check was his biggest on Tour until he finished tied for 14th at the Shell Houston Open, netting $92,400.

Streelman, who's just back from his honeymoon and a two-week break from golf, used his surprising success at the Buick to soothe his nerves Thursday.

"I felt like to kind of do that out of the gates took away a lot of the anxiety, I would say. I almost feel a lot less nervous on my tee boxes after doing that with him," Streelman said. "Great experience for me."

The star pairing of Woods and Mickelson brought enormous crowds outside the ropes and more than 100 media inside the ropes. Woods made his first double bogey since September, worked his way onto the leaderboard and then made another.

Stranger still was the eclectic mix of players who managed to break par.

Hicks is No. 722 in the world ranking, tied with Streelman, who is No. 608. Right behind was Eric Axley (No. 503), who has bittersweet memories of this place. His caddie, Steve DuPlantis, was killed by a car while crossing the street at the Buick Invitational. Axley shot 69 and was tied with Stuart Appleby, Rocco Mediate and former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els was among 11 players who managed to break par at Torrey Pines, the public golf course along the bluffs of the Pacific that held its own. A year ago at Oakmont, only two players broke par in the opening round.

Even so, many focused on Woods and Mickelson, playing together in a U.S. Open for the first time since 1999.

Rarely has there been so much speculation over Woods, who had surgery to clean out cartilage around his knee April 15, two days after the Masters. He had not played a competitive round since then, much less walked 18 holes.

But it didn't take him long to get back into the rhythm of major championship golf.

"Getting into the flow of the round, it helps when you hit 6 shots on the first hole," he said.