Tres amigos enjoy a uniquely bueno round together

Few trios had as much fun as Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia and Pablo Martin, who were very pleasantly surprised to find themselves in the same group. Veteran Olazabal and rookie Martin scored well, but Garcia struggled.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Jose Maria Olazabal probably won't mind hearing that Pablo Martin says he's one of his idols. He's 41, after all, and old enough to be the young Spaniard's father.

Now, Sergio Garcia, who at 27 is just six years Martin's elder, might have a little trouble adjusting to such status. But Garcia, who made his European Tour debut at 15, was making headlines in Spain before Martin was out of grade school.

So Martin's introduction to major championship golf was made easier when he played with his two heros in the first round of the 107th U.S. Open on Thursday. He acquitted himself well, too, shooting a 1-over 71 that left him well in the thick of things.

"It was great; (I was) really happy that they got me with Jose and Sergio," Martin said, later calling the pairing a dream come true. "It was great playing with them and it made it a lot easier, I think."

Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion, ended up beating Martin by one stroke. The elder statesman of the group said it was the first time he could remember playing in the United States and being able to converse completely in Spanish with his playing partners.

"Obviously I'm happy with the score today," Olazabal said. "Don't get me wrong, anything around par here is going to be fantastic. You have to take every day as it comes, to be honest. Try to do the best you can, put yourself in the best possible position and see what happens."

The third member of the group, though, faces an uphill battle to just make the cut on Friday. Garcia, one of several young players who now gets the curse -- and the compliment -- of being considered the 'best player never to have won a major,' opened with a frustrating 79.

"He told me he's struggling a little bit at the moment," Olazabal said. "But, you know, I know he can turn things around. He has the talent, the skill. I'm pretty sure we will see him up there soon."

Things are definitely on the upswing for the personable Martin.

He is already exempt on the European Tour through 2009 after winning the Estoril Open de Portugal in April. He is the first amateur to ever win a European Tour event, which is a span of 1,145 tournaments.

Martin, who was the national player of the year as a sophomore at Oklahoma State, turned pro two weeks ago after competing in the NCAA Tournament. He immediately received a sponsor's exemption into the Stanford St. Jude Championship, but missed the cut.

Olazabal said he was impressed with Martin's performance on Thursday. Martin hit all but three fairways and 72 percent of his greens, which helped produced a trio of birdies.

"He played really well," Olazabal said. "I have to say it's the first time I've seen him play under this conditions, and he did very well. He played really solid. His short game is good, so, you know, really good."

As is his custom, Olazabal relied on his imaginative short game, too. He only hit nine fairways and 10 greens, but his putter was working. He took just 27 putts while making two birdies and dropping a single shot to par.

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" (I had) good chipping and good putting," said Olazabal, who tied for third at THE PLAYERS Championship last month. "You are going to miss fairways and you are going to miss greens. It was a good day today for recovery. That was the key today.

"Three times off the tee (I hit) in that high stuff. (I) couldn't reach the fairway in all of them. I couldn't actually see the ball in two of them, that's how tough it is."

Martin, who has Fred Couples' long-time caddy Joe LaCava on the bag this week, admitted he had a couple of lucky breaks -- smiling as he thought about the 70-foot birdie putt he poured in for birdie on the 12th hole. Still, he was pleased with his debut.

"I missed a couple of putts, but overall, I think it was okay," Martin said. "At least for me, I don't hit it that far from the rough, but you play the mistakes and make it a bogey or trying to get a par and move on.

"So it's pretty hard out there but greens, I think they were soft today so ... it wasn't that difficult, I didn't think. But I'm sure it's going to get worse and worse."

Martin was 14 months old when Olazabal played in the first of his 17 U.S. Opens. The veteran went on to post three top-10s in his next three starts, but has not come closer than a tie for 12th since.

"(Experience) is important," Olazabal said. "At the end of the day it's the way you hit the ball. You have to hit the proper shots off the tee and on the greens and it you do that, you're OK. If you don't, it doesn't matter how experienced you are."