U.S. Open: The Daily Wrap-up, Friday

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- 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. "Our side definitely had a big advantage. For us to be able to play in nice conditions all day like this is huge."

When a day that lasted just under 13 hours finally ended, Bethpage Black turned red on the leaderboard with 16 players under par. All but two of those players -- Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and American amateur Drew Weaver -- were on the course.

Lucas Glover was atop the leaderboard at 6-under par through 13 holes, one shot ahead of Ricky Barnes, and 10 shots clear of Tiger Woods, who completed a 74 in the sloppy morning for his worst start in a major in three years.

Glover shot 69 earlier in the day, then played bogey-free until it was too dark to continue. Barnes, who opened with a 67, decided to finish in twilight and nearly three-putted the 18th green.

Weir played the front nine in 2 over to fall two shots behind.

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.

It sure didn't look that way after he chopped out from the left rough to the right rough on No. 2 and missed a 4-foot putt that led to double bogey, although he rallied with three birdies over a four-hole span. Mickelson, a runner-up four times in the U.S. Open, was 1 under through 11 holes.

All of them realized they caught a huge break.

Of the 25 players who shot par or better in the first round, only seven came from the first wave of tee times. The course played almost two strokes harder in the morning -- averaging 74.8 to 72.9 for the afternoon players.

Woods, the defending champion, returned to finish 12 holes in the 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.

Too bad for him he couldn't have stopped there.

He drove into the deep rough on the 15th and saw a chip roll 50 feet down a ridge. Double bogey.

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

He drove into a bunker on the 18th. Another bogey.

The damage came to four shots over the last four holes for a 74, Woods' highest start at a major since a 76 in the 2006 U.S. Open, the only time he has missed a cut in the major as a pro.

He could be in jeopardy at Bethpage Black, where seven years ago he was the only player to finish under par.

The U.S. Open cut is top 60 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Woods could only hope the leaders don't get too far away from him before he tees off in the second round on Saturday, when more rain is expected.

The second round was to resume at 7:30 a.m.

"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, stretching 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. Hamilton stayed at 3 under through 10 holes, while Duval made four bogeys in six holes before getting back to 1 under with a pair of birdies.

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. He began to stagger late in the evening and was 2 over through 10 holes.

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.

The last washout in the first round of a major was in the 2003 Masters. 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 as he went on 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.'"

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.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Even in the far reaches of this sprawling golf course, which stretches into two different counties, and even though Phil Mickelson played 29 holes on Friday, the fans turned out in abundance.

“I love you, Phil,” a surprisingly deep voice yelled at one hole. Into the silence before his opening tee shot of the second round, another bellowed simply “Phil is great.” Fist pumps and thunderous applause greeted his arrival at every tee and green.

New York loves Phil Mickelson. It’s as simple as that and he rewarded his fans by shooting 1 under in his first round Friday and playing 11 more in even par before darkness halted play in the 109th U.S. Open.

Did he see the pink ribbons on the scoreboards? That would be a definite yes. Does he hear what the fans say as he walks down the fairway?

“It’s hard to miss it,” Mickelson said with a grin. “You know, it’s not like they whisper it. But it’s very flattering and very cool.”

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LUCK OF DRAW FAVORS THOSE WHO PLAYED A LOT FRIDAY

By T.J. Auclair, PGA.com Interactive Producer

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- It could be a wash -- literally and figuratively -- when it’s all sorted out, but it would appear that the players who had a late first-round tee time in the 109th U.S. Open could be heading into the weekend with a substantial advantage over those on the opposite side of the draw.

Is it fair? It doesn’t matter. That’s why it’s called the luck of the draw.

Only two players who started on Thursday -- amateur Drew Weaver and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell -- finished their respective first rounds in sub-par fashion, each with a 1-under 69. Also among the players who started on Thursday, five were at even par, 71 were over par and the scoring average was 74.76, or just under five shots over par. The over-par, early-starter scores included a 4-over 74 by defending champ Tiger Woods and a crushing 8-over 78 from two-time U.S. Open champ Ernie Els.

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