With better forecast, U.S. Open resumes

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- With the course still soggy but playable, the rain-delayed U.S. Open resumed Friday morning amid hopes that the first round would be completed by day's end.

Weather permitting, of course.

Bethpage Black took more than 1 inch of rain in a day-long downpour Thursday and remained squishy in some spots when players resumed the season's second major championship shortly before 7:30 a.m.

Defending champion Tiger Woods started Friday by missing a 10-foot par putt at the seventh hole, sending him to 2 over, and after spraying a drive way right on the 10th hole he slammed his driver in disgust.

Justin Leonard posted two birdies quickly after play resumed and made the turn at 2 under. Just as quickly, he gave those shots back on the 10th, making a double-bogey and continuing an odd opening round. Through 10 holes, he only had one par on his card -- at the very first hole.

Jeff Brehaut, Johan Edfors, Andrew Parr and Ryan Spears all slept on the lead, such as it was, returning to Bethpage at 1 under, although of that group only Brehaut completed more than four holes before first-round play was halted.

Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and 2008 runner-up Rocco Mediate were in the half of the field that never got on the course Thursday. They were scheduled to finally tee it up around 10 a.m. Friday and -- if the weather held out, forecasters said there was only a slight chance of more rain during Day 2 -- would start their second rounds sometime around 4 p.m.

Woods' side of the field will not start its second round until Saturday, when more rain is expected to pound the waterlogged course. The U.S. Open hasn't had a 72-hole Monday finish since 1983, but any significant interruption in play over the coming days would likely assure that no champion will be crowned on Sunday.

"If the forecast we've got right now for Saturday and so on were absolutely accurate ... yes, absolutely finishing on Sunday would be borderline impossible," said Mike Davis, the USGA's senior director of rules and competition.

Masters winner Angel Cabrera and Ian Poulter were among those at even par when play resumed. Former U.S. Open champions Geoff Ogilvy, Jim Furyk and Michael Campbell were 1 over, Boo Weekley and Zach Johnson were 2 over and two-time defending British Open champion Padraig Harrington was 4 over.

When the U.S. Open was played at Bethpage in 2002, only Woods finished under par, completing the week at 3-under 277. So, not surprisingly, the course was tough for everyone Thursday, when bogeys outnumbered birdies by a 5-to-1 margin.

Except, that is, on Brehaut's card. He had two birdies and one bogey in his 11 holes Thursday, putting the 46-year-old in the surprising position of leaving Bethpage after Day 1 with his name atop the leaderboard.

"It's a long way to go," Brehaut said.