2008 U.S. Open

SAN DIEGO—In one of the most heralded threesomes in modern major championship history, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott proved they could play through pain and San Diegan Phil Mickelson once again warmed up to his thousands of fans at Torrey Pines.

But on Thursday at the 2008 U.S. Open, the top three players in the world rankings are looking up at a pair of golfers ranked No. 608 and No. 722 on the global tally.

Those would be Kevin Streelman and Justin Hicks, respectively. Streelman, who has fond memories of Torrey Pines after he found himself in contention after 36 holes of the Buick Invitational earlier this year, made six birdies and three bogeys on his way to a 3-under 68 and a share of the lead with Hicks.

Hicks, who has played everywhere from the PGA and Nationwide Tours to the Maverick and Montgomery Sports circuits, came out smiling at the end of a rollercoaster first round that saw him pace the day’s morning wave.

“I thought it was a pretty good round,” said Hicks, who had seven birdies and four bogeys and didn’t make a par until his 10^th hole of the day, the par-4 first. “Certainly I’m not shocked, but a little bit surprised at the thought of it.”

The first-round leader explained the confusing scenario following his round: “He played at the Buick [Invitational] this year, which caused a lot of interesting things for both of us. The Tour got us mixed up. Companies got us mixed up. Checks were going to my place; checks were going to his place. There was all kinds of fun stuff going on.”

The Nationwide Tour actually withdrew Hicks from the Panama Movistar Championship because they assumed he committed to play in the Buick, which was being contested the same week in late January.

“I called them up, and they said, ‘You committed to the Buick, and we figured you wouldn’t want to go to Panama.’ No, I’d like to go to Panama because that’s not me,” he said.

Hicks’ galleries grew larger throughout the day as word of his exploits spread throughout the South Course, but every group’s following paled in comparison to what was going with The Big Three of Woods, Mickelson and Scott.

Woods, the No. 1 golfer in the world, shot a 1-over 72 in his first competitive round since the Masters in April. His left knee, which was scoped for loose cartilage two days after his appearance at Augusta National, is still not 100 percent, but it was strong enough to allow him to walk 18 holes.

“It’s a little sore,” Woods bluntly commented after his round.

The Cypress native began his round inauspiciously with a double bogey on No. 1.

“You couldn’t ask for a worse start than I got off to,” said Woods. “It helps when you hit six shots on the first hole to get into the flow.”

He also made a double on the par-4 14^th, which was playing at its full distance of 435 yards despite intimations from the United States Golf Association that it could be played as a shorter, driveable hole at some point during the week. But Woods also had three birdies on his card, including a dramatic tap-in on the par-4 fourth thanks to a laser-like approach from a fairway bunker 209 yards away.

“I hit the ball pretty good all day, had a couple misses left, but just need to clean up the round a little bit. Just those two 6s in there, [and] I didn’t take care of both par 5s on the back nine,” he said.

One of his playing partners, world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, closed with a birdie on the par-5 18^th for an even-par 71. He struggled on the front nine, going out in 38, but a 33 on the back has him looking forward to the rest of the week.

“Anything around par is kind of your target for the U.S. Open,” said the Rancho Santa Fe resident. “I don’t really look at what everybody else is doing because I just feel like it all seems to gravitate towards par.”

Mickelson has sometimes carried two drivers in his bag depending on whether a tee shot calls for a fade or draw, but the longest of his 14 clubs today was his 3-wood based on his expectation of a firm and fast layout.

“I don’t really want to hit it past 300 yards on most of the par 4s because [the ball] starts running into the rough. And I felt like with the fairways being firm like they were today all I needed was 3-wood,” he explained.

Mickelson did say that if the track softened up due to moisture he would consider putting driver back in his rotation.

Aside from putting himself only three shots out of the lead, he was excited to be in the marquee grouping in front of a supportive gallery that featured spectators that stretched six or seven rows deep.

“This is my hometown and everybody out here was so respectful,” said Mickelson. “I was very proud to be from here.”

Scott, the only member of the threesome not from Southern California, shot a 2-over 73 despite breaking the knuckle at the base of his right pinkie three weeks ago. The Australian admitted the wound hasn’t completely healed yet; however, his condition is similar to Woods in that the injured area is strong enough to allow him to compete without too much stress.

“It’s improved a lot in the last five days since I got here. So it’s been no problem,” said Scott, the world’s No. 3 player.