LA JOLLA, Calif. — How perfect that, at the conclusion of a U.S. Open opening round in which anyone not named Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson may as well have been playing on the other side of the world, the very sound of one of the 18-hole co-leader’s names elicited one simple question:
Who?
“I think I’m another of the guys out there playing the Nationwide Tour trying to earn his PGA Tour card,” said Justin Hicks, moments after making seven birdies en route to a roller-coasterish 3-under-par 68. “There’s a lot of great, young players in America and we’re all out there trying to get — to earn our way up to playing on this big level.”
Another youthful unknown, Kevin Streelman, also shot a 68, although there was at least one “name” player not far behind — 2006 Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, part of a four-man group one shot behind the leaders.
But it was Hicks who supplied the day’s biggest surprise, although a cynic might point out that even before arriving at Torrey Pines Golf Course, Hicks’ game was trending upward. After all, the 33-year-old did have his best finish of his career this year, coming in 28th and earning $3,690 at the Livermore Valley (Calif.) Wine Country Championship at Wente Vineyards.
Actually, there were probably more people lining up along the fairways in Northern California in April than following Hicks on Thursday. That was the case for anyone who wasn’t ranked first or second in the world. For Hicks, with his lifelong best friend on his bag, the lack of humanity perhaps lent itself to a far more relaxed vibe than the circumstances might have normally dictated.
“We talked about everything other than golf — the Red Wings, how pretty the area is, maybe going to a movie tonight,” said his caddie, Bradley Paskievitch, who, like Hicks, attended Michigan. “I certainly wasn’t going to say, ‘Hey, you’re leading the U.S. Open.’ ”
At one point, Hicks might have recoiled from the pressure of Woods breathing down his neck. Playing in his first event since knee surgery after the Masters in April, Woods spoke earlier in the week about needing to immediately play his way into the round. He did just that, but perhaps not in the way he envisioned, opening his epic pairing with Mickelson by making a double-bogey 6 on the first.
“That’s a lot of shots to get into a flow,” Woods joked. “You just couldn’t get off to a worse start.”
Woods rallied, getting as low as 1-under for the day. But another double bogey on the 14th hole, combined with a three-putt par on the 573-yard, par-5 18th, conspired to leave him at 1-over-72.
“To make two double bogeys and a three-putt and be only four shots back is a great position to be in, because I can clean all that up,” Woods said.
Meanwhile, Mickelson spent most of his day living up, one way or another, to his unorthodox image. Before play began, the left-hander took his driver out of his bag, opting instead to tee off with a 3-wood or hybrid.
“I only want to drive it a certain distance,” he said nonchalantly. “I don’t want to hit it more than 300 yards, so a 3-wood is all I need.”
After driving into the rough on the 12th hole, Mickelson felt he could use the hybrid to hit as good a shot as he could with a sand wedge. The effort went about as far as a really bad chip — just a few yards. On his next shot, he used the club again, but this time knocked the ball some 245 yards onto the green.
Unlike Woods, Mickelson didn’t three-putt the 18th, making a birdie to finish at even-par 71. But that still left him three shots behind Hicks, who, should he maintain his lofty status, would earn a paycheck of somewhere around $1.2 million.
“Does it ever really matter when you’re leading the Open unless it’s the final round?” Hicks asked. “I know it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and our goal is to keep playing good, steady golf and try to be standing here on Sunday night.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
