Opening rounds create optimism. Mornings produce opportunity. The course was in great shape before it was trampled by 156 hopefuls. The greens were soft Thursday morning thanks to a brief sprinkling at Congressional Country Club. The temperature and wind were nonfactors. Everything set up for a wave of lesser names to rise atop the U.S. Open leader board before the established stars teed off in the afternoon.
Ryan Palmer’s three PGA Tour victories mean he’s not a long shot. However, anyone who knocked around the Hooters and Nationwide tours and never has been closer than 10th in a major won’t be confused with Arnold Palmer, either.
Palmer exited with a 2-under 69, one off the morning-round leaders. He would have joined them if he hadn’t lost a stroke on the 16th hole when his approach shot flew past the green.
Suddenly, someone who missed the cut in two previous U.S. Opens is thinking he could be the 11th different winner in the last 11 majors on a tour turned upside down without Tiger Woods.
“I think about that each time I come to a major championship. Why can’t it be mine?” he said. “I’ve won three times. I finished second in a World Golf Championship and lost in a playoff in the Byron Nelson, finished 10th at the Masters. I know I can play on the biggest stage. No reason I can’t give myself a chance to win this weekend.”
The Golf Channel spent the afternoon fixating on Phil Mickelson’s repeated journeys into the water and woods, but the morning belonged to ESPN and lesser names like Palmer. Palmer sometimes seemed irked by the slight but offered an upside, too.
“Watching some of the things on the Golf Channel, talking about who to watch, who to predict, it’s the same guys every week. But there are a hundred guys out here every week that can come out and win every week,” he said. “I don’t mind sneaking up in there. … No pressure on me.”
Palmer arrived at Congressional nine days earlier to work on his woods. He hit six tee shots a hole with the same club. He didn’t even take the irons out of the bag. Palmer focused on lining up each hole and was rewarded Thursday with birdies on Nos. 1, 8 and 10. It was a grinding day, but that’s the secret of the Open.
“I birdied the first hole and felt good all day,” he said. “It was nice to get under par obviously and shooting [in the] 60s the first day in the U.S. Open. The biggest thing was hitting good tee shots that just went in the rough. I was able to still hit the greens the way they’ve got the new rough. It gives the guys that hit good tee shots, they just run through the fairway a little bit and you can still play from there a little bit. That was the big thing today.”
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
