Open crowd focuses on 'Big Three'

SAN DIEGO - Fixing his gaze down the first fairway at Torrey Pines Golf Course yesterday morning, in a direction where the majestic Pacific beckoned, Patrick Sheehan was aware of the curtain having been raised in the 108th US Open. But he was not naive enough to think that it was showtime.

"I don't think when they looked at the pairings that they thought too much about where to put me," said Sheehan. "I think they were only concerned with those other guys."

He may be playing in his first US Open and just his third major championship, but the Rhode Islander is quite aware of the landscape in which he toils. Yes, he would strike the second tee shot in the opening pairing, but the real show was six groups back, Sheehan noted.

The world's top three players - Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Adam Scott - formed a marquee group that had been trumpeted since the US Golf Association released the list a little more than a week ago. And while there were no shortage of people suggesting this was the only story line, that was true only if you ignored the other 150 or so.

Sheehan made sure his story earned a piece of the spotlight on a day when stunning names jumped atop the leaderboard and Torrey Pines flashed plenty of muscle.

"There's no hiding out there," said Sheehan, "but I played really well, [save] for one awful hole."

Ah, but the awful holes get added up right along with the good holes, which is why Sheehan's triple bogey at the par-4 15th helped drag his score into the clubhouse at even-par 71. By late in the day, as the final groups played on, Sheehan was tied for 12th, three strokes off a lead being shared by a pair of unheralded gents, Justin Hicks and Kevin Streelman, they of the combined one previous major championship appearance and zero top-10 finishes in PGA Tour stops.

There were also 69s by 2006 champion Geoff Ogilvy, Rocco Mediate, Stuart Appleby, and Eric Axley, and 70s by a handful of others, but to give Sheehan and so many others their due, the exploits of those megastars in Group 7 indeed captivated overwhelming crowds.

"To tee off at [8:06 Pacific time] and have this many people out here? I was pretty impressed," said Mickelson, who considering his San Diego roots would have had the crowd in his corner had it not been for the return of the game's greatest icon from an eight-week layoff because of knee surgery. That would be Woods, who proved every bit as popular as Mickelson to a crowd that ran, jostled, pushed, and fought for whatever viewing space they could find.

Of course, their first vision gave them reason to reassess their efforts, for when Woods pulled his drive into thick rough at the first, pitched out, and delivered a third shot that landed just beyond the hole and kicked into more gnarly grass, he was en route to a double-bogey 6. It was suggested that the start could be attributed to his first competitive appearance since April 13, yet Woods merely laughed.

"Getting into the flow of the round," he said. "It helps when you hit six shots."

There would be just 28 over the next eight holes, however, as Woods settled in nicely to go out in 1-under 34, with Scott at 35, and Mickelson at a disappointing 38 that had folks questioning his decision to take on Torrey Pines's massive length without a driver. The lefthander is not one to debate, however, insisting that his game plan was formulated weeks ago.

Strategy also came into play for US Golf Association officials, entrusted to moving hundreds of reporters and photographers along without disrupting the view of tens of thousands of spectators, while at the same time keeping things orderly for the players.

Supportive of the grouping, but apprehensive about how it would go, Woods gave a thumbs up.

"It was pretty loud at times. Overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought," said the world's top-ranked player, who is in pursuit of a third US Open title and 14th major championship. "I think that there have been more people before, but I haven't seen this many people inside the ropes before."

His observation was spot on, for it appeared to set some sort of record for media representation inside the ropes. It made for enough traffic jams and offered contentious moments that the thought occurred to move forward and keep a watch from ahead. Given that Sheehan had birdied three times going out and added a birdie at the par-4 10th to push to 4 under, it was a decision well rewarded.

"I hit a ton of fairways [12 of 14] and greens [15 of 18]," said Sheehan, and even when he bogeyed the demanding 504-yard, par-4 12th, the pride of Providence and the University of Hartford had a share of the lead.

There was also a crossing of the paths with that marquee group, which presented a view of Scott's double bogey at the 10th and Mickelson's first birdie of the day at that same hole. That was negated at the 12th when the lefthander bogeyed to fall back to 3 over, but as he came alive, so, too, did Woods stumble. Mickelson birdied the par-5 13th and par-4 14th, holes on which Woods went par and double bogey, thanks to a drive into the bunker and a third shot that he'd love to have back. It sent folks rushing to the media guide, and indeed it was discovered that Woods hadn't made a double since the BMW Championship last September and now he had two in 14 holes.

The knee? Surely it had to be hurting, or so it was suggested. Woods bristled, "I just go play."

It was Sheehan's philosophy, too. Ignore the scene behind him, put his head down, and plow along. Fairways and greens were flowing his way and everything was going swimmingly until . . . "probably my worst shot of the day," he said of the 4-iron at the 15th he pulled into thick greenside rough. Yeah, he was hole high, but he could barely see the ball.

"I said to [caddie] Val [Lopez], 'How do I play this? Should I explode it like a bunker shot?' " said Sheehan. "He said, 'What other choice do you have?' None really."

So he exploded and the ball popped up . . . then sat down again. On the next shot, Sheehan swung completely under it and never did a hint of white come out of the plush green grass. "I whiffed it," said Sheehan, and he knew people had to be wondering what in the world was happening. "But I could go practice that shot 100 times and not figure out how to hit that shot."

The third attempt moved forward 10 feet, hit a bank, and settled into rough. The fourth was played deftly, and when Sheehan made the curling 3-footer for triple bogey, he had gone from 3 under and tied for second to even par and joint ninth.

"I was ready to blow up," Sheehan conceded, but on the walk to the tee at the par-3 16th he calmed down. Three solid pars got him home with a good taste in his mouth and strong crowd support, even if so many of them were anticipating the group coming shortly thereafter.

There were few fireworks down the stretch by the trio of superstars, as Woods made par at each of his final four holes to shoot 1-over 72 and Scott offset bogeys at the 14th and 16th with a birdie at 18 to sign for a 73. And Mickelson, the hometown hero? The 3-over front side was a distant memory when at the 18th he made his fourth homeward birdie to settle in at 71.

"Anything around par is kind of your target for the US Open," said Mickelson, who couldn't help but notice what his vaunted playing competitors were doing, but pleaded ignorance about the other 153 entrants. "I don't really look at what everybody else is doing."

So consider him unaware of those stunning stories crafted by Hicks and Streelman, and certainly don't ask him about that slice of flavor added by Sheehan. On this day, the only story line Mickelson cared about involved his group.

He was not alone. Tens of thousands felt similarly.

Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.