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 Painless day for Payne Stewart solves Olympic with 4-under 66, leads U.S. Open
Posted: Monday June 22, 1998 01:20 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (CNN/SI) -- Par, the pundits say, is always a good score in a U.S. Open. Given that, Payne Stewart was nothing short of spectacular over the final three holes of Thursday's first round at The Olympic Club. While the rest of the field trudged up the demanding, uphill 18th as if carrying a load of bricks on their back, Stewart floated the 347 yards, buoyed by back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17. And when he birdied the finishing hole with a nifty 12-foot putt, the 1991 U.S. Open champion practically needed a tether to keep from flying over the clubhouse. "It really was spectacular," Stewart said of his finish, which resulted in a 4-under-par 66 and the first-round lead. "Four, three, three is pretty much unheard of on those last three holes." No one had made a birdie on the 468-yard 17th hole when Stewart rolled in a 45-foot putt that seemed to take forever to wiggle across the green. Stewart stared in disbelief when the ball disappeared into the cup. Then, he did a wiggling dance of his own to celebrate. "That hole is a par 5," Stewart said after he needed a driver and a 2-iron to get to the green. "On the scorecard it says I made a birdie, but that was an eagle in my mind." Of all the major championships, it is the U.S. Open that requires more than mere golfing skill to win. That's why the most successful players in the 97 previous competitions include Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus. They not only mastered the shots, they mastered themselves. It took a healthy helping of that self-control to handle the treacherous Lake Course at The Olympic Club Thursday. Player after player had his hopes swallowed up in the ankle-deep rough, slip away on the lightning-fast greens, or fade away on the brutal stretch of closing holes. "Always be satisfied with making par," said Stewart, who won the Open in 1991. "There is nothing wrong with making par on any hole out there." Tom Lehman showed his grit when he fell to 2 over par after a double bogey on the 10th hole and then made three birdies in the last four holes to be at 68 along with Bob Tway and Jose Maria Olazabal.
And virtual unknown Mark Carnevale had it for one day at least, making a spectacular birdie on No. 17 to slip in between Stewart and Lehman with a 67. But many others failed the test, letting good rounds slip away over the final holes. "That's the beauty of the U.S. Open," David Duval said after four bogeys in the final eight holes led to a 75. "You're never so happy as when you're done. There's no letup." Tiger Woods made bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 and shot a 74. Steve Pate was 2-under par with three holes to play but finished bogey-bogey-double bogey and shot a 72. Tom Kite let a 2-under-par round slip away with a double bogey on No. 16 and was at even-par 70. Joe Durant, who shot a 68, finished with bogeys on two of the last three holes. "You know coming here that par is going to be a really good score," Stewart said. "I took advantage of some breaks out there today, and that's what you have to do in the U.S. Open." Among his breaks were a 12-foot putt to save par on No. 5 and a 15-foot par-saver on the ninth hole. He also made all three of his closing birdies from out of the rough when he was fortunate enough to get good lies. Lingering three shots off the lead were John Daly, Jesper Parnevik and Jeff Maggert at 69, one stroke under par. And while precious few players could get under par, a bunch of big-names put up some big numbers, including Jim Furyk at 74, Ernie Els at 75, the highest of his 20 U.S. Open rounds, and Nick Faldo at 76. PGA Championship winner Davis Love III, who is struggling with a bad back, shot a 41 on the back nine to finish with a 78. Colin Montgomerie carded a 70, along with Andrew Magee, Masters champion Mark O'Meara and 19-year-old amateur Matt Kuchar. "Limit the mistakes," Montgomerie said. "That's a key to the U.S. Open." Casey Martin, the first player to ride in a cart at the U.S. Open, nearly ran over a tournament official with his cart after he left the first tee. He also had trouble closing, making bogeys on the last two holes for a 74.
Lehman was carried along by a wildly supportive gallery clearly aware that he has played in the final group in the last three U.S. Opens only to finish third, second and third. "The galleries were yelling, 'Come on, Tom. Win it.' " Lehman said. "I just want to put the ball in play and forget about winning until the 72nd hole. If I can keep playing it this way and stroking it the way I'm stroking it, I like my chances." Wearing his trademark knickers, Stewart raised his putter in triumph and punched his right fist through the air when a 12-foot birdie fell into the cup on the final hole.
The USGA came into the Open threatening to ban high-tech clubs, but it didn't have to take the driver out of Daly's bag. The course did it instead. Playing with no driver because the 6,797-yard course is so short, Daly turned the front nine at 2-over par, then shot a 32 on the back side. "I'm going to tape it up and leave it in the trunk and take out a 3-wood again tomorrow," Daly said, who compared giving up his driver to giving up drinking. "The fairways are just too narrow here," he said. Cruising along at 2-under par through eight holes, Woods played the final 10 holes six over par, beginning with a four-putt on No. 9. "I'm not in that bad of shape," Woods insisted, despite being eight strokes back. Only Jack Fleck in 1955 trailed by more than eight strokes after the first round of the U.S. Open and came back to win. But Woods can take comfort in the fact that when Fleck rallied from a nine-stroke deficit in 1955, it was right here at Olympic, when he made a birdie on the final hole to force a playoff with Hogan. And if the first round was any indication, those closing holes at Olympic will be the key all week.
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