Woods’ title defense at US Open starts with adventure before rain halts play at Bethpage

Rain proves a formidable player at US Open

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Tiger Woods’ defense of the U.S. Open championship started with an adventure at a waterlogged Bethpage Black.

Woods pulled his tee shot 50 yards into the rough before scrambling for an improbable par on his opening hole Thursday morning, as increasingly strong rain pelted an already soaked course and led to a delay less than 3½ hours after play began.

Playing alongside fellow reigning major winners Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera, Woods’ first shot was so far off line he considered playing a second ball from the tee.

“Way left,” caddie Steve Williams said to the world’s No. 1 player on the tee box.

Woods eventually hit his second from near the front of a merchandise tent, his ball sailing over the thickest rough alongside the opening fairway. He ended up playing off grass trampled by several days of foot traffic, then got up and down from a greenside bunker for par.

How good was his save? Cabrera and Harrington, both in decidedly better spots off the tee, made bogey.

As Woods worked to salvage his first hole, not far behind him crews worked to protect the drenched 18th hole. Hoses pumped water off that fairway, and four people pushed squeegees on the green to keep it as dry as possible.

Eventually, workers all over the course couldn’t keep up, and play was halted at 10:16 a.m. with standing water on many fairways and greens. Jeff Brehaut, Johan Edfors, Andrew Parr and Ryan Spears were the only players under par when play was stopped, all at 1 under.

Woods was 1 over through six holes. When play resumes, he’ll have a par putt on the 7th green, after both he and Cabrera chose to play third shots from the sand after the horns blew to stop the tournament.

Cabrera, Justin Leonard and Ian Poulter were among those at even par when play was halted. Other notables: Former U.S. Open champions Geoff Ogilvy, Jim Furyk and Michael Campbell were at 1 over, Boo Weekley and Zach Johnson were 2 over and Harrington was 4 over.

Forecasters said all week that rain could have a serious effect on the tournament, especially during the first day. They couldn’t have been more right, and the National Weather Service warned that up to 2 inches of rain could fall Thursday.

Rickie Fowler, an amateur who made the cut at last year’s Open, was the first person to swing away from the opening hole Thursday. He arrived under cloudy skies at 6:54 a.m.

It started raining two minutes later.

Shortly after play began, the USGA sent crews out to try and keep the greens dry, and volunteers shooed people away from the hill below the first tee, saying it was too rainslicked for anyone to walk upon.

“(Holes) one and 18, that’s going to be the issue,” said Jim Hyler, the chairman of the USGA’s championship committee. “Eighteen is the real issue.”

Bethpage is hard enough when dry.

It was set up as the second-longest U.S. Open layout in history, and as an added bonus, it was to have three different par-4s measuring more than 500 yards.

The USGA showed a bit of compassion in that regard Thursday. Hole No. 7 was played at 489 yards, down from 525, and the 10th and 12th holes both had tees slightly moved up, putting them just below 500 yards each.

Woods, who beat Rocco Mediate in a playoff last year at Torrey Pines for the title, is the favorite to repeat, since he’s always the favorite whenever he plays.

If there’s a people’s favorite this week, it’s Phil Mickelson.

Mickelson isn’t from New York, but for the next week, those strangers behind the ropes at Bethpage Black are his new best friends. For his lone practice round Wednesday, many wore pink shirts and ribbons to show support for his wife, Amy, who is fighting with breast cancer. They shouted encouragement whenever the world’s No. 2 player walked past and even sang a day-late verse of “Happy Birthday.”

He was to tee off in the afternoon Thursday, although that hardly seemed certain because of the rain.