This Justin Hicks, Streelman take one-shot lead at Open

SAN DIEGO -- The dozen-deep galleries that followed the dream golf trio of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott at Thursday's opening round of the U.S. Open would have been confident they were tracking a first-round leader.

They would have been better off among the relative handful following Kevin Streelman or Justin Hicks. That pair, neither among the top 600 in world rankings, each shot 3-under 68 to take a one-shot lead after the opening day.

They were among 11 players who broke par at Torrey Pines, after only two were in red numbers after the first round last year. The world's Nos. 1, 2 and 3 -- Woods, Mickelson and Scott -- were not among them.

In his comeback from knee surgery two months ago, Woods got a double bogey on the first hole -- his first in 416 holes -- to leave onlookers fearing the worst in the return to competitive golf. He steadied to finish a 1-over 72, four shots off the lead.

"To make two double bogeys and a three-putt and only be four back, that's a great position to be in, because I know I can clean that up tomorrow," Woods said after his first competitive round since the Masters.

Streelman might not be a household name, but Woods knows him. The 29-year-old PGA Tour rookie is known best for getting into the Buick Invitational as the third alternate in January and playing with Woods in the final group on the weekend. He was No. 1,354 in the world back then, but all the way up to No. 608 now.

Woods displays his legendary focus during his 1-over-par 72 in the first round. (Getty Images)

"It's been an incredible run on the PGA Tour thus far," he said. "I don't think what happened today has quite sunk in."

Hicks played at the Buick Invitational, too -- but it wasn't the same guy whose name was atop the leaderboard of the U.S. Open. It turns out there's another Justin Hicks, a club pro in San Diego, who qualified for the Buick. He showed up in the gallery Thursday to watch this Justin Hicks, the Nationwide Tour player, fire off six birdies on his opening nine and hold it together.

"A lot of weird stuff going on out there today," Hicks said.

That includes the star trio of Woods, Mickelson and Scott being brought together under an initiative to group the first round based on world ranking and attracting enormous crowds.

Mickelson, who carried two drivers in his bag at the Masters when he won his first major, didn't have any in his bag for the U.S. Open. He still managed to reach both par 5s on the back in two, both times settling for birdie on his way to a 71.

"I felt like with the fairways being firm like they were today, all I needed was a 3-wood," Mickelson said.