players have applauded usga executive director mike davis’ conscientious ef-
fort to keep playing conditions the same early in the week as they are on sun-
day, so the field was surprised when olympic club turned up faster and firmer
during a vicious first round played under ideal weather conditions. “it’s like
they used sub-air on the whole place,” said tiger woods who shot 69 but was
“surprised” at the overnight transformation. most noticeable even before fog
lifted and afternoon breezes drained greens of any moisture was the increased
firmness compared to practice rounds. though padraig harrington (74, with
two four-putts) called the course “playable” and “ideal,” he said the high scor-
ing “just goes to show that firm greens scare the life out of professional golfers.”
davis said after the round that the firmness was about what the usga hoped
for after being a bit too soft in practice. meanwhile, the vaunted opening six-
hole stretch lived up to pre-tournament hype, playing “very, very difficult,”
according to david toms (69), who said the holes were made palatable by a
setup that allowed for “scoring opportunities on the back side.” the numbers
don’t lie. the first-round scoring average of 74.923 was the fourth highest since
1993. holes one through six averaged 2.756 shots over par, while the back nine
(par 36) averaged 37.647. —Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac)