Golf: Campbell, Tataurangi return 'reasonable' round

8.15am

NEW YORK - Michael Campbell recovered from a poor mid-round stretch to shoot a most respectable two-over-par 72 in the opening round at the US Open today.

"Two over on this golf course is quite reasonable," Campbell said after a strong finish on the brutally tough Bethpage black course.

He was four strokes behind Spanish leader Sergio Garcia with half the field back in the clubhouse.

Phil Tataurangi also had a reasonable morning, shooting a 74 that he thought could have been a couple of shots better, while fellow Kiwi Craig Perks had a late tee time.

Campbell looked in danger of letting the round get away from him when he double-bogeyed the par-four ninth, after sending his third shot from the rough over the green, before duffing his chip.

He also bogeyed the 10th, but that was his last mistake of the day as he played the rest of the extremely punishing inward half without dropping a shot.

He picked up two birdies, both from 15 feet, at the par-five 13th and par-four 16th.

"I hit the ball quite nicely," Campbell said.

"It's just so tough out there. The greens are probably twice as fast as yesterday, for some reason, and the pins are tucked. It's impossible to get to some of them."

Tataurangi, meanwhile, felt that he played better than his score reflected.

"I played very well," he said.

"I'm disappointed with 74. I played better than that. I made very few mistakes but every time I made one I paid the penalty.

"That's what's going to happen. There's no room for the faint hearted on this golf course. You have to grind it out."

Tataurangi was extremely critical of the hole placement at the par-four 11th.

"They've got it set on the edge of a slope," he complained.

"I was 10 feet under the hole and I was worried about keeping my putt on the green. If it had lipped out, it would have been off the green."

His two playing partners, Michael Clark and Matt Gogel, both four-putted the hole.

Leader Garcia, meanwhile, made just one bogey on his way to a two-under 68, one stroke better than Americans Dudley Hart and Jeff Maggert, and South Korean KJ Choi.

"The playing conditions were probably as easy as they can get, or close to it," Garcia said.

"There was not much wind and the greens were a little softer than yesterday.

"I'm happy with the way I played. I hit a lot of fairways and when I didn't I was able to scramble around and save some pars."

Championship favourite Tiger Woods had a late tee time.

- NZPA