Jay finds patience a virtue

YOU all know the one about patience seldom in a woman, never in a man. Well, females aren't allowed to play in the US Open so the males had the field to themselves yesterday to disprove that old adage.

And, by and large, they succeeded admirably on one of the quirkiest and trickiest courses ever in a US Open Championship. Admittedly, their task was made all the easier by the almost total absence of wind. It wasn't that the scoreboard proliferated with red figures but there were enough of them to dispel the oft expressed pre-tournament prediction that level par would be sufficient to land the title and the riches that go with it.

Nevertheless, it was hardly surprising that it was Jay Haas who at 50 knows a thing or two about keeping his head and the relatively phlegmatic Japanese Shigeki Maruyama who led the way on four under par 66 when play was suspended at 5.45pm local time because of a thunderstorm. The big hitting Argentinean Angel Cabrera was in hot pursuit on the same mark having completed nine holes, while Fred Funk, 3 under after 14, was also going nicely. Ireland's Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke were engaged in their own personal battle with the course: four and one over par 13 and 11 holes, respectively.

Ben Curtis, the man who came from nowhere last year to win the Open Championship, is two under 68, while Masters champion Phil Mickelson was one under through 13 when the termination came. Tiger Woods was reasonably happy with his 72, whereas David Duval's return was a bit of an embarrassment as the 2000 Open champion soared to an 83, the joint worst score of the day.

For now, though, Haas, Maruyama and Cabrera hold the limelight with most in the huge crowd supporting their genial compatriot from South Carolina. He recounted his experience at the 10th. "I was in the bunker and the pin was right there. There was a pretty good-sized rock right in front of my ball. I lobbed this thing up, it went straight in the air. The ball was going one way, the rock the other. The ball came to rest about 20 feet from the hole, the rock about eight feet. Tom Kite picked it up and asked if this was my Titleist 1, did I want to play that one. Anyway I made the putt with the real thing and that kept my round going."

Golfing tradition runs deep in the Haas family. His uncle, Bob, won the Masters in 1968 when Jay was 14 and so the significance of winning a major is not lost on him: "You only get four chances in a year, so it's terrific to do it. As my career rolled on, we've talked about that and he's been my biggest fan, pumping me up, telling me I can do this. I can't tell you what it would mean to win here except that I feel my glass is still more than half full. It's been a pretty successful career."

One memory that wouldn't please Haas was his defeat by Ireland's Philip Walton in the crucial Ryder Cup match at Oak Hill in 1995. His durability and golfing prowess, however, stand as a monument to a delightfully pleasant and modest individual. Even he, though, cannot find a smile as bright as that of his co-leader Maruyama although there are those who call the Japanese the 'smiling assassin' you don't reach this level on such a difficult stage without a certain inner steel.

That must have been of considerable assistance to the 34-year-old from Chiba as he teed it up alongside Tiger Woods in front of a huge early morning gallery. If he was shaking, it didn't show as Maruyama shot a blemish-free 66 and afterwards made light of all the fuss: "The number of people following Tiger did make me nervous but I have played five or six times with him and always played well. I watch him play and that brings me a great rhythm and good tempo."

Harrington made it clear beforehand that his game was not in great shape despite tying for the Buick Classic at Westchester last week. He started brightly enough with a lovely approach to 15 feet at the first but missed the putt and it was downhill all the way after that. It was all a bit of a struggle for the Dubliner who dropped strokes in rapid succession at the 12th and 13th to stand four over when the storm intervened.

Clarke had expressed his unhappiness with the course beforehand but played a lot more impressively than Harrington for all that. He dropped a shot at the 4th and at the treacherous short 7th like almost everybody else but atoned with birdies at the 5th and 8th. With even par for the front nine in his sights, he let his third stroke slip by at the 9th. And he was still a respectable one over after 11th when the stoppage arrived.

Tee-times

Today's US Open tee-times (All times Irish)

1st tee:

12pm: D Waldorf, T Clark (Rsa), S McRoy

12.10: B Watson, D Olsen, T Carter

12.20: J Sindelar, M Campbell (Nzl), M Weir (Can)

12.30: A Baddeley (Aus), (x) B Haas, T Hamilton

12.40: J Ogilvie, P Perez, T Isenhour

12.50: T Levet (Fra), (x) C Reavie, Z Johnson

1pm: P Mickelson, P Lawrie (Gbr), K Triplett

1.10: T Izawa (Jpn), T Herron, F Jacobson (Swe)

1.20: A Scott (Aus), B Tway, N Price (Zim)

1.30: S Stricker, S Hend (Aus), C Smith

1.40: C Pavin, J Rose (Gbr), S Verplank

1.50: O Uresti, R Garrigus, C Paulson

2pm: P McLachlin, J Maxon, S Sokol

5pm: C Riley, B Davis (Gbr), J Maggert

5.10pm: B Lardon, (x) B Mackenzie, J Senden (Aus)

5.20: D Roesch, C Dechert, C Bourque

5.30: P Lonard (Aus), D Love, L Westwood (Gbr)

5.40: J Byrd, S Garcia (Spa), R Beem

5.50: T Byrum, C Villegas (Col), H Tanaka (Jpn)

6pm: (x) N Flanagan, B Curtis, J Furyk

6.10: T Petrovic, G Hjertstedt (Swe), K Sutherland

6.20: R Allenby (Aus), C DiMarco, E Els (Rsa)

6.30: C Kresge, I Poulter (Gbr), B Estes

6.40: M Brooks, S Kendall, T Pernice

6.50: D Carr, A Tschudin (Aus), E Axley

7pm: (x) O Alvarez (Col), D Faught, L Olson

10th tee:

12pm: D Paulson, R Sabbatini (Rsa), J Rollins

12.10: P Osborn, (x) S Levin, G Sisk

12.20: J Kelly, C Franco (Par), J Kaye

12.30: L Janzen, KJ Choi (S Kor), F Funk

12.40: P Harrington (Ire), D Toms, S Leaney (Aus)

12.50: JP Hayes, P Jordan, JJ Henry

1pm: D Clarke (Irl), S Flesch, S Appleby (Aus)

1.10: V Singh (Fij), S Cink, S Ames (Tri)

1.20: C Parry (Aus), M Angel Jimenez (Spa), F Couples

1.30: C Howell, R Goosen (Rsa), J Leonard

1.40: JL Lewis, A Cabrera (Arg), B Mayfair

1.50: B Van Pelt, B Jones (Aus0)0, R Tambellini

2pm: J Hicks, S Weatherly, J Douma

5pm: D. Hart, A. Cejka (Ger), M. Calcavecchia

5.10pm: J. Wagner, (x) N. Smith, J. Elliott

5.20pm: K Cox, E Romero (Arg), D Chopra (Swe)

5.30pm: B Baird, J Haeggman (Swe), (x) C Wittenberg

5.40: D Duval, P Price (Gbr), S Hoch

5.50: J Haas, T Kite, R Floyd

6pm: T Woods, S Maruyama (Jpn), C Campbell

6.10: D Forsman, P Casey (Gbr), B Gay

6.20: T Bjorn (Den), B Faxon, T Immelman (Rsa)

6.30: S Micheel, N Faldo (Gbr), K Perry

6.40: C Bowden, S Allan (Aus), M Gogel

6.50: J Green, J Gove, S Gotsche

7pm: K Stadler, D Morland (Can), J Connelly.