Garcia makes good start

Sergio Garcia passed the opening hurdle with flying colours today in his attempt to become the first European winner of the United States Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970.

But Colin Montgomerie could not say the same after making his worst start ever in the championship he has three times come closing to capturing.

On a Bethpage Black course described by Nick Faldo as the toughest lay-out he has seen in his entire career, Garcia managed to post a two under par 68.

And that was sufficient to set the early clubhouse target after a morning predictably dominated by bogeys, double bogeys and worse.

Montgomerie cut a disconsolate figure, however, as he handed in a five over par 75.

The Scot’s back was playing him up again over the closing stretch - he bogeyed three of his last four holes - but he blamed the score more on his putting than his health.

‘‘I didn’t putt very well and that’s why it was as bad as it was,’’ he said.

‘‘The only birdie I had was from four feet. I missed everything and that’s really disappointing considering the way I’ve been putting for the last month. You can’t compete putting like that.’’

There appeared to be a heckling incident on the eighth green - Montgomerie backed off a putt and turned round to look into the crowd - but did not want to discuss it afterwards.

‘‘It was no problem at all. There wasn’t an issue.’’

Asked, however, how the ‘‘Be Nice To Monty’’ week was going - an American magazine had handed out 25,000 badges because of the trouble he has had in the past, he commented: ‘‘OK, but I wish Monty was being nicer to himself by holing putts. But never mind.’’

Although world number one and Masters champion Tiger Woods was only just setting for his round, Garcia had done all he had asked of himself by putting himself in a confident frame of mind.

With girlfriend Martina Hingis watching him this week - she is recovering from injury and almost certain to miss Wimbledon - the 22-year-old Spaniard gave himself lots of birdie chances, but also scrambled brilliantly when he had to.

He was questioned afterwards about whether Hingis’ experience of Grand Slam tennis is help him at all.

‘‘Yes, it does,’’ said Garcia. ‘‘She’s in a very similar position to me and knows what I’m going through.

‘‘She knows what it feels to be in this position. It takes a lot of weight off of my shoulders to be able to talk to somebody that understands that.

‘‘And that’s the thing - they don’t give you a boring face because they don’t know what’s going on. With her I’m able to find that. And that’s not easy to get from a girl.’’

He was also asked if Spain’s progress in the World Cup was a distraction.

‘‘When I’m out there I’m not thinking about Raul’s goals or Morientes,’’ said the Real Madrid fan. ‘‘I’m thinking about my own goals.

‘‘Hopefully I’ll be out late on Sunday and be able to watch the game.’’ The second round clash with the Republic of Ireland kicks off at 7.30am New York time.

With Padraig Harrington also making a very decent start with a level par 70, Garcia needed no reminding what event he was playing in when his opening drive missed the fairway by just a few feet and disappeared from view.

He was forced to chop out of the savage rough, but saved par from 15 feet and then scrambled brilliantly again on the next after just missing the green this time.

The ball had to be pointed out to him once more, but his chip just carried to the fringe and rolled down to within six inches of the cup.

Battling qualities are a key ingredient in US Open success and he displayed them again on the short third, saving his three after pushing his tee shot wide into yet more rough.

To be level par when he might easily have been three over did wonders for the 22-year-old’s mood and he was positively bubbling when he proceeded to birdie the next two holes, chipping close on the long fourth and chipping in from 12 feet at the 451-yard fifth.

A bogey followed on the 408-yard sixth, but grabbing a rare birdie at the 499-yard 12th - the longest par four in the tournament’s history and a hole where Justin Leonard ran up a quadruple bogey eight to crash from one under to three over - took him back to two under.

Garcia, who sank a 20-footer, did miss a chance to collect another birdie at the 15th, but with Phil Mickelson double-bogeying that hole after reaching two under himself, a par was no bad return there and making pars on the 479-yard 16th and short 17th after visiting sand both times kept the momentum going.

American David Toms, winner of the US PGA last August, was joint leader out on the course, but could not afford to get carried away by his birdie-birdie start.

Faldo, given a special invitation to his 60th successive major after failing to earn an automatic place, was in the group one behind, but only after four holes.

Harrington birdied the last to get back to level par, while fellow Dubliner Paul McGinley was level after six and level with Woods, who began with three successive pars on the tougher back nine.

Darren Clarke, paired with Woods, bogeyed the 10th and 11th to prick the confidence bubble he took into the tournament after winning the English Open on Sunday and Paul Lawrie, one under after six, double-bogeyed the 16th and had to settle for a 73.

Debutants David Howell and Luke Donald struggled. Howell had a 78 in only his second tournament back from breaking his arm jogging in March, while US Tour rookie Donald, who qualified last week, double-bogeyed the 11th - his second - and bogeyed the next.

US Open Scores

68 Sergio Garcia (Spa)

69 Dudley Hart, KJ Choi (Kor), Jeff Maggert

70 Steve Lowery, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington (Irl)

71 Davis Love, Tom Lehman, Soctt Hoch, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa), Tom Gillis, Todd Rose, Craig Bowden

72 Paul Stankowski, Niclas Fasth (Swe), Rocco Mediate, Billy Andrade, Len Mattiace, Steve Stricker, Tom Byrum, Bob Tway, Michael Campbell (Nzl)

73 Ian Leggatt (Can), Jim Furyk, Kirk Triplett, Ernie Els (Rsa), Paul Lawrie (Gbr), Justin Leonard, (x) Kevin Warwick

74 Phil Tataurangi (Nzl), Corey Pavin, Robert Allenby (Aus), Kevin Sutherland, Shino Katayama (Jpn), Frank Lickliter, John Cook, Craig Stadler, Mark Calcavecchia, Lucas Glover

75 Jim Gallagher, Brad Faxon, David Frost (Rsa), Brent Geiberger, Colin Montgomerie (Gbr), Jason Caron, John Huston

76 Paul Gow (Aus), Pete Jordan, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn), Matt Kuchar, Olin Browne, Lee Janzen, Kent Jones, Mark O’Meara, Mario Tiziani, Andy Miller

77 Michael Muehr, Blaine McCallister, Stephen Ames (Tri), Jimmy Walker, Darrell Kestner, Hal Sutton

78 Matt Gogel, Jose Coceres (Arg), Mike Weir (Can), (x) Ricky Barnes, David Howell (Gbr)

79 John Maginnes

80 Paul Goydos, Jerry Haas, Tom Kite

81 Joe Durant, Bob Estes

82 Steve Pate, Hale Irwin

83 Michael Clark