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• World No1 shoots three-over-par 74 at Pebble Beach • Paul Casey, Sean Micheel and Brendan de Jonge share lead Tiger Woods will not break his record 15-shot victory at Pebble Beach a decade ago but the world No1 retained hopes of repeating his famous US Open victory on the northern Californian coast last night despite a disappointing first round of 74, three over par. A woeful bogey on the par-five 18th, following on from a woeful exhibition of putting on the 17 holes that had gone before, left Woods bemoaning the greens. “Awful,” he said immediately after completing his round and – in case he was misunderstood – he used the same adjective to describe the putting surfaces again a few minutes later. “There’s no one making a lot of putts out there. No one is going low. You just can’t. [At least] the afternoon guys can’t. The morning guys have a chance. I’ve played, as I said, my practice rounds in the morning and the greens are smoother, but they’re still very firm.” Woods’ disgust was easily explained – he played better from tee to green than he has done since his return from his self-induced hiatus only to fritter away his chances – but his haste in blaming the elements was inexplicable, not least because the three co-leaders at the close of play had all, like Woods, teed off in the afternoon. Paul Casey, Sean Micheel and Brendan de Jonge finished on two under par, one shot ahead of group of six players including the Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa and Ian Poulter, who confirmed what was obvious from average score for the day (75.25) – that the 2010 version of Pebble Beach is a brute. At this rate, level par looks destined to finished on top. “I’m not thinking about what kind of score might win this golf tournament,” Poulter said after his one under par 70. “I’m just happy to go out there and play as good as I possibly can. But I will tell you the golf course is difficult. There’s not going to be many good scores on it today. And I can’t see it getting easier.” That will surely be good news for the likes of Woods, and Lee Westwood, who struggled to an opening 74, as well as the pre-tournament favourite Phil Mickelson, who was one shot worse on 75. Despite their poor return on the day – at least by their own high standards – all three players can look forward to the next three days with an optimism that would be misplaced in any other event but the US Open. “There’s a long way to go,” said Woods. “I’ll just keep plugging along and see where I come Sunday afternoon.” Tiger Woods US Open Golf Lawrence Donegan guardian.co.uk

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Tiger Woods bemoans greens as US Open gets tough