The day began in the early-morning chill with Phil Mickelson hitting his opening drive high up into a tree -- and never seeing it come down.It continued with Lefty and Masters champion Bubba Watson chopping their way around the Olympic Club, while Tiger Woods plodded his way along the tough U.S. Open venue to an early spot on the leaderboard.The much-hyped grouping of Woods, Mickelson and Watson mostly produced a comedy of errors, at least in the case of Phil and Bubba, whose best ball would not have beaten Woods on Thursday.The duo combined to shoot 14 over par while Woods positioned himself for a run at his fourth U.S. Open and first major title since winning at Torrey Pines four years ago with a 1-under 69."This golf course, it's so demanding," Woods said. "And if you're off your game just a little bit, you're going to pay the price. And it's hard to make pars. Phil and Bubba were off just a little bit. This is one of those Opens where it's just really hard to make birdies. This is not like it was last year (at Congressional). Source: ESPN
