Woods winces his way through first round

Ardmore, Pennsylvania: Something was clearly wrong with Tiger Woods in the opening round of the US Open and it showed every time he had to deal with the treacherous high grass at Merion.

It therefore appeared merciful when play was halted for darkness Thursday evening with Woods at two over through 10 holes.

No. 11 had been particularly difficult — he doubled over after hitting his second shot from the left rough, the ball landing in even thicker rough near the green. He dropped his arm to his side immediately after his next shot and was shaking the arm as he walked on the green. Play was called before he had to attempt a four-foot putt for par.

Later, in a statement issued through his spokesman, Woods insisted that all was well. “I’m doing fine,” he said, “and I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow”.

He first appeared to hurt his hand after trying to gouge out of the deep rough on the opening hole, then shook his wrist again after hitting a 5-wood out of the rough at No. 5.

Woods isn’t far off the pace, but he had little time to recover ahead of a demanding Friday with 26 holes to finish in his first and second rounds.

“It’s going to be a fast night. ... I’ve got a lot of holes to play tomorrow,” Woods said. “And hopefully I can play a little better than I did today.”