U.S. Open Update: Hicks & Streelman Lead

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- The spotlight was supposed to be on the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson showdown, but it is Justin Hicks and Kevin Streelman who find themselves atop the leaderboard entering Friday's second round at the U.S. Open.

Hicks and Streelman found more than their fair share of birdies during Thursday's opening round at Torrey Pines - a course that the players have dubbed tough but fair. While the day started with the galleries buzzing about the grouping that featured Woods, Mickelson and Adam Scott, Hicks and Streelman took advantage of their relative anonymity and share a one-stroke lead at 3-under-par 68. Rocco Mediate, Stuart Appleby, Eric Axley and 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy are tied for third at 2-under 69. Lee Westwood, Sweden's Robert Karlsson, Ernie Els, Robert Allenby and American amateur Rickie Fowler completed their first rounds in 1-under 70.

Hicks, who missed the cut at the 2004 U.S. Open, and Streelman, who is playing in his first Open, combined for 13 birdies on Thursday, and each were as low as 4-under. Woods, who was playing competitively for the first time since The Masters, gave the field a two-stroke head start on Thursday. Then, after making up the deficit, he duplicated the feat on the back nine.

The world's top player hit his first shot of the tournament into the rough at No. 1, leading to a double-bogey. He spent the next eight holes climbing back up the leaderboard and was 1-under at the turn. He started the back nine with four consecutive pars before his second double-bogey of the day, this one at the par-4 14th. Woods finished his 1-over 72 with a three-putt par at the par-5 18th.

Hicks was able to fire seven birdies with four bogeys. He started on No. 10 and had two runs of three consecutive birdies on his first nine holes. He added a birdie at No. 4 and dropped to 3-under with a bogey at the seventh. Westwood also started his round on No. 10 and sank two birdies and a bogey. He closed his front nine with a birdie at 18 and then parred every hole after the turn to place himself comfortably near the top of the leaderboard. Karlsson got to 4-under with a 25-foot birdie at No. 1, but he had bogeys at the third, fourth and eighth coming in to drop back.

Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Luke Donald are among a group of seven at even-par 71. Only 11 players carded under-par rounds on Thursday, and the statistic of the day from the first round is that Hicks and Streelman combined for 13 birdies while Woods, Mickelson and Scott - the top three players in the world - had 11 between them.