Payne Stewart found reason to dance in the first round of the U.S. Open, a shimmy during his birdie-birdie-birdie finish that gave him the lead.
Today, a waltz may be in order.With the wind picking up slightly at The Olympic Club, none of the early starters made a serious move at catching up to the 4-under-par 66 Stewart posted on Thursday.
Tom Lehman, who birdied three of the last four holes for a 2-under 68, started his second round with five straight pars. Jeff Maggert had two birdies, offset by a bogey on No. 5, and was also at 2-under.
And amateur Matt Kuchar, who never goes anywhere without the smile that is quickly making him one of the most popular players, followed six straight pars with consecutive birdies to join the pack at 2-under.
Joe Durant, one of the surprise contenders of the first round and the only player to reach 5-under at Olympic so far, also kept it slow and simple. After a 68 on Thursday, he made the turn in 35 to keep pace.
He and Mark Carnevale, who shot a bogey-free 67 in the first round, both said their nerves picked up when they saw their names around the top of the leaderboard.
Only Durant fought through the nervousness today. Carnevale broke his string of 19 pars with a double bogey on No. 2. He made the turn at 39 and was 1-over for the tournament.
Stewart didn't tee off until early afternoon, hoping to start today the way he finished on Thursday.
The cut will be the top 60 players and everyone within 10 strokes of the lead. Two years ago, Stewart had the first-round lead at Oakland Hills until stumbling home over the last three holes in the second round to let several players into weekend play.
That may be the only thing that saves defending champion Ernie Els, who opened with a 75 and dropped to 6-over for the tournament today through eight holes.
"Always be satisfied with making par," said Stewart, who speaks from experience of having won this championship seven years ago at Hazeltine.
That gave him a 4-under-par 66 and a one-stroke lead over Carnevale. Another stroke back were Lehman, Jose Maria Olazabal and Bob Tway - all past major championship winners - along with Durant.
Lehman, who has had the lead going into the final round of the last three U.S. Opens, birdied three of the last four holes, and Olazabal holed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
"I took advantage of some breaks out there," Stewart said. "When we get them, you have to take advantage of them, especially in a U.S. Open, because you don't get that many."
Carnevale was the only player who went the entire first round without a bogey. That didn't last long today.
He drove into the rough on No. 2 and, with a surprisingly decent lie, tried to go at the green on the 394-yard hole instead of hitting a wedge into the fairway.
The approach came up short in the rough, and his sand wedge traveled only about 20 feet into more thick stuff. He chipped out to 35-feet and two-putted for a double bogey, dropped him back to 1-under.
Olazabal and Tway had later tee times today, as did John Daly and Jesper Parnevik, who each opened with a 69.
Justin Leonard, the British Open champion and a favorite this week because of his grinding style of play, opened with a 71 but quickly got back in the thick of it with seven pars and a birdie on the first eight holes.
Jack Nicklaus, who caused a tremor with a birdie on No. 18 for a 73, began today with a birdie and double bogey and was at 4 over.
Stewart called his 4-3-3 finish "unheard of" on the closing holes of Olympic, but that wasn't the only unusual twist.
Amateur Paul Simson was 2-under at the turn until a spectator ran off with his errant tee shot on the 10th hole. Not realizing what had happened, Simson considered it lost and played a second tee shot. He took a triple bogey on his way to a 43 on the back.
Parnevik sensed that the pin placement on No. 18 was different than what his yardage book showed, and he was right. The USGA realized the pin was unfair and changed it two hours into the round, although everyone played it the same.
And Casey Martin made history by becoming the first player to ride a cart in the U.S. Open. It could have used a pair of headlights, since Martin's bogey-bogey finish for a 74 came in near darkness.