CHASKA, Minn. — Retief Goosen, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, birdied the next-to-last hole of his weather-delayed opening round Friday morning to move within one shot of the leaders at the PGA Championship.
A three-hour lightning delay Thursday forced about a quarter of the 136-man field to finish their rounds Friday before beginning second-round play.
Goosen, who missed the cut at the U.S. Open but then tied for eighth at the British Open, shot a 3-under 69 that put him one behind co-leaders Jim Furyk and Fred Funk, neither of whom was a factor in the year's previous majors.
Goosen began play Thursday at No. 10 and was 3 under through 11 holes, then lost a stroke with a bogey at the 196-yard, par-3 4th hole. He got it back with his 7-foot birdie putt on the par-3 No. 8.
Joining Goosen a shot back were Peter Lonard, a former Australian club pro, and Justin Rose, who nearly won the British Open as a 17-year-old amateur in 1998. They finished their rounds Thursday.
Bernhard Langer, who at 44 is 19 years removed from the first of his two Masters victories, eagled the 542-yard, par-5 No. 7 to jump from even par to 2 under, along with Lee Janzen, Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and Mark Calcavecchia. Langer hit a 5-wood to 20 feet with his second shot on 7, then holed the putt.
"That was nice, especially after missing a 6-footer for par" on No. 5, Langer said.
Phil Mickelson, still searching for his first major after winning 21 PGA Tour events, struggled to a 76 that he finished Friday morning, putting him in danger of missing the cut. Tiger Woods, trying for his ninth win in a major, was among a large group at 1-under 71, which included 47-year-old Greg Norman, who hasn't won a U.S. tournament in five years.
Woods had trouble controlling his driver during his weather-interrupted round Thursday because of an unpredictable wind.
Unlike the British Open, though, the gusts at Hazeltine National didn't blow him out of contention as he tries to become the first to claim all three U.S. majors in the same year — an American Slam.
At Muirfield last month, Woods' hopes of winning the Grand Slam — all four majors in the same year — ended with a weather-aided 81 during the third round.
While many of the 40,000-plus spectators were following the Woods-Ernie Els-David Toms threesome, Furyk and Funk, who live about a mile apart in Florida, eased their way onto the leaderboard virtually unnoticed. For good reason, too.
One of those blown away by the wind was John Daly, the 1991 champion who was even though six holes, only to take an 11 on the 402-yard, par-4 16th after a wind gust blew a shot into the water.
If it weren't for the dreadful hole, he might be among the leaders; he was 2 under for the rest of his round of 77.
"Everything that could go wrong went wrong on that hole," Daly said.
Furyk, despite all that's gone wrong for him in majors this year, hopes to follow a trend that has seen 11 of the last 14 PGA champions win their first major.
"I'm comfortable with where I stand among that field," he said.