Jun 15, 2007 By Dave Stofcheck 4 min read

OAKMONT – The course at Oakmont Country Club was dumped on Wednesday night by a half-inch of rain and, fittingly, hail nearly the size of golf balls. So, how did the old gal respond?

With a drag on her cigarette, followed by one big puff of smoke back in the face of Mother Nature.

Great Britain’s Nick Dougherty and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera were the only golfers to shoot below par Thursday, and Dougherty led the field after the first round of the 107th U.S. Open.

Dougherty made the turn at 1-over par, but three birdies over his final eight holes put him into the lead with a 2-under 68.

“It’s hard to tell if the course is playing easier than it has been because of the rain last night,” Dougherty said. “It’s softer, and it’s still very difficult, but it means you can just about stop the ball now.”

Oakmont’s greens are among the toughest in the world, and the course and its members wear the fact on their sleeves with pride.

Earlier this week, defending champion Geoff Ogilvy said a 10-over par would have won by five shots after he completed a practice round.

But then the rain came, and with it, a hope for a kinder, gentler golf course.

Those hopes were quickly dashed once play began.

Cabrera stayed below par for all but one hole, and trails Dougherty by one stroke after a first-round 69.

With three birdies in his first five holes, Cabrera actually dropped to 3-under par, as did David Toms at one point early in his round.

“It’s as soft and receptive as you’re possibly going to have it, and not too many of the guys are taking it to the golf course,” said Tiger Woods, who trails the leader by three strokes.

“Imagine if it didn’t rain last night.”

Bubba Watson and Jose Maria Olazabal sit two strokes off the lead after shooting even par.

Along with 15 other golfers, Ogilvy joins Woods at three off the pace after bogeys on two of his final four holes. Vijay Singh is also three back.

Dougherty came into Thursday’s round with just 10 career PGA Tour starts since turning professional in 2001. His best finish to date was a tie for 47th in the 2005 Bay Hill Invitational.

At even par through his first five holes, Dougherty dropped to 1 under after a birdie on No. 6, a par-3, 194-yard hole. Back-to-back bogeys put him at 1 over before Dougherty got a shot back with a birdie on No. 11, a 379-yard par 4.

Dougherty put himself back in the red with a birdie on the par-3 13th, and remained at one under until a birdie on the short, 313-yard par-4 17th after hitting a three-iron to within six feet of the pin.

“To be honest, I think the back is a lot easier than the front, because 7, 8 and 9 are so brutal,” Dougherty said. “I putted well on the backside. My short game was great and my course discipline was superb as well.”

Dougherty didn’t particularly hit the ball well off the tee, but his putting more than made up for it.

Recently, Dougherty has been working with a new coach, Damien Taylor.

“I’m just pleased to get through hitting it the way I did,” Dougherty said. “It’s nice to go out and shoot a round like that, because the gods are saying you deserve to play better; you’re a better shooter than that.”

Ogilvy’s winning score at Winged Foot a year ago was 5-over 285, the highest winning tally since Hale Irwin captured the U.S. Open at Winged Foot with a 7 over in 1974.

Scores this week figure to rise as the tournament progresses, with dry weather expected for most of the next three days.

“It was probably perfect for Thursday,” Ogilvy said. “Two, three guys under par maybe. That’s normal isn’t it, two or three red numbers on Thursday? Hopefully they’re all gone by Friday night.

“As long as it doesn’t rain at night, it’s going to get harder and harder.

“When Tiger and I played here last Monday, 10 over would have won by five. Right now, 10 over is not going to win if it stays like this.

“There are some birdies out there, whereas last Monday when we played there weren’t many out there.”