SIDEBAR: England's Casey reishes top spot at the US Open

By Ben James Jun 18, 2010, 11:13 GMT

Pebble Beach, California - Englishman Paul Casey said he is relishing his place at the top of the leaderboard as he headed into the second round of the US Open set for later Friday.

The Englishman birdied the last hole to finish in a three-way tie at the top with former US PGA champion Shaun Micheel and Brendon de Jonge of Zimbabwe at 2-under-par.

'I'm not sure what anybody else has done but I thought leading would be quite cool, especially around Pebble Beach,' Casey said.

'I haven't been back here in a long time. It's moved up my list on courses because I must admit most of the times I've played here at the AT&T (the PGA Tour event in February) it's been a bit difficult to smile while going around this golf course because of the weather, but it was truly great out there today.'

Tournament favourite Phil Mickelson had a rare bad day with the putter and was six shots back on 4-over-par, while former Open and US PGA champion Padraig Harrington finished two shots better off after a 72.

World number one Tiger Woods finished on 3-over-par, the same as another of the pre-tournament favourites, Lee Westwood.

Englishmen Ian Poulter and Lee Donald were well placed after round one. Poulter fired a 1-under-par 70, alongside a group including KJ Choi of South Korea and Canadian Mike Weir. 'I just played really solid,' Poulter said. 'I didn't miss many greens and drove it well. I gave myself plenty of looks from the right side of the pins. You need to do that around this golf course.

'It's all about distance control with your irons. You can drive it well and have a few looks at birdie, and you can put together a good score. One-under is a good score today.'

Mickelson, beginning his round at the 10th hole on the picturesque coastal layout, slipped up on the 16th, 17th and 18th to turn in 3-over-par. The Masters champion then bogeyed the fourth hole to finish without a single birdie, sitting five shots off the pace.

'It was terrible on the greens, one of my worst putting days,' Mickelson said.

'I misread a lot and hit a bunch of poor putts and didn't make birdies because of it. It's disappointing. It was a very fair set-up, conditions were good, and it was under-par scoring today.'

Two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen was alongside Mickelson on 4-over-par.

Donald has been one of the most consistent performers on the US Tour this year and said he was content with his start.

'It was a solid score. I think level par in a US Open is always a good start,' Donald said.

'I didn't feel like I played my best. I actually thought there were some opportunities for birdies. But I played solid and made a couple of birdies. I kept it in play very well. It wasn't flashy; it was just a solid round.'