Lee Westwood came back at 7:30 a.m. Friday to finish his final four holes of the weather-suspended first round. And he wasn\u2019t exactly brimming with confidence when he stood on the sixth tee, dark clouds, appropriately, hanging over his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stand on that tee, with four holes to play, you\u2019re not really looking at too many birdie chances in those holes,\u201d Westwood said.<\/p>\n
But a strange thing happened to Westwood on his way back to the clubhouse. He made two birdies on the finishing holes \u2013 from 12 feet at the par-3 eighth and a 5-footer at No. 9 \u2013 and found himself back in a familiar position \u2013 on the leader board at the U.S. Open. He finished the first round at 3-under 67, one shot behind 18-hole leader Andrew Landry.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo walk off 2-under par for those four holes was obviously very satisfying and a great way to finish the round off,\u201d Westwood said.<\/p>\n
That Westwood, once the No. 1-ranked player in the world, was high on a leader board in a major championship is nothing new. He has been in position to win more than his share of major titles, even on Sunday. The problem is, he never finishes high enough.<\/p>\n