GOLF US Open:   Sometimes, the golfing gods can play some weird tricks; almost bring a form of insanity to the fairways. Yesterday was one such day.

Up until the 104st US Open started, the world's best players were exposed, during days of practice rounds and hour-upon-hour on the range, to a stiff wind that ran from one end of the links at Shinnecock Hills to the other.

All kinds of horrors were anticipated.

Yet, as if by magic, when the real thing got under way yesterday it was to barely a puff of wind; and all the preparatory work of shaping shots through the wind, and bouncing run-up shots onto firm greens, were negated.

But the really strange aspect of it all was that many of the pre-championship favourites failed to take advantage of such benign conditions and, instead, it was left to a couple of old stagers, and some unlikely lads, to assume the first round pace-setting.

As if to underpin the uncertainty of it all, the weather gods reacted late in the round, a thunderstorm descending on the Long Island area and officially suspending play at 4.43 p.m. (local time).

At that stage, Angel Cabrera had completed his front nine in four under par, to join Jay Haas and Shigeki Maruyama - who had reached the sanctuary of the clubhouse many hours before on four-under-par 66 - as joint-leaders of the championship.

For the Irish pair of Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, the weather suspension came midway through their respective rounds that were proving rather exasperating.

Harrington, disappointingly, was four over par after 13 holes - suffering back-to-back bogeys on the 12th and 13th - while Clarke, producing three bogeys and two birdies, was one-over after 11 holes.

"Sometimes, you're going to hit what you think is a great shot and look silly," remarked Sergio Garcia, another who struggled.

The Spaniard opened with a round of 72, the same mark as world number one Tiger Woods, who warned: "There's an awful long way to go.

"We haven't seen the wind up yet, and if that happens, if it ever comes up, this golf course is going to be pretty tough."

Another player to finish on 72 was defending champion Jim Furyk, competing in his first tournament in over three months after undergoing wrist surgery.

"I definitely have some rust," admitted Furyk. "Physically, I made a few bad swings but my wrist is fine and now I just have to focus on my game."

Ernie Els was bitten early on in his round, double-bogeying the short 11th - his second hole - and following up by bogeying the 12th. But the South African, completing a six-week stint of tournaments that started in Texas and arrived in New York via Germany and England, recovered to cover the remaining 15 holes in three under to sign for a level par 70.

"This golf course forces respect out of you," insisted Els. "You can't be too aggressive, you've got to keep the ball in play. If you don't, you're in big trouble."

For some, though, the Shinneock Hills course proved very tameable. No fewer than 21 players were sub-par when the weather suspension came and, of them, 11 had already completed their rounds.

Some of them were in thin air. For instance, David Roesch recently considered quitting tour golf after failing to get through a Monday qualifier on the Nationwide Tour only to go on and qualify for the US Open and mark his debut in the championship by shooting a 68, a score matched by another mini-tour player Kris Cox, who also came through qualifying.

And Ben Curtis, the surprise winner of last year's British Open at Royal St George's, confirmed his major pedigree, also shooting a 68 to join a group that included Jeff Maggert, Skip Kendall, Kevin Stadler, Cox and Roesch on that mark.

"I drove the ball really well, hit a lot of good iron shots and I think that was the key," remarked Curtis, who included a 30-footer at the 16th in his round.

Phil Mickelson, winner of the US Masters and the most recent first-time major winner in a sequence of six championships that stretches back to the US PGA in 2002, was one under for his round after 13 holes when play was stopped, while Vijay Singh was also one under after 11 holes.

For Maruyama, a touch of fate on the greens also went his way. On the 10th, one of the most difficult holes of the day, with the pin placed front left over a viciously deep bunker, the Japanese player played safely to the middle of the green and proceeded to hole a 60-footer for birdie.

"You couldn't ever imagine a putt of that length going in," conceded Maruyama, who swiftly walked to the 11th and put his tee-shot to three feet for yet another birdie.

Incredibly, Maruyama had only made it to the first tee with seconds to spare and so avoided a two-shot penalty for being late.

"I'm surprised to shoot such a good score. In the practice rounds, I never managed to get under par and I just went out trying to make sure I didn't shoot a score in the 80s. I wasn't very aggressive."

Yet, he only had to look at the experience of players such as David Duval, who had an 83, and Nick Faldo, who shot 81, to know that Shinnecock Hills is a course that can bite just as easily as hand out favours.