But Montgomerie made his worst start ever in the championship he has three times come closing to capturing.

On a Bethpage Black course described by Nick Faldo as the toughest lay-out he has seen in his entire career, Montgomerie cast a disconsolate figure after bogeying three of his last four holes for a 75.

The Scot’s back was playing him up again, but he blamed the score more on his putting than his health.

‘‘I didn’t putt very well and that’s why it was as bad as it was,’’ he said.

‘‘The only birdie I had was from four feet. I missed everything and that’s really disappointing considering the way I’ve been putting for the last month. You can’t compete putting like that.’’

There appeared to be a heckling incident on the eighth green - Montgomerie backed off a putt and turned round to look into the crowd - but did not want to discuss it afterwards.

‘‘It was no problem at all. There wasn’t an issue.’’

Asked, however, how the ‘‘Be Nice To Monty’’ week was going - an American magazine had handed out 25,000 badges because of the trouble he has had in the past, he commented: ‘‘OK, but I wish Monty was being nicer to himself by holing putts. But never mind.’’

Garcia, with girlfriend Martina Hingis watching him this week (she is recovering from injury and out of Wimbledon), gave himself lots of birdie chances, but also scrambled brilliantly when he had to.

He was questioned afterwards about whether Hingis’ experience of Grand Slam tennis is helping him at all.

‘‘Yes, it does,’’ said Garcia. ‘‘She’s in a very similar position to me and knows what I’m going through.

‘‘She knows what it feels to be in this position. It takes a lot of weight off of my shoulders to be able to talk to somebody that understands that.

‘‘And that’s the thing - they don’t give you a boring face because they don’t know what’s going on. With her I’m able to find that. And that’s not easy to get from a girl.’’

He was also asked if Spain’s progress in the World Cup was a distraction.

‘‘When I’m out there I’m not thinking about Raul’s goals or Morientes,’’ said the Real Madrid fan. ‘‘I’m thinking about my own goals.

‘‘Hopefully I’ll be out late on Sunday and be able to watch the game.’’ The Ireland clash kicks off at 7.30am New York time.

With Padraig Harrington also making a very decent start with a level-par 70, Garcia needed no reminding what event he was playing in when his opening drive missed the fairway by just a few feet and disappeared from view.

When he chipped close for birdie on the long fourth and chipping in from 12 feet for another at the 451-yard fifth he had needed just four putts to that point.

A bogey followed on the 408-yard sixth, but grabbing a rare birdie at the 499-yard 12th - the longest par four in the tournament’s history and a hole where Justin Leonard ran up a quadruple bogey eight to crash from one under to three over - took him back to two under.

Garcia, who sank a 20-footer, then saved pars on the 479-yard 16th and short 17th after visiting sand both times.

Woods, starting on the more difficult back nine, holed 18-foot birdie putts on the 13th and 14th and after bogeying the 16th following a wild drive made a 12-footer on the 18th to rejoin Garcia - and that despite driving into the rough again.

They were one ahead of a group which included France’s Jean van de Velde, who came through the qualifying competition last week just as he did for the Open at Carnoustie in 1999.

Likely to be remembered forever for his closing triple bogey seven there - he was three clear - van de Velde turned in 34 and when he birdied the 492-yard 10th from 10 feet he joined Garcia and Woods out in front.

That, however, was followed by a drive into rough and a bogey which dropped him back alongside Jeff Maggert, Dudley Hart and Korean KJ Choi, all safely in with 69s.

Garcia, of course, has his own memories of Carnoustie. He finished last after rounds of 89 and 83, yet a month later lost to Woods by a single stroke at the US PGA in Chicago.

Faldo, given a special invitation to his 60th successive Major after failing to earn an automatic place, was battling hard at one over with seven to play.

But Harrington’s fellow Irishmen Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke both stood three over, the same mark as Paul Lawrie finished on, and debutants Luke Donald and David Howell were five over and eight over respectively.

If they felt they were out of it, though, they should have listened to world number two Phil Mickelson, who after a level-par 70 spoilt only by a double bogey six on the 15th said he thought the winning score might be four or five over par - and if it got windy possibly nine, 10 or 11 over.