After Decade of Toil, Hicks Is Tied for First

SAN DIEGO, June 12 -- A week ago, Justin Hicks was an obscure professional golfer who had just missed the cut at a Nationwide Tour event in North Carolina. His concern, he said, was not so much whether he would qualify for the U.S. Open; rather, he needed to focus on how to stay relevant on his minor league circuit.

On Thursday, Hicks outplayed the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and a host of other golf luminaries to ascend to a tie atop of the leader board at America's national championship.

"Hard to compare it to anything, really," Hicks said after shooting 3-under-par 68 at the Torrey Pines South Course. "For me it's a great round, and it's a U.S. Open, and I've never been able to say that I've been under par at a U.S. Open before, which is a great accomplishment. But at the same time, I know there's three days left here, and I don't just want to be another guy that shows up and disappears."

At 33, Hicks does not have time as an ally in his quest to become a regular on the PGA Tour. After turning pro in 1997, Hicks toiled in the South Florida Golf Tour, the Golden Bear Tour and the Maverick Tour. There, Hicks won an event and happily accepted the $25,000 winner's check -- except the check bounced, and the Maverick Tour's owner "ran away with some money and never was heard from again," Hicks said.

That incident was part of a lengthy list of travails Hicks recounted in detail after his wild first round at the U.S. Open that featured a 33 on his front nine, during which he did not make a par. He finished his round with seven birdies and four bogeys.

"There's some weird things going on this week, that's for sure," Hicks said.

One of the more bizarre circumstances Hicks encountered this year was when the PGA Tour confused him with another gentleman also named Justin Hicks. The other Justin Hicks is a teaching professional in San Diego who played in the Buick Invitational earlier this season.

"The Tour got us mixed up; companies got us mixed up," Hicks said. "Checks were going to my place; checks were going to his place. There was all kinds of fun stuff going on there."

A scene during a practice round this week encapsulated the surreal nature of Hicks's visit to Torrey Pines. At the second hole, Hicks had made an eagle, only to look up and see his wife in a group with the other Justin Hicks.

"I told my caddie, I said, 'Wow, that's kind of weird, the other Justin Hicks is here with my wife and my sister-in-law,' " Hicks said.

That sort of levity with his caddie went a long way toward steadying Hicks's nerves during his up-and-down round. Caddie Brad Paskievitch made sure not to mention to Hicks that he was leading. They instead talked about Detroit sports. No surprise, considering Hicks is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

"The Red Wings, of course," Paskievitch said, "and the Tigers, not so good."

Hicks said he was able to handle Open jitters also because the massive galleries were following more established players. Even when he heard spectators mention his name as the leader, Hicks blocked out an instinct to admire his achievement too much. He kept telling himself one outstanding round does not crown a major championship winner.

"I'm not really concerned with the whole 15 minutes of fame," Hicks said. "I'm concerned with trying to make it longer than that."