Phil Mickelson of the United States is seen after completing his first round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale yesterday. Mickelson shot a nine-over 79. - AP

SOUTHPORT, England (AP):

WITH THE rain stopping and the wind letting up, Rocco Mediate, Graeme McDowell and Robert Allenby showed it was possible to break par at fearsome Royal Birkdale yesterday.

Mediate followed up his stirring performance in the United States Open, where he lost to Tiger Woods in a play-off, by becoming the first player at the British Open to shoot a red number. He chipped in for birdie at No 17, then knocked in a 12-footer for another birdie at the final hole and a one-under 69.

"I love it here," said the 45-year-old Mediate, playing the Open for the first time since 2002. "It's great to be back."

Coming off a win at the Scottish Open, McDowell kept up his hot play. Playing two groups after Mediate, the golfer from Northern Ireland also closed with a birdie-birdie finish and a 69 of his own.

Sank four birdies

Then came Allenby, an Australian regular on the PGA Tour. He was three over at the turn but sank four birdies on the back nine, matching Mediate and McDowell on the last two holes.

"I gave myself a lot of chances," Allenby said. "It's just a matter of hanging in there and trying to shoot as low as you can in the conditions that are given to us."

At least Mediate wouldn't have to worry about Woods if there was another play-off. The world's No 1 player is sitting out the rest of the year after undergoing knee surgery, missing his first major since 1996.

For the early starters, Royal Birkdale was a house of horrors. Phil Mickelson lost a ball in the tangly rough. Sandy Lyle and Rich Beem both gave up halfway through their rounds. Vijay Singh signed for an 80. So did Ernie Els - the worst score ever on his sterling Open record.

"Par is irrelevant on a day like this," said Craig Parry, who hit the first shot of the tournament and struggled to a 77. "You can only laugh and take it on the chin. The golf course is going to win."

Especially on holes such as the gargantuan sixth, a 499-yard layout that was listed as a par-four for some reason. Boo Weekley was forced to play driver on two straight shots in the morning, when the rain was steady and winds gusted to 35 mph (56 kph) - and still didn't reach the green.

"If this is the summer," said Weekley, a native of the Florida Panhandle, "I couldn't live here."

By afternoon, the sun poked through the clouds, a sign of the less-challenging conditions. Adam Scott and Greg Norman were just one stroke behind the co-leaders at 70, also better than any score to come out of the morning.

Three Australians in the top five suggests there could be another success from Down Under when the trophy is presented on Sunday. Out of eight Opens to be staged at Royal Birkdale, Australians have won three times - Peter Thomson in 1954 and '65 and Ian Baker-Finch in '91. The other five titles went to Americans.

Two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen and 2003 Masters winner Mike Weir put up the best scores among the early starters at 71.

The South African who won the US Open in 2001 and again three years later, Goosen overcame a double-bogey at No. 6 and somehow managed to put up four birdies in brutal conditions that made the 137th Open championship a stern test even without three-time champion Tiger Woods looming over the field.

"One of the best" was how Goosen summed up his round. "It was a battle out there."

Weir, the Canadian winner of the 2003 Masters, also had a double-bogey on his card. But he countered it with the first eagle of the tournament at the 17th, where he knocked a 5-iron from 235 yards to 12 feet and sank the putt.

"Starting the day, I definitely would have taken one-over par," Weir said. "The wind was at strong as I've ever seen."