Tough start for Tiger

Woods was one over after six holes, two behind early leaders Johan Edfors, Jeff Brehaut, Andrew Parr and Ryan Spears, and playing the seventh hole alongside Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera when play was supended at 10.16am local time as the New York course was deluged and puddles on greens and fairways made play impossible.

With rain threatening to stay the course throughout the second major of the year, the par-70 course which only Woods could extract an under-par score from when it first hosted the championship in 2002 was set to play even longer than its 7,426 yards. The United States Golf Association had acted swiftly to move tee boxes forward at the seventh, ninth, 10th and 12th holes.

World number one Woods, who won his third US Open title in the sunshine at Torrey Pines last year with an epic play-off victory over Rocco Mediate, got off to the worst possible start when he hooked his opening tee shot some 40 yards left of the fairway.

Playing in a marquee group with Open and US PGA champion Harrington and this year's Masters winner Cabrera of Argentina, Woods' second shot -from behind a marquee - sent him into a greenside bunker but he still managed to get up and down for par on the 430-yard dog-leg opener.

The constant rain was already gathering on the putting surfaces with groundstaff attempting to clear the surface water in between groups.

Harrington and Woods both asked for the crews to come in at the second green as they and Cabrera moved on with pars.

Harrington was in trouble again at the fourth as he found thick rough off the tee, needing to thrash out just to get back on the fairway. He overshot the green with his third shot but got to six feet from the hole with a lovely chip, only to miss his par putt from six feet to slip to two over par.

Cabrera got back level at the same hole while Woods continued his par run heading to the fifth. That was where the 14-time major winner came unstuck for the first time, driving right into the rough and finding a front greenside bunker with his third shot. Woods got to eight feet from there but missed his bogey putt and had to settle for a double, as did Harrington, who dropped to four over.

Again Woods battled back, sinking a birdie putt at the sixth from around 20 feet to get back to one over.