ESPN Commentary

HOYLAKE, England -- One of the charms of the British Open is the international stew often produced on the early leaderboard. Thursday was a veritable United Nations gathering.

By early afternoon at rain-softened Royal Liverpool, the top nine players in the clubhouse were an Englishman (Greg Owen), two Aussies (Marcus Fraser and Mark Hensby), a South Korean (S.K. Ho), a Finn (Mikko Ilonen), a Spaniard (Sergio Garcia), a Canadian (Mike Weir), a South African (Ernie Els) and an American (Jim Furyk).

American fans who woke up to some puzzling names on the leaderboard might be surprised to learn that most of them have been in this position before. Owen opened 69-68 in the 2001 Open before fading to a tie for 23rd. Ho was a shot off the lead at the halfway point in the '03 Open. Ilonen, from the noted golfing hotbed of Lahti, Finland, a town with three golf courses, shot a first-round 68 in '01 and finished ninth.

Of the group, only Fraser never has made an Open cut. Fully awed by the experience, he shot a plump 78-75 last year at St. Andrews in his only previous appearance. So, yeah, he'll take 68.

"I'm over the moon," Fraser said.

Of course, these stories recall the tale of Rod Pampling, the opening-round leader in the 1999 Open at Carnoustie. The Aussie followed with a 15-over 86 Friday and missed the cut -- the only Thursday leader to do so in the championship's storied history.

It'll be back to earth for some members of Thursday's odd amalgam, as the big names and one-round wonders go their separate ways. For the players who have a history of major contention -- Els, Furyk, Weir, Garcia -- they couldn't win this tournament Thursday. But they could have lost it on Thursday, as they have in the past.

Els took himself out of contention last year with an opening-round 74. Furyk hadn't shot a British Open round in the 60s since 2000 -- and, not coincidentally, hasn't made an Open cut since then. Weir never had shot in the 60s in any of his previous 24 British Open rounds and only once has finished in the top 25 (tied for ninth in 2004 at Troon).

"I haven't gotten off to great starts in this championship," Weir said. "I've always felt like it's a championship that I should do well in."

Britain and the rest of the golf world have been waiting for Garcia to fulfill his potential for seven years, since his plucky challenge to Tiger Woods in the PGA at Medinah. Now 26, the player one reporter termed "the world's youngest has-been" got off to a fast start with birdie on the first and 32 on the front nine. Suddenly, the week looks promising for Garcia.

"If I roll the potato nicely, everything should be OK," he said.

He too often has mashed the potato with his putter in the past. But Garcia probably never has experienced a flat-stick disaster like the one that befell Owen at Bay Hill earlier this year. Owen three-putted from three feet on the 71st hole and bogeyed the 72nd, handing the tournament to Pampling.

"It still hurts now even thinking about it," Owen acknowledged.

A big week here would be the best way imaginable to get over it. But at least some members of this international leaderboard society likely will be hurting by the end of play Friday.

Pat Forde is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at ESPN4D@aol.com.