Print edition: 
The fans following Fred Couples and Tom Watson Thursday morning were sometimes six- and seven-deep, wedging themselves between tree trunks and ducking under limbs.
Very quietly and without much attention, Bruce Vaughan of Hutchinson was the player taking early control of the U.S. Senior Open in Sammamish, Wash.
Taking advantage of cool morning conditions and mostly avoiding the canopy of trees engulfing Sahalee Country Club, Vaughan opened with a 4-under 66 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead.
The 2008 Senior British Open champion — his only victory on the Champions Tour — made just two bogeys in a steady round, while favorites such as Couples and Watson were far more shaky. Wichitan Rod Nuckolls shot 3-over 73.
"It's just the first day. I mean, there is a lot of golf left and a lot of trouble out there for the next three days," Vaughan said.
Trouble seemed to be the story of the day.
Whether it was the firm greens sending irons from the fairway hopping 2 feet in the air, or the sprawling limbs in the sea of cedar, fir and pine trees gobbling up wayward shots, the U.S. Golf Association made certain Sahalee was no easy hike through the woods.
About the only favorable bounce went to Mark Calcavecchia, who glanced his side-hill second shot on No. 18 off a green side tree. Instead of bouncing into trouble, Calcavecchia's ball stopped just short of the green, and he rolled it up to the front pin for birdie.
Otherwise, Sahalee was unrelenting.
"It seems like the top 100 players in the world were here, rather than a 156 old guys," Calcavecchia said after his 69. "This is probably the hardest pin placements I've seen in years. It was tough."
Couples, the hometown favorite playing 20 miles east from where he grew up, nearly saw his round unravel when a blocked tee shot on No. 1 — his 10th hole — plugged in a fern bush at the base of two cedars. After taking an unplayable lie, Couples managed bogey, but made another two holes later to fall to 3 over.
Then came Couples' one run. The 50-year-old star, playing in his first U.S. Senior Open, strung together three straight birdies to salvage an even-par round of 70, which left him tied with Watson.
While Couples was riding a roller coaster of bogeys and birdies, Vaughan was steady. He birdied the 16th and 18th holes — the 18th a brutal, uphill 465-yard par 4, converted from a par 5. Vaughan added birdies at the second, third and sixth holes on his back nine, before bogeying the par-3 ninth, his final hole of the day.
"More shocked probably than anything," Vaughan said. "I did everything you were supposed to do. It was nothing crazy."
Loren Roberts and amateur Tim Jackson, the leader a year ago after two rounds, shots 68s. Bernhard Langer, the British Senior Open winner Sunday, and Tom Lehman were another stroke back along with Calcavecchia, Joe Ozaki and Michael Allen. Ozaki hit a tee shot on the par-5 second hole that traveled 50 yards before finding the limbs of a cedar. He still managed par.
Women's British Open — Yani Tseng shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round at Southport, England, and is tied for the lead as she pursues her third major championship.
The rising star from Taiwan shot a bogey-free round that included a birdie and an eagle on the two finishing holes, putting her in a tie for the lead with Australian Katherine Hull.
Hull was among the last players on the course and also made an eagle on the 18th hole — in front of nearly deserted grandstands — to join Tseng at 4 under.
Anne-Lise Caudal of France took the early lead with her round of 3-under 69, and she was matched later in the day by Kim Lang and Sun Young Yoo, along with American Brittany Lincicome.
Fellow American Michelle Wie opened with a 2-under 70, as did In-Kyung Kim of South Korea.
Greenbrier Classic — Double heart transplant recipient Erik Compton shot a 7-under 63 to share the first-round lead with rookie Matt Every in the PGA event at White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
Compton was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy at age 9. The disease inflames the heart and leaves it unable to pump as hard as it needs to. His first transplant came three years later and another occurred in 2008.
Irish Open — England's David Howell showed a long overdue return to form as he shot a 7-under 64 to take the first-round lead at Killarney, Ireland.
Howell managed five birdies and an eagle at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Australia's Richard Green and Ireland's Damien McGrane.
