Tryon goes it alone to open the third round

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- They usually don't let people go off the first tee at Pebble Beach as a single. Then again Ty Tryon isn't playing any ordinary Saturday round on the Monterey Peninsula.

The 26-year-old former wunderkind was the odd man out among the 83 players that made the cut at the U.S. Open, being placed as an individual in the 9 a.m. tee time after finishing 36 holes at seven-over 149.

Tryon was given the option of playing with a non-competitive marker but decided instead to go it alone. Stepping to the first tee, he was greeted by a grandstand full of fans ready for a full day's play. When Tryon's name was announced by starter Ron Reed, his caddie, Rockey Lytle, waved his arms to try and get the crowd going again.

"Bet he gets done in two hours," said one marshal to another, a decent over/under mark regarding the timing of his round. Even if his round took three hours, he would finish up at noon, still nearly four hours before the final pairing of Graeme McDowell and Dustin Johnson tees off.

Seventy minutes into the round, Tryon was one over par after six holes.

-- Ryan Herrington