DUBLIN, Ohio -- Kevin Hall's big day sure started a lot better than it ended.

On the par-4 opening hole on Thursday in the first round of the Memorial Tournament, the PGA TOUR's first and only deaf player hit a 285-yard drive, a 185-yard approach and then rolled in a 22-foot birdie putt.

"I thought that was cool," he said later through a signer, a wide grin creasing his face. It ended up being the 23-year-old's only birdie of the day. Six bogeys and a double bogey later, he was stuck with a 79 in his fifth career TOUR event.

He remained upbeat. His only regret was that he didn't play better in front of a large gallery of family, friends and newfound admirers.

"It was a step in the right direction," he said. "I will improve."

Hall, who lost his hearing and nearly his life from a bout with meningitis at the age of 2, was a medalist at the first stage of qualifying for his TOUR card last year before playing poorly in the second stage.

He's never made a cut in five TOUR events, but received an exemption to get into the Memorial.

After making a bogey on the final hole, he signed his scorecard and then immediately walked to a young boy standing alone at the gallery ropes. He handed him his golf ball.

"I like to see their perspective," he said of the many kids -- some of whom were deaf -- who followed him throughout the round. "Golf is not all about getting angry. You have to enjoy life."

O'HAIR PERSPECTIVE: Sean O'Hair has changed swing coaches and recently switched caddies, but what is helping him the most is changing his outlook. The Rookie of the Year in 2005 felt a big burden this year, and he was being a little hard on himself.

"I think the pressure I put on myself going into this year was a tremendous amount," O'Hair said. "I had a lot of expectations of myself because I felt that, 'Hey, I've proved myself, I can compete with these guys,' instead of just focusing on what I did last year, and that was to play my game."

O'Hair missed four straight cuts early in the season and still doesn't have a top 10. His best stroke-play event came last week at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, a tie for 19th.

"Whenever I had a bad hole it was like, 'I've got to fight back.' Now, it's kind of like, 'Let's just move on and play,"' he said. "I tried to jump ahead of myself and I just need to get back to the present time."

He was 2 over through three holes after his double bogey at No. 3, and wound up at 5-under 67 and the clubhouse leader.

RAIN AGAIN: The first round was suspended due to threatening weather with 30 players still on the course. They will complete the opening round on Friday morning.

Tournament officials know the routine. In its 31 years, the Memorial has had 28 rounds delayed, interrupted or canceled because of inclement weather.

And more storms are expected Friday morning.

DUVAL REBOUND: David Duval was poised to join the leaders with two shots as pure as he has ever hit on the par-5 11th, a power draw into the fairway and a 3-wood into the breeze from 258 yards that stopped 25 feet behind the hole.

He was 2 under at the time.

Five putts later, he walked off the green at even par.

"I putted well all day," Duval said. "That's the funny thing."

He wasn't laughing on the green. The cup was atop a slight ridge, and Duval's eagle putt was a tad too hard and went 6 feet by. He hit a firm stroke to take out the break, it caught the right edge of the cup and went 2 1/2 feet by. His par putt was the only time his brain went to sleep, and it caught the lip and spun down the hill 8 feet. The next one also caught the lip, and he tapped in for double bogey.

"You sack up with a big drive and a big 3-wood and then ... it just stinks," he said.

He bogeyed the hole before with a 35-foot par putt that went 360 degrees around the cup, and he believes his five-putt had something do with missing the par-3 12th green and having to make a 15-footer just to save bogey. The good news? Despite that stretch, Duval wound up with a 1-under 71.