The 124th US Open will be held at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
From the jump, the field is haunted by top-ranked player Scottie Scheffler, and he’s on a heater not seen since Tiger Woods’ heyday. Schaeffler went on an afternoon wave with Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. Scheffler opened with two bogeys through six holes, but bogeyed the seventh hole to get back within one point. Instead, it was McIlroy who took an early lead in that group. He made back-to-back birdies early to jump to 2 under.
Brooks Koepka, a two-time champion, appeared to be making an early run for third place at the start. After briefly holding a share of the lead, Koepka made three bogeys down the stretch to get back to even par for the day.
Instead, it was Patrick Cantlay who grabbed the lead in the early flurry. He made three birdies on his final five holes of the day to card a 5-under 65. That gave him a short two-shot lead over the field entering the clubhouse. Ludvig Åberg closed the gap slightly with a 4-under 66 in his first-ever round at the US Open.
Woods, on the other hand, struggled. After a birdie at the start of his day, he made five birdies in seven holes around the turn before finishing with a 4-over 74. He will need a big outing on Friday in order to make the cut, something he failed to do last month. In the PGA Championship.
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Scheffler’s birds
It took seven holes, but Scotty Scheffler finally looks like Scotty Scheffler. He drained a 12-foot putt for birdie on No. 7, his first birdie of the day, to get back to 1-over.
Also, can we talk about its white walls…
(Photo by Sean M. Havey/Getty Images)
Another ghost of Scheffler
Scheffler missed a 62-foot putt by 18 feet! That led to a bogey, pushing the world No. 1 to No. 2 into sixth place. This was his most difficult tour in…maybe more than a year.
Chauvel’s cascading bogey
Xander Scheufele struggles early at Pinehurst. He just missed a very straight putt on the fifth for his second bogey in a row. It’s two o’clock early now
Rory does it again
That’s back-to-back birdies from Rory McIlroy now after an easy par-5! He’s now 2 under, just three shots away from Patrick Cantlay.
Rory McIlroy gets below par
After three straight putts to open his round, Rory McIlroy finally reached the red zone.
Patrick Cantlay after his opening round
More from Patrick Cantlay after his opening round 65:
Schaeffler kind of got out early
We’ve become so accustomed to seeing Scottie Scheffler’s near-perfection lately that it becomes glaring when he’s anything but. But…this is what we see so far through four slots. He missed the left and right lanes, and had to scramble just a little to get even.
On the third, he put his putt into a bunker on the left side, then found a bunker on the green side, made a long putt for par and missed. He’s a ghost for world number 1.
Xander gets red numbers
Xander Schauffele takes an early lead…in the big dog fight. It is the second birdie to reach 1 under. Schaeffler and McIlroy are still equal.
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The three highest-ranked players in the world have been paired together. Go and conclude.
Anyway, Scottie Schaeffler (1), Xander Scheufele (2) and Rory McIlroy are off and running. All three parts are dotted in the first.
Reset the leaderboards
With the early wave (mostly) over, here’s a look at where things stand at Pinehurst.
Leaderboard update
1. Patrick Cantlay -5
2. Ludwig Aberg -4
3. Matteo Pavon -3
4. Tony Finau-2
T5. SH Kim-1
T5. Sergio Garcia-1
T5. Corey Conners -1
T5. (12 others)
Other notable finishes
T19. Brooks Koepka E
T19. Colleen Morikawa E
T71. Tiger Woods +4
T87. Justin Thomas +7
T97. Phil Mickelson +9
It will come later
Rory McIlroy
Scotty Scheffler
Xander Schauvel
Bryson DeChambeau
Jordan Spieth
Ludvig Åberg takes second solo
Ludwig Aberg just crushed his first ever round at the US Open. He’s alone in second place now at 4 under, and is just a shot away from Patrick Cantlay.
Patrick Cantlay leads by two shots
What a finish from Patrick Cantlay. He made three birdies on his final five holes to jump ahead with a 5-under 65 to start the U.S. Open. He needed just 23 strokes today, his lowest in a major, and 65 is the lowest opening-round score ever at a US Open at Pinehurst outside of Martin Kaymer.
This gives Cantlay a two-shot lead over Finau, Aberg and Pavon entering the club.
Tiger Woods 4-over 74
A closer look at Tiger Woods’ opening round at Pinehurst:
Morikawa rallies to reach E
What a perfect ending for Colleen Morikawa. He birdied back-to-back birdies to finish with an even-par 70, thanks to a huge putt on the 18th. He sits at T15 now.
Tiger Woods finished the race in fourth place
Tiger Woods’ day is over. He shot a 4-over 74 to start the US Open, but made several huge saves to limit the damage.
However, Woods is nine shots away from entering the leaders into the clubhouse. He’ll need a good outing tomorrow if he’s going to make it all the way.
Click on the image to read more about Woods’ start from Guy Busby on the ground at Pinehurst:
Click on the image to read more about Tiger Woods’ opening round at the US Open. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Åberg retreats
Ludvig Åberg’s time at the top was short-lived. Åberg just upset the No. 3 in the sixth, setting him back to 3 under on the day. He’s alone in third now, a shot away from Cantlay and Pavon.
Oberg and Cantlay join Pavon at the summit
Matteo Pavon’s lead is now over. Ludvig Åberg just scored a birdie to get to 4 under, and Patrick Cantlay made his second straight birdie to join them in the lead.
Neil Shipley jumps to 2 under
Neil Shipley from the depth! The amateurs are now back after a short birdie at the turn.
Another Tiger Woods birdie
Finally, after a bad stretch from Tiger Woods, we have another birdie.
Woods stuck his approach to the green from about 260 yards on the par-5 5th, setting him up for an easy birdie putt. He is three years old now.
Leaderboard update
Matteo Pavon panicked, so his lead was reduced to just one shot. But so did Brooks Koepka, who once again moved back to second place.
Here’s a look at where things stand at the top of the leaderboard in the early wave:
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