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PINEWOOD, USA: Rory McIlroy holed a birdie putt from inside 20 feet on the 18th hole to finish his first round at five-under 65 and share the lead with Patrick Cantlay at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
World No. 3 McIlroy, who is chasing his first major victory since the 2014 PGA Championship, played a bogey-free round at Pinehurst, overcoming domed greens, sandy heaths and wiregrass.
“I’m just happy to get off to the start that way,” McIlroy said. “The golf course is going to get more competitive as the week goes on, but right now, the opportunities are there and luckily I’ve been able to take advantage of them.” “I think getting off to a good start in this tournament more than any other tournament is going to be important in terms of staying ahead because you need to give yourself as much cushion as possible as to what’s going to happen.”
Cantlay, ranked ninth among Americans, opened on the back nine with three birdies in his final five holes for an early 65 that gave him and McIlroy a one-stroke lead over Sweden’s sixth-ranked Ludvig Aberg, who finished runner-up at the Masters for the first time in his major championship, with Matthieu Pavon of France and Bryson DeChambeau of the United States both tied for fourth with 67s.
“This is the U.S. Open. It’s going to be tough,” Aberg said. “That’s what we’re here to do.” McIlroy, 30, of Northern Ireland, holed a 7-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole and then chipped in beautifully from just off the green for birdie on the par-5 fifth.
The four-time major champion holed a birdie putt from just seven feet on the par-5 10th, then added two more birdies on the final three holes, an 11-footer on the par-4 16th and another tension-filled putt on the 18th.
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“I think the only thing we were lucky with today was the cloud cover, so the golf course didn’t get as hot as I expected,” McIlroy said. “The best thing is to go out and take advantage of the conditions, come back in the morning and try to keep the momentum going.” McIlroy, who finished second at last year’s U.S. Open, is coming off his fifth straight top-10 finish at the U.S. Open, and each one has been better than the last.
The afternoon session featured the top three players in the world, with McIlroy dominating, with world No. 1 and Masters champion Scottie Schauffele, who shot 71, and world No. 2 Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship last month, at 70. Schauffele has won five PGA Tour titles this year, the most by a player at the same stage since Tom Watson in 1980. Schauffele ended a two-year drought last month with his first major victory.
Pinehurst, North Carolina, United States; Patrick Cantlay hits his shot from the eighth tee during the first round of the U.S. Open
Cantlay, seeking his first major victory, and he and McIlroy posted the lowest scores in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where Martin Kaymer shot a pair of 65s en route to his 2014 title. “Just played pretty solid for the most part,” Cantlay said. “It was a tough golf course. But drove it well. A lot of balls were in the fairway. Hit it in the right spots for the most part.”
Cantlay is the 2021 PGA Tour Playoff Champion and a strong contender for a spot on the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics, but he will have to finish no worse than second this week to have a chance.
Aberg holed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-3 ninth hole to finish with six birdies and two bogeys for a final score of 66. “Played a very nice round of golf,” Aberg said. “No complaints.”
DeChambeau, the runner-up at last month’s PGA Championship and 2020 U.S. Open champion, had four birdies and a bogey, holed out from 52 feet for birdie on the par-5 18. “This was probably the hardest I’ve had in a long time, from a mental exhaustion standpoint,” DeChambeau said.
Pavin, ranked 24th, made eagle with an 18-foot putt on the par-5 fifth hole and a 27-foot putt on the par-10. “I hit my four best swings of the day on the par-5s and lost two,” Pavin said. “That gave me a little freedom.”
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, who is ranked seventh, both shot 70. Fifteen-time major champion Tiger Woods struggled with a 74. After teeing up on the back nine, he had five bogeys in a seven-hole stretch starting with the 16th.
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