Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay share lead at 2024 US Open – NBC10 Philadelphia

Rory McIlroy despatched his 20-foot birdie putt on its manner on the 18th gap Thursday and began strolling towards the cup when the ball was nonetheless some 6 toes away from falling. It seemed just like the stroll of a four-time main champion in command of his sport on a Pinehurst No. 2 course that demanded each little bit of that within the U.S. Open.

Seems that was about the one factor that didn’t go in line with plan.

“I assumed I’d left it brief. That’s why I walked after it — full disclosure,” McIlroy mentioned. “It seemed good, although.”

He seemed nearly as good as ever, posting a bogey-free opening spherical in a serious for the primary time since final successful one 10 years in the past within the British Open. His 5-under 65 gave him a share of the lead with nemesis Patrick Cantlay in a primary spherical that had somewhat little bit of the whole lot.

Scottie Scheffler was over par within the opening spherical of a serious for the primary time in two years, Collin Morikawa had two double bogeys and nonetheless shot 70. Tyrrell Hatton dropped his membership on affect on the par-3 seventeenth gap, kicked his membership, watched it land on the inexperienced and made birdie.

The ultimate contact was McIlroy’s remaining birdie.

“An effective way to complete,” he mentioned. “The way in which I performed immediately, the best way I hit the ball, the best way I managed myself, I felt like that rating was fairly deserved.”

Cantlay performed within the morning beneath a full solar, holing out from a bunker for birdie on his second gap and making a pair of birdie putts within the 20-foot vary in an in any other case tidy spherical marred by just one bogey.

Pinehurst No. 2 was each playable and punishing, yielding 15 rounds beneath par, the identical quantity because the final time on this Donald Ross gem in 2014.

Scheffler didn’t have one among them. The world’s No. 1 participant, coming off his fifth win of the yr on the Memorial, was an image of frustration — clean-shaven and with a contemporary haircut — as he did not have his normal management off the tee.

He nonetheless managed a 71 and was very a lot within the sport.

Tiger Woods could not say the identical. After an excellent begin, he had 5 bogeys in a seven-hole stretch across the flip for a 74, his twelfth consecutive spherical within the majors with out breaking par.

McIlroy was in management from the beginning, hitting 6-iron to 7 toes on the 528-yard fourth gap — the hardest par 4 on the course — for birdie, after which chipping in from the entrance of the inexperienced on the subsequent gap.

He has the benefit of towering iron photographs that land softly, and so they had been often pin-high and away from the domed edges of the Pinehurst greens that trigger a lot hassle.

McIlroy has received majors the final 3 times he has began with a bogey-free spherical — at Hoylake within the 2014 British Open, at Kiawah Island within the 2012 PGA Championship and at Congressional within the 2011 U.S. Open.

“Getting off to an excellent begin is necessary to attempt to maintain your self up there, as a result of you need to give your self as large of a cushion as attainable, figuring out what’s lurking across the nook,” McIlroy mentioned.

Ludvig Aberg, in his U.S. Open debut, hit his tee shot to six toes on the scary par-3 ninth gap for birdie and a 66. Each main is one thing new for the rising star from Sweden, who solely turned professional a yr in the past. He was runner-up within the Masters.

Bryson DeChambeau, the runner-up at Valhalla within the PGA Championship final month, and Matthieu Pavon of France had been at 67.

Sergio Garcia had the opposite bogey-free spherical — 17 pars and a birdie — in his twenty fifth consecutive time taking part in the U.S. Open. He additionally performed within the morning and did not appear significantly alarmed by Cantlay’s 65. That matches the low opening spherical in 4 U.S. Opens at Pinehurst No. 2.

“There’s all the time going to be somebody that hits the ball nice, the whole lot goes his manner, makes a few bombs, and you may shoot it,” Garcia mentioned. “You may see somebody capturing one other 66 or 65 or one thing like that. I believe because the course will get even firmer, even sooner, a tiny little bit of breeze comes up right here and there, it’s going to be troublesome to shoot these type of scores.”

It should not be a shock to see Cantlay contending given he has no actual weak spot in his sport, aside from his efficiency within the majors. He has solely 4 high 10s in his 26 main begins since coming back from a critical again damage in 2017, and just one actual likelihood at successful one.

McIlroy and Cantlay by no means noticed eye-to-eye throughout their time on the PGA Tour board because it tried to barter an settlement with the Saudi-backers of LIV Golf, and McIlroy was on the dropping in a tense fourballs match in Rome final fall when Cantlay buried a 45-foot putt on the finish.

Cantlay watched his finest good friend in golf — Xander Schauffele, who opened with a 70 at Pinehurst — lastly win a serious final month. His begin was sufficient to at the least marvel if his time is coming subsequent.

“I have been working actually arduous on my sport,” Cantlay mentioned. “And often whenever you make only a couple adjustments and also you’re working actually arduous, it is only a matter of time.”

Cantlay is not identified to be verbose on many topics, significantly in relation to his efficiency in golf’s most necessary championships. He additionally has rejected notions that his time on the PGA Tour board throughout the divide with LIV Golf has been a distraction.

Regardless of the case, this was an excellent day of labor.

Nevertheless it was nonetheless a check, and a few of the scores would point out that. Viktor Hovland needed to make a troublesome par on the finish for 78. Justin Thomas had a 77 and Will Zalatoris, who usually thrives within the majors, was at 75. Dustin Johnson joined the group at 74.

5-time main champion Brooks Koepka was crusing alongside and dropped a 35-foot birdie putt for birdie on the par-5 tenth to achieve 3 beneath within the morning. He had three bogeys coming in and needed to accept a 70.

Colin Morikawa, who has performed within the remaining group on the first two majors of the yr, hit a good bunker shot on the par-3 ninth that rolled by the cup 2 toes after which took a slope and stopped rolling 80 toes away, resulting in double bogey. He took one other double bogey on the par-3 fifteenth and nonetheless managed a 70 by holing a bunker shot on the par-3 seventeenth for birdie and ending with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

“Hit two poor photographs and one dangerous bunker shot. It wasn’t that dangerous on 9,” he mentioned. “However aside from that, I felt like I performed fairly good. Very, very completely satisfied I bought out with even par after immediately.”