US Open :: Round one in short

Tiger shoots 80

For the third time in his last 15 rounds, Tiger Woods was in the 80s after a wretched start, which included one birdie, eight bogeys and one triple-bogey at the 14th.

“Not very happy, that’s for sure,” said Woods. “It was a tough day. Got off to a bad start. I stuck that 6-iron in the ground on the first hole, and then just couldn’t quite get it turned around today.”

The 14-time major champion is 15 shots behind the leaders but was one shot better off than playing partner Rickie Fowler, who shot 81, while the final member of that pairing, Louis Oosthuizen, carded a 77.

And to add insult to injury for the three-time US Open winner, he topped his second shot on the 18th right into a bunker. Check it out below…

DJ and Stenson lead the way

Few would’ve thought there’d be rounds of 65 on day one at Chambers Bay but in favourable conditions, that’s exactly what Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson ended up with to sit atop the leaderboard heading into Friday.

At one-under with five holes to play, Stenson made four birdies to join Johnson, who was as low as six-under before his only blemish came at the ninth, his final hole of the round.

“We’re right there with where we want to be,” said the Swede. “It’s still a long journey until Sunday afternoon, of course but a good start always helps. Looking forward, I’ve just got to do more of the same of what I did today and hopefully I can continue to post some good numbers.”

Marvellous Monty

He’s been in fantastic form on the senior tour and 51-year-old Colin Montgomerie – the second oldest player in the field behind Miguel Angel Jimenez – started impressively at Chambers Bay with a round of 69, before joining the Sky Sports team in the commentary box around an hour later!

Fellow Scot Marc Warren went one better than the 2010 Ryder Cup captain, carding a two-under par 68 to sit in a tie for seventh after his first round.

As for the other three Scots in the field, Jimmy Gunn – who was a late addition to the US Open field – carded a two-over-par 72, Amateur champion Bradley Neil shot 76, while Stephen Gallacher – whose caddie Damian Moore was unable to take the bag after injuring his ankle during a practice round – got off to a poor start with a 78.

Rory left frustrated

It was a case of what might have been for 2011 US Open champion Rory McIlroy on Thursday at Chambers Bay after he closed his first round on two-over-par.

Putting was the world No.1’s achilees heel and afterwards, he said: “It was frustrating, especially how I felt I hit the ball from tee to green.

“I felt like I gave myself enough chances out there to convert a few and wasn’t able to do that. It was a day where you could shoot under par and I didn’t take advantage of that.”

Bubba blasts slow play

From one frustrated player to another, but this time for a totally different reason. For Bubba Watson, who was playing alongside Phil Mickelson and 2007 US Open winner Angel Cabrera, it was the slow nature of play over the closing holes which caused him to vent his anger with the audio caught by television cameras.

“Waiting 30 minutes, that’s pathetic for professional golf,” the two-time Masters champion uttered as his second shot on the par-5 18th found a tough spot beside the green.

Watson made his par to finish with a round of 70 and battled back well after double-bogeys at the first and tenth.

Garcia slams greens

Like Bubba, Garcia also shot level par but that didn’t stop him taking a swipe at the Chambers Bay greens, which seemed to cause players no end of trouble on the opening day.

Here we go…

US Open :: Who will win?

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