Cantlay, McIlroy share US Open lead as Pinehurst tests 158-strong field

HEADING: Cantlay, McIlroy share US Open lead as Pinehurst tests 158-strong field

INTRO: Only 15 players from a 158-strong starting lineup brought in sub-par scores led by Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy on day one of the 124th US Open at the Pinehurst 2 course on Thursday.

CAPTION: File photo of US Open day one co-leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.

Rahul Banerji

Confirming pre-start speculation, Pinehurst Resorts Course 2 bared its fangs on the opening day of the 124th US Open with less than a tenth of a starting field of 158 bringing in under-par cards led by America’s Patrick Cantlay and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy who shared the lead on 5 under par 65.

Three-time winner Tiger Woods was an early casualty of the testing layout and ‘turtle-back’ greens with a 4 over 74 in the course of which he would drop six shots despite starting with a birdie while pre-event favourite Scottie Scheffler had an opening 71 to his name that included two birdies against three dropped shots.

Only two bogey-free cards were handed in to the scorer on Thursday, by McIlroy and last-minute invitee Sergio Garcia (69) who was tied for eighth place. Fellow LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau was tied for fourth place on 3 under 67 along with Matthieu Pavon of France while young Indian-American Akshay Bhatia was tied for sixth on 2 under 68.

Behind the left-handed Bhatia, another player with Indian roots, Aaron Rai of England, hit a 69 to share ninth place but another Indian-American star Sahith Theegala was well down the field in tied 132nd with a 7 over 77.

“I didn't hit my irons particularly well. Didn't putt that great. Drove it on the string all day. Unfortunately I just didn't capitalise on it,” Woods said after his round. “I was somewhat conservative in some of my end points. Then again, I didn't hit the ball very well either. It added up to quite a bit of distance away from the flag.

“This golf course is all about the greens. The complexes are just so difficult and so severe that, I mean, I think 1-under par is only in fifth. There aren't that many scores that are low. It's hard to get the ball close.

“In most golf courses you play, you hit shots into where it's feeding off of slopes into flags, whereas collecting. Here everything is repelling. It's just hard to get the ball on top of the shelves. You know if you miss it short side, it's an auto bogey or higher. Being aggressive to a conservative line is I think how you need to play this particular golf course.”

It was a good summary of conditions at Pinehurst 2 from the 15-time major winner who has come close twice at past US Opens on this course without success. Tiger may have begun well but hit a bumpy stretch, dropping four shots over five holes on either side of the turn.

McIlroy finished his first day at Pinehurst with a long, uphill birdie putt and was on the move towards the pin when the ball finally dropped. “I wasn’t showing off. I thought I left it short,” McIlroy said. “But it got up there, it was nice, and a great way to finish. The way I played today, the way I hit the ball, the way I managed myself, I felt like that score was pretty deserved.

“My short game was good early on. I chipped in at 5 and had a really good up-and-down on 6, another really good up-and-down on 8. But apart from that, I think I hit every other green. It was a really controlled round of golf.”

Early starter Cantlay holed out from the bunker for birdie on his second hole and made a pair of birdie putts of 20-odd feet in a tidy round that saw one dropped shot. “Got off to a good start, that bunker

shot on 11. Played pretty solid most of the way. I thought the golf course played pretty difficult. But drove it well. A lot of balls on the fairway. Left the ball in the right spots, for the most part.

“I've been working really hard on my game, and usually when you make just a couple changes and you're working really hard, it's just a matter of time.”

DeChambeau was sanguine about his effort on the day. “Those greens, oh, my gosh, they can get away from you, especially on 9. I had that 40-footer straight down the hill. If you hit it two feet past the hole, that thing is back up the green chipping up 40 yards.

“I would say from a mental exhaustion perspective, this was probably the most difficult that I've had in a long, long, long time. I can't remember the last time I mentally exerted myself that hard to focus on hitting fatter parts of the green instead of going for flags. I did that quite nicely until the last few holes.”

First round leaders

T1. Patrick Cantlay 65 (-5), Rory McIlroy 65 (-5)

3. Ludvig Åberg 66 (-4)

T4. Matthieu Pavon 67 (-3), Bryson DeChambeau 67 (-3).