Golf . US Open

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Phil Mickelson made the ideal start in his bid to win the US Open and complete the career grand slam as the cream quickly rose to the top at Chambers Bay.

Mickelson, who has finished runner-up a record six times, was among the early starters and took advantage of flat calm conditions to reach the turn in three under par.

That gave the five-time major winner the outright lead, one shot ahead of former world number one Adam Scott, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson, with Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson among a large group another shot back.

Mickelson had looked in trouble on the opening hole, missing the green to the left and seeing his ball roll down a steep slope onto the adjacent 18th fairway.

However, the 45-year-old - who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday - displayed his renowned short game skills by pitching to within inches of the hole to save par, in stark contrast to playing partner Bubba Watson who attempted to "putt" from a similar position with a fairway wood, failed to reach the putting surface and saw the ball roll back to his feet.


The double Masters champion only just found the green with his second attempt and two-putted for a double-bogey six, but steadied the ship with five straight pars before birdies on the seventh and ninth got him back to level par.

Mickelson missed a good birdie chance on the second but made no such mistake on the par-three third, holing from 20 feet, and picked up another shot from six feet on the fifth.

The world number 17 missed from just three feet on the sixth but holed from 12 feet on the eighth as concerns about the firm course conditions appeared unfounded.

McIlroy had started his round on the 10th and picked up his first shot of the day on the 11th, but was unable to drive the green on the short par-four 12th and had to settle for par.

In the group in front, Johnson, Scott and Sergio Garcia had all found the green and two-putted for birdie, with Johnson missing from just 10 feet for an eagle.

Scotland's Stephen Gallacher was among the later starters and would be without his regular caddie Damian Moore, who suffered a leg injury after falling on the sixth hole on Wednesday.

Moore had hoped to recover in time for the opening round but had to admit defeat, with local caddie Rick Harris stepping in.

Mickelson dropped his first shot of the day by three-putting the 10th from long range following a poor approach from a fairway bunker, but bounced straight back with a birdie from 12 feet on the next.

McIlroy had also found trouble in sand to drop shots on the 14th and 15th, but pitched to five feet to birdie the 16th and missed a good chance on the 17th after an excellent tee shot to a treacherous pin position.

Mickelson, who surprisingly opted to lay up on the 12th rather than attempt to drive the green, had to settle for par there and then bogeyed the 13th and 14th after finding sand on both holes.

At one under par the left-hander was now two shots off the lead shared by compatriots Johnson, Reed, Matt Kuchar and Kevin Chappell, who had recovered from one over par after six holes with birdies on the eighth, ninth, 10th and 13th.

McIlroy remained level par after missing a good birdie chance on the 18th, the 26-year-old looking somewhat bemused by the patchy greens.

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Sweden's Henrik Stenson carded his lowest score ever in a major as Tiger Woods recorded his highest in the US Open on a day of contrasting fortunes at Chambers Bay.

Seeking to become the fifth European winner in the last six years, Stenson birdied four of his last six holes for a five-under-par 65 to share the lead with American Dustin Johnson.

But there was more misery for former world number one Woods, who said on Tuesday he was willing to endure "short-term suffering for long-term gain" after coming into the event on the back of the worst score (85) and four-round total (302) of his career in the Memorial Tournament.

Woods carded eight bogeys, one triple bogey and a solitary birdie in an opening 80, three shots more than his previous highest score while still an amateur in 1996.

The only consolation for the 39-year-old was that he outscored playing partner Rickie Fowler, who shot 81 despite being inches away from an albatross on the par-four 12th. With Louis Oosthuizen shooting 77, Woods's group were a combined 28 over par.

"The bright side is at least I kicked Rickie's butt today," joked Woods, who has been making swing changes with consultant Chris Como. "I fought hard and that was my number. I could not have grinded any harder than that. I know when I do it right, it's so easy. I just need to do it more often."

Italy's Francesco Molinari, Scotland's Marc Warren and Masters champion Jordan Spieth were three shots off the pace after rounds of 68, with the 51-year-old duo of Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jimenez another stroke back alongside Phil Mickelson, who needs a first US Open win after six runners-up finishes to complete the career grand slam.

World number one Rory McIlroy struggled on the greens in an opening 72, while Sergio Garcia admitted the putting surfaces were "as bad as they look on TV" after finishing level par.

The greens were not the only difficulty either, with Stenson's caddie Gareth Lord injuring his left wrist on Wednesday and Stephen Gallacher forced to replace his caddie Damian Moore due to a leg injury suffered on the same day.


"Walking off the 16th he took the fall, both feet in the air, and got trapped with his wrist under the bag," Stenson said. "He's in a cast now. It might be broken or just torn ligaments.

"He's not in a good place with the hand, but he managed to caddie and did a good job for me anyway. I had to caddie for him a little bit, as well. It's definitely dangerous with those slopes and the grass gets shiny and lays down. It gets a bit like ice skating out there."

Johnson threatened to equal the lowest score in major championship history - 63 - when he reached six under par with two holes to play, but miscued a chip on the par-five eighth and bogeyed the ninth.

The 30-year-old won the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March, his first victory since taking six months out of the game to deal with "personal challenges", a move which ruled him out of the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.