Pinehurst: Rory McIlroy sank a birdie from just 20 feet on the 18th hole to post a first-round 65 and move into a tie with Patrick Cantlay at the US Open on Thursday.
World No. 3 McIlroy is chasing his first major victory since the 2014 PGA Championship, overcoming dome-shaped greens, fairways and wiregrass at Pinehurst.
“I’m happy with my start,” said McIlroy.
“I think this championship more than any other, it’s important to get off to a good start and really try to position yourself.
America’s ninth-ranked Cantlay, who starred on the back nine, birdied three of the last five holes to start with a 65 and move one stroke ahead of McIlroy and Sweden’s sixth-ranked Ludwig Aberg. Mathieu Pavon of France and Bryson DeChambeau of the United States were fourth at 67.
“This is the US Open. It should be tough,” said Aberg. “What are we doing here?”
McIlroy, 30, from Northern Ireland, sank a seven-foot birdie on the fourth hole, then chipped the green beautifully for a par-5 birdie.
The four-time winner added a putt from seven feet on the 5th 10th, then birdied two of the last three holes, sinking an 11-footer on the par-4 16th and then bogey putt on the 18th.
“I think the thing we were a little lucky about today was the cloud cover, so the golf course didn’t burn out like I would have hoped,” McIlroy said.
“The good thing is to get out there and take advantage of the situation and get out early and try to keep the pace.”
McIlroy finished second at the US Open last year, making it his first consecutive top 10 at the US Open.
McIlroy dominated the afternoon feature group with three of the world’s best players, with world No. 1 Scotty Scheffler shooting a 71 and last month’s PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffel in 70.
Scheffler has won five PGA Tour events this year, the most since Tom Watson in 1980.
Schauffele snapped a two-year winning streak last month with his first major win.
Cantlay and McIlroy, looking for their first major win, matched Martin Kaymer’s two 65s at Pinehurst to win the 2014 US Open.
“He played hard most of the way,” he said. “The golf course was pretty tough. But he drove it well. A lot of balls in the fairways. Put the ball in the right spot a lot of the time.”
Cantlay, the 2021 PGA Tour playoff champion, is in contention for the U.S.’s spot at the Paris Olympics, but he won’t have to drop a second this week to have a chance.
Aberg sank a six-foot birdie hole on the par-3 nine to finish with six birdies and a two-under par 66.
DeChambeau, winner of last month’s PGA Championship and 2020 US Open champion, had four birdies and a par on 18 birdies from 52 feet.
Pavon, ranked 24th, soared with an 18-foot bogey on the par-5 5th and a 27-foot bogey on the par-5 10th hole.
“I had my best on day 5 and was down two,” Pavon said. “It gives me a little freedom.”
Brooks Koepka, the five-time major champion, and Collin Morikawa, the seventh-seeded two-time major champion, are 70 years old.
15-time winner Tiger Woods shot to 74. Starting on 16, there were five pars in the seven-hole stretch after the back nine.
