EPIC RISE AND FALL OF UNLIKELY MAJOR CHAMP… AND ‘P***D OFF’ TIGER ACT HE’LL NEVER FORGET

THE PGA TOUR HAD A $36M PROBLEM. A DRAMATIC ARREST MAY HAVE SOLVED IT

It was the first time McIlroy had recorded a bogey-free opening round at the US Open since 2011 — when he won his first major title.

In fact, McIlroy’s last three bogey-free opening rounds came at the 2011 US Open, 2012 PGA Championship and 2014 Open Championship. He won all three.

The 35-year-old, four-time major winner from Northern Ireland has not won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship but was second in last year’s US Open, his fifth top-10 effort in a row at the US Open with each better than the last.

America’s ninth-ranked Cantlay, a back-nine starter, birdied three of his last five holes for an early 65 and with McIlroy took a one-stroke lead over Sweden’s sixth-ranked Ludvig Aberg, Masters runner-up in his major debut, with France’s Matthieu Pavon and American Bryson DeChambeau sharing fourth on 67.

DeChambeau is two shots off the lead after what Paul McGinley described as an “exhibition off the tee” in commentary for Sky Sports.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the American, who nearly drove his tee shot out of bounds on the fifth hole but was able to find the green on his next stroke and was still able to record a birdie — his fourth of the round.

DeChambeau, like McIlroy, looked on track for a bogey-free day before the par-four seventh, with the slip-up seeing him drop back after threatening to join the Irishman and Cantlay at the top of the leaderboard.

The afternoon group featured top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, the Masters champion, and second-ranked Xander Schauffele, who won May’s PGA Championship.

Scheffler was consistently having trouble finding the fairway but made a birdie at the 17th hole to finish the day tied for 36th at one-over.

Meanwhile, Schauffele had a rollercoaster day on his way to even par as he mixed in four bogeys with four birdies.

Scheffler has five PGA Tour wins this year, the most by any player at this stage since Tom Watson in 1980.

Two-time Masters champion Scheffler has 12 top-10 showings in 13 starts this year and could match 15-time major winner Tiger Woods as the only players to win a US Open while atop the world rankings.

Schauffele snapped a two-year win drought last month with his first major triumph.

One of the bigger surprises of the day though was Viktor Hovland, who finished the round languishing at eight-over and a tie for 143rd, needing a big effort on Saturday to make the cut.

The World No.5 had a rough start, carding two double-bogeys through his first five holes and it didn’t get much better from that point, recording another five bogeys to go with two birdies.

In Hovland’s defence there were plenty of low scores across the board early in the day, although it was one moment from fiery LIV Golf star Tyrell Hatton that lit up social media.

Hatton, known for his colourful outbursts, dropped his club and kicked it in disgust at his tee shot on the eighth hole only for the ball to finish eight feet from the hole.

He then made the putt for an unlikely birdie.

Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, chasing a third US Open title after wins in 2017 and 2018, and seventh-ranked Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, were among those on 70.

Tiger Woods, a 15-time major winner struggling to overcome severe leg injuries from a 2021 car crash, struggled to a 74. He had five bogeys in a seven-hole stretch starting at 16.

HOW HAVE THE AUSTRALIANS FARED SO FAR?

Adam Scott — who is playing in his 92nd successive major tournament this week — made a very solid start to his day as he made six straight pars to lead the Australian contingent early.

Scott suffered a setback with back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17, but quickly recovered with a pair of birdies which had him at even for the round with five holes still to play.

Scott kept the birdies coming on the par-fourth seventh, capitalising on an excellent 157-yard approach shot.

Although the twists kept coming for Scott, who had the ball roll back towards him as he attemped to hit it onto the green on the par-four eighth.

It ended a double-bogey for Scott, although he finished the day with a bang, rounding it out with a birdie to finish tied 15th at even par.

“I think you do, absolutely,” Scott said when asked if he would head home feeling a lot better after making the birdie on the final hole.

“The opposite would be three-putting and you’d just be trying to get over that until you tee off the next morning. I do feel like I’m going to go home and enjoy a quick dinner and get back out here.

“If I’m playing well, if I can get the birdies in the right order tomorrow and move in the right direction, I feel like I can be very much within reach by the end of the day.”

Scott is one shot ahead of Cameron Smith, who ended his day in style by rolling in a 22-footer, and Jason Day, who recovered after three bogeys inside the first six holes. Both are one-over.

Elsewhere, back in a tie for 77th at three-over is Min Woo Lee, who recorded a double bogey at the 8th and had a few opportunities for birdie but wasn’t able to convert, outside of at the 3rd.

Qualifier Jason Scrivener sits at four-over after the opening round in a tie for 99th.

Meanwhile, Cam Davis had a rough start to the day with a double bogey at the first hole and it didn’t get much better from there, recording another five bogeys to finish the day seven-over.

US OPEN LEADERBOARD

T1: Patrick Cantlay -5

T1: Rory McIlroy -5

3: Ludvig Aberg -4

T4: Matthieu Pavon -3

T4: Bryson DeChambeau -3

T6: Tony Finau -2

T6: Tyrrell Hatton -2

T6: Akshay Bhatia -2

T6: Tony Finau -2

T9: Sergio Garcia -1

T9: Seonghyeon Kim -1

T9: Corey Conners -1

T9: Sam Bennett -1

T9: Aaron Rai -1

T9: Jackson Suber -1

T9: Thomas Detry -1

AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION

T16: Adam Scott E