Friday 19 June 2015 11:16, UK
Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson defied the complexities of the Chambers Bay course to earn a share of the first round lead at the US Open, but Tiger Woods failed to break 80 for the first time in the tournament.
The pair took advantage of benign early conditions to fire five-under 65s to set the early pace in the clubhouse, and their scores held up as the afternoon starters were hampered by an increasing breeze and firmer conditions.
And Tiger Woods was among those in the later groups to suffer as he slumped to yet another career low, hacking his way to a 10-over-par 80 to record his worst round in a US Open.
World No 1 Rory McIlroy was left to reflect on a poor performance on the greens as he laboured to a 72, but it was Stenson and Johnson who led the way thanks to a superb display of power hitting backed by by solid iron play and precise putting.
Stenson has not been in the best of form in recent weeks, but he lifted his spirits with early birdies at two and three and turned in 34 before following five straight pars with a sparkling run of four birdies over the last five holes.
The Swede was joined at the top by Johnson, who reached six under when he rolled in his sixth birdie putt of the day at the seventh - his 16th - for his third gain in four holes, but a poor tee shot at the ninth led to the only blemish on his card.
Patrick Reed offset six birdies with a pair of bogeys as he claimed outright third after a 68, while Matt Kuchar, Ben Martin and impressive young amateur Brian Campbell handed in 67s in an American-heavy top portion of the leaderboard.
Phil Mickelson began his bid for a career grand slam of majors with a solid 69, although he was disappointed with his second nine having turned at three under, while 51-year-old veterans Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jimenez were among the 25 players to break par.
McIlroy struggles
But McIlroy was not one of them despite playing in the easier, early conditions as he failed to support his fine form from tee to green with a putting display to match, missing a series of short-range birdie opportunities and dropping two shots over his last three holes to slip seven off the lead.
Justin Rose, the 2013 champion, was also left to rue a disappointing finish after he bogeyed three of the last four holes to drop from one under to two over late in the day, while his fellow Englishmen Ian Poulter, Andy Sullivan, Danny Willett and Paul Casey also returned 72s.
Lee Westwood and Luke Donald were one further adrift, but it turned out to be another nightmare day for the ailing Woods just two weeks after the worst round of his professional career - a third-day 85 at The Memorial.
The former world No 1 and three-time US Open champion bogeyed four of the first six holes as his all-round game deserted him, and he then followed a run of three straight bogeys from the 11th with a horrific triple-bogey seven at 14.
He managed his only birdie of the day at 16, but he wasted a perfect drive at the last with a humiliating topped three-wood into a deep pot bunker and closed with a bogey six which summed up his round.
At least he had the scant consolation of being one shot better than playing-partner Rickie Fowler, one of the pre-tournament favourites, as he blew up on the front nine and dropped no fewer than eight shots in four holes from the sixth.
Fowler ran up five more bogeys on the back-nine, although he almost holed his drive to the 317-yard par-four 12th and gave a wry smile after tapping in for an eagle-two.
