Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy experienced contrasting fortunes in their opening rounds at the US Open, while American Rickie Fowler tamed a toothless Erin Hills to claim the first-round lead.
Both players were drawn amongst the later starters for the opening 18 and while Shane Lowry looked very steady throughout, McIlroy had a miserable back nine as he slumped to six over par.
Starting on the back nine, Lowry got off to a near perfect start with two birdies on the opening six holes.
And then the Offaly man followed up with nine straight pars before making a bogey on the seventh – his 16th hole – to move back to one under par.
Another bogey followed on Lowry’s penultimate hole before bouncing back with another birdie on the par-three ninth to sign for a one-under 71.
McIlroy also enjoyed a great start, making eagle on the second hole, but his round went into freefall with bogeys on the third and eighth holes to turn on level par.
But worse was to follow for McIlroy, whose driving accuracy was not up to his usual standards and the player, who said that there should be no complaints about missing such wide fairways, found himself entangled in the fescue rough on several occasions.
McIlroy’s poor round included two three-putts and his awful afternoon was made worse as he managed a double bogey on the 16th to move out to four under par.
Another missed fairway on the 17th showed that the course was getting the better of the former world number one as he ended up in waist-high fescue.
A double bogey was the result as McIlroy moved out to six over par.
The four-time major winner finished with a par on the 18th but the damage was done on a disastrous back nine and now McIlroy will need to produce some exceptional golf on Friday just to make par.
Earlier, American Rickie Fowler tamed a toothless Erin Hills to claim the first-round lead at the US Open, while Paul Dunne and Graeme McDowell had rocky opening rounds to slip way off the early pace.
With only a gentle breeze and rains having taken the bite out of the monstrous 7,845-yard course, early starters tore apart the links-style layout, attacking the pins with gusto.
Fowler fired a seven-under 65 for a one-shot first round lead over compatriot Xander Schauffele and England's Paul Casey, both afternoon starters in Wisconsin.
Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood are all a shot further back on five under par.
However McDowell, starting on tenth, headed for the turn two-over and two more bogeys coming home left him four-over after a 76.
Greystones man Dunne had to come through a seven-man play-off in a marathon qualifying round in Walton Heath to book his ticket to Wisconsin and he'll need to summon some of that resolve to recover from his opening 75.
Dunne birdied the second but dropped shots on the seventh, 10th, 11th and 17th to sit one shot ahead of G-Mac.
Also starting from the 10th tee, Fowler showed why he was among the pre-tournament favourites, returning a polished bogey-free effort that matched the lowest first round score in relation to par at a US Open.
Not even the sight of a burning blimp crashing to the ground in an open field just a half-mile (800 metres) from the course could distract the world number nine, who failed to make the cut his previous two US Opens but finished runner-up in 2014.
No left-hander has ever won the US Open but Brian Harman, winner of the Wells Fargo last month, put himself in the hunt with bogey-free round.
Fleetwood also an enjoyed a error-free trip while Koepka was the only one among the leaders to card a bogey, taking a five at the par-four eighth for his 67.
Newly branded as the "ultimate test in golf", the US Open has long been famed for its toughness and Erin Hills, the longest ever layout for a US Open, was expected to add to that hard-man reputation.
Bogey-free 65. pic.twitter.com/UFDKckORms
— Skratch (@Skratch) June 15, 2017
But under sunny skies Erin Hills looked more friend than foe with 22 of the morning wave dipping under par.
Not everyone, however, was able to get the better to Erin Hills.
World number one and defending champion Dustin Johnson, one of golf's big-hitters, misfired from the tee all day and was paying the price sitting on three over through 15 holes.
Johnson, who did not arrive at Erin Hills until late Tuesday having remained at home for the birth of his second child, had limited practice and it showed as he carded a two bogeys and double-bogey against a single birdie.
The year's second major got underway without Phil Mickelson, the five-times major winner withdrawing to attend his daughter's high school graduation.
Six times a runner-up at the US Open, Mickelson skipped another chance at completing a career grand slam when it became obvious Mother Nature was not going to cooperate and delay the start of the opening round.
Mickelson had kept fans and officials guessing almost down to the wire, hanging on to the long shot hope that storms might delay the start of the year's second major and allow him to attend the graduation then fly from San Diego to Wisconsin to make his 2:20 p.m. Central (1920 GMT) tee time.
His withdrawal marked the end of a golfing era with the 117th U.S. Open becoming the first major to not include Mickelson and/or Tiger Woods since the 1994 Masters.
Woods, who recently underwent his fourth back surgery, has not played a PGA Tour event since January at Torrey Pines, the site of the last of his 14 major wins in 2008. The last major he played in was the 2015 PGA Championship.
