Rory McIlroy had a nightmare finish to his opening round at the US Open after dropping five shots in as many holes.
The Masters champion was set for a more than creditable start to the tournament after finishing his outward nine on two under par to leave him close to the top of the leaderboard behind JJ Spaun, who was two shots better off.
But McIlroy lost six shots from the first to the ninth hole having started on the 10th tee.
A double bogey on the fourth was compounded by more dropped shots at six, seven and eight to card a 74, finishing on four over.
It was an even more miserable day for Shane Lowry - pictured below - with three double bogeys over his 18 holes.
An eagle on the third hole was the highlight but 11 dropped shots in total left the Offaly man on nine over and unlikely to make the weekend barring a turnaround on Friday.
Clubhouse leader Spaun broke a record on day one.
He hit four birdies to create a piece of history as his 31 was the lowest score for the opening nine holes when the event has been held at Oakmont.
In a blemish-free showing, Spaun made nine pars afterwards to score a 66, a joint record, leading on four under.
The American, who was runner-up in this year's Players Championship after losing a play-off to McIlroy, leads Thriston Lawrence by one shot, with Si-Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka and Sung-Jae Im another shot further back.
"All you've been hearing is how hard this place is, and it’s hard to not hear the noise and see what’s on social media," said Spaun.
"You’re just kind of only hearing about how hard this course is.
"I was actually pretty nervous. But I actually tried to harness that, the nerves, the anxiety, because it kind of heightens my focus, makes me swing better, I guess.
"I just tried to kind of take what the course gave me. I hit a lot of good shots and tried to capitalise on any birdie opportunities, which aren’t very many out here.
"But I scrambled really well, too, which is a huge component to playing well at a US Open, let alone shoot a bogey-free round.
"I’m just overly pleased with how I started the tournament."
World number one Scottie Scheffler endured a difficult time of it, carding half a dozen bogeys on his way to a 73.
Joining him on three-over was defending champion Bryson DeChambeau after late bogeys on the 15th and 16th.
His playing partner, the reigning Open champion Xander Schauffele, recovered from a tough spell in the middle of his round to record two closing birdies to sit on two over.
The Irish duo will begin their second round on Friday at 6.25pm.
Unfortunately for amateur Matt Vogt, who is a dentist by profession, it was like pulling teeth.
The 34-year-old, who made it through qualification, used to caddie at Oakmont but that did not help much as he carded a 12-over-par 82 and will be back in the dental practice next week.
It could not have been at a more fitting venue as Vogt, who is from Pittsburgh and was given the honour of hitting the first tee shot of the tournament, used to caddie for members at Oakmont before he went to university.
However, that did not count for much after a punishing first round, which saw him suffer six bogeys and three double bogeys to card a 12-over-par 82.
But, the 34-year-old said: "I came in with such optimism for this golf course, but it is so hard. It’s just so, so hard.
"I’d say in the moment you feel like you get punched in the face, but ultimately, I’d say it was fun.
"Honestly, I think anything in golf and life, you have to look at things like this as just kind of another blip on the radar of your life and your experience.
"That’s much easier said than done. It’s the US Open. For me to just say it’s just another golf tournament would be lying to myself.
"Again, I think down the road there will definitely be a lot of things to take from today.
"I mean, how could any other golf tournament feel more like this or more full of pressure like this? I mean, it’s the US Open.
"I’m trying to have a silver lining on shooting 82."
