Leaderboard
At Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, No. 2
Round 1
Martin Kaymer 34-31—65 -5
Kevin Na 34-34—68 -2
Graeme McDowell 34-34—68 -2
Brendon De Jonge 34-34—68 -2
Fran Quinn 34-34—68 -2
Brandt Snedeker 31-38—69 -1
Henrik Stenson 35-34—69 -1
Matt Kuchar 32-37—69 -1
Brendon Todd 34-35—69 -1
Jordan Spieth 36-33—69 -1
Hideki Matsuyama 34-35—69 -1
Dustin Johnson 34-35—69 -1
Harris English 34-35—69 -1
Keegan Bradley 33-36—69 -1
Francesco Molinari 36-33—69 -1
Henrik Norlander 35-35—70 E
Lucas Bjerregaard 35-35—70 E
Marcel Siem 37-33—70 E
Ian Poulter 35-35—70 E
Phil Mickelson 36-34—70 E
Joost Luiten 36-34—70 E
Russell Henley 34-36—70 E
Rickie Fowler 35-35—70 E
Aaron Baddeley 38-32—70 E
Brooks Koepka 33-37—70 E
Mark Wilson 35-35—70 E
Jimmy Walker 34-36—70 E
Victor Dubuisson 35-35—70 E
Steve Stricker 35-35—70 E
Charl Schwartzel 36-34—70 E
Paul Casey 37-33—70 E
J.B. Holmes 36-34—70 E
Jamie Donaldson 35-35—70 E
Seung-Yul Noh 33-37—70 E
Danny Willett 36-34—70 E
Pablo Larrazabal 37-34—71 +1
Patrick Reed 35-36—71 +1
Boo Weekley 36-35—71 +1
Webb Simpson 35-36—71 +1
Rory McIlroy 36-35—71 +1
Zach Johnson 33-38—71 +1
a-Matthew Fitzpatrick 37-34—71 +1
Chris Kirk 35-36—71 +1
Billy Hurley III 35-36—71 +1
a-Oliver Goss 35-36—71 +1
Garth Mulroy 34-37—71 +1
John Senden 38-33—71 +1
Louis Oosthuizen 35-36—71 +1
Zac Blair 35-36—71 +1
Daniel Berger 35-37—72 +2
Erik Compton 35-37—72 +2
Scott Langley 38-34—72 +2
Miguel Angel Jimenez 37-35—72 +2
Justin Rose 33-39—72 +2
Nicholas Lindheim 37-35—72 +2
Graeme Storm 37-35—72 +2
Nicolas Colsaerts 37-35—72 +2
Bill Haas 37-35—72 +2
Stewart Cink 35-37—72 +2
Gary Woodland 38-34—72 +2
Jason Dufner 33-39—72 +2
Bernd Wiesberger 36-36—72 +2
Toru Taniguchi 36-36—72 +2
Bo Van Pelt 36-36—72 +2
Kevin Tway 34-38—72 +2
Simon Griffiths 35-37—72 +2
Cody Gribble 35-37—72 +2
Sergio Garcia 37-36—73 +3
Jason Day 36-37—73 +3
Stephen Gallacher 36-37—73 +3
David Toms 39-34—73 +3
Thongchai Jaidee 36-37—73 +3
Jeff Maggert 37-36—73 +3
Shiv Kapur 38-35—73 +3
Smylie Kaufman 37-36—73 +3
Clayton Rask 34-39—73 +3
Alex Cejka 38-35—73 +3
Joe Ogilvie 35-38—73 +3
Jim Furyk 38-35—73 +3
Shane Lowry 35-38—73 +3
Adam Scott 36-37—73 +3
Retief Goosen 38-35—73 +3
Geoff Ogilvy 33-40—73 +3
Hyung-Sung Kim 35-38—73 +3
Rod Pampling 36-37—73 +3
Luke Guthrie 39-34—73 +3
Ryan Blaum 36-37—73 +3
Chad Collins 37-37—74 +4
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 35-39—74 +4
Roberto Castro 35-39—74 +4
Matt Jones 37-37—74 +4
Angel Cabrera 37-37—74 +4
Kenny Perry 36-38—74 +4
Craig Barlow 35-39—74 +4
Wen-Chong Liang 35-39—74 +4
Matt Dobyns 37-37—74 +4
a-Maverick McNealy 38-36—74 +4
Oliver Fisher 37-37—74 +4
Casey Wittenberg 36-38—74 +4
Andres Echavarria 37-37—74 +4
Ernie Els 37-37—74 +4
Hunter Mahan 37-37—74 +4
Ryan Palmer 35-39—74 +4
Jim Renner 35-39—74 +4
Chris Doak 40-34—74 +4
Rob Oppenheim 39-36—75 +5
Brian Stuard 38-37—75 +5
Andrea Pavan 36-39—75 +5
Kevin Kisner 36-39—75 +5
Lee Westwood 37-38—75 +5
Billy Horschel 37-38—75 +5
Kevin Sutherland 39-36—75 +5
Justin Thomas 37-38—75 +5
David Oh 38-37—75 +5
Ken Duke 41-34—75 +5
Justin Leonard 36-39—75 +5
Y.E. Yang 35-40—75 +5
Darren Clarke 38-37—75 +5
Graham DeLaet 37-38—75 +5
Kevin Streelman 36-39—75 +5
a-Hunter Stewart 36-39—75 +5
Matt Every 37-39—76 +6
Ryan Moore 36-40—76 +6
Nick Watney 38-38—76 +6
Maximilian Kieffer 36-40—76 +6
a-Brian Campbell 39-37—76 +6
Steven Alker 38-38—76 +6
Niclas Fasth 36-40—76 +6
Hudson Swafford 35-41—76 +6
Bubba Watson 38-38—76 +6
Gonzalo Fdez-Castano 38-38—76 +6
David Gossett 39-37—76 +6
a-Sam Love 35-41—76 +6
Brett Stegmaier 39-38—77 +7
D.A. Points 39-38—77 +7
Jonas Blixt 38-39—77 +7
Brady Watt 39-38—77 +7
a-Will Grimmer 35-42—77 +7
Kevin Stadler 39-38—77 +7
Luke Donald 37-40—77 +7
a-Cory Whitsett 40-37—77 +7
Azuma Yano 39-38—77 +7
a-Cameron Wilson 40-38—78 +8
Aron Price 38-40—78 +8
a-Robby Shelton 39-39—78 +8
Nick Mason 38-40—78 +8
Anthony Broussard 40-38—78 +8
Robert Allenby 39-40—79 +9
Tom Lewis 42-37—79 +9
Bobby Gates 40-39—79 +9
Lucas Glover 37-42—79 +9
a-Andrew Dorn 43-36—79 +9
Chris Thompson 38-42—80 +10
Kiyoshi Miyazato 42-39—81 +11
a-Brandon McIver 40-42—82 +12
Donald Constable 42-40—82 +12
PINEHURST, N.C. — There was something unusual in the opening round of the U.S. Open.
A bunch of scores in the 60s.
The best one of all was turned in by Martin Kaymer.
His confidence spurred by a win at The Players Championship, Kaymer birdied three of the last five holes Thursday for a 5-under 65, the lowest score from any of the three Opens played at Pinehurst No. 2.
The German got up and down for par at the 18th hole, rolling in a testy 6-foot putt to beat the 66 shot by Sweden's Peter Hedblom during the second round in 2005.
Graeme McDowell, Kevin Na and Brendon de Jonge were three shots back.
Kaymer beat a loaded field at The Players last month, snapping a stretch of 29 tournaments without a victory stretching over 18 months.
"I needed a win," Kaymer said. "Whether it was The Players or a regular PGA Tour event, I just needed it for my confidence, for all the hard work I've put in the last couple of years."
Ten other players were in the clubhouse at 69, meaning there were more under-par rounds in this opening round than the last two years combined.
At Merion a year ago, only five players broke par on Thursday.
At Olympic Club in 2012, there were just six scores in the 60s.
No one expected Pinehurst to stay this inviting through the weekend.
"There was some moisture on the greens and you were able to hold shots," Na said. "I was able to capitalize on a good tee time. But there's a long way to go. Obviously, I'm 2-under par right now, but at the end of the tournament even par is going to win this championship."
That's still a good bet.
The last two Open champions finished over par.
Phil Mickelson got off to a strong start as well in his bid for the career Grand Slam, attacking the course with deft iron shots on the way to a 70.
McDowell, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2010, was as steady as can be on this Donald Ross masterpiece, which has undergone a drastic makeover to restore its rustic look, with patches of natural vegetation — better known as weeds — taking the place of thick, lush rough.
The Northern Irishman bounced back from his only bogey at No. 4 with an eagle 3 at the par-five fifth hole. He added another birdie at the 14th and the rest of his card was filled in with pars, just the sort of solid, mistake-free golf that is required in the U.S. Open.
"You don't have to strike it amazing around here," McDowell said. "You just have to position the ball correctly at all times."
Na also made an eagle at No. 5 on the way to the best Open round of his career. He missed the cuts in 2010 and 2011, and finished 9 over at his last Open two years ago.
After thick cloud cover made things easier for the morning players, the blistering sun broke through and the temperature climbed to 90 by mid-afternoon. Still, there were low scores to be had, with 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Henrik Stenson among the big group at 69.
Not everyone was thriving. The world's top-ranked player, Adam Scott, shot 73. Masters champion Bubba Watson sprayed shots all over the place on the way to a 76.
Spieth was in the thick of things again, making four birdies to put himself in contention at another major championship. He was tied for the lead heading to the final round of both the Masters and The Players Championship, but couldn't close out either on Sunday. It seems just a matter of time before the young Texan claims a career-defining triumph.
Maybe it will be at Pinehurst.
"I had a lot of fun today. You don't normally say that at the U.S. Open," Spieth said. "I was able to get into the flow early, and able to keep it going. One-under — I would take that four times."
Mickelson already has five majors, but this is the one he wants more than any other. Lefty has been the runner-up a record six times in this event, denying him the only big title missing from his resume. He has changed his grip to deal with a shaky putter, hoping that would help bring his first victory since capturing the British Open last July.
"This is a golf course where I get similar feeling to Augusta," Mickelson said. "You don't have to be perfect. You always have a chance. It is challenging. There are difficult shots. But they're manageable."
In recent weeks, Mickelson has been linked to an insider trading investigation. Clearly, he was able to stay focused on the course.
"I haven't done anything wrong," he said. "I'm willing to help out and would love to help out any way I can with the investigation."
Rory McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open in a rout at Congressional, opened with a 71.
Defending champion Justin Rose, who held off Mickelson a year ago at Merion, shot 72. There hasn't been a repeat winner in this championship since Curtis Strange in 1988-89.
