By Mark Lamport-Stokes UNIVERSITY PLACE, Washington (Reuters) – Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia led a chorus of criticism of the greens during the U.S. Open first round on Thursday but former champion Geoff Ogilvy felt that good putters “would prevail”. World number one McIlroy and eighth-ranked Garcia had both described the putting surfaces at Chambers Bay as too bumpy and below par while American left-hander Phil Mickelson bemoaned the lack
Phil Mickelson was among the first players to embrace the quirks of Chambers Bay. The six-time U.S. Open runner-up birdied two of his first five holes Thursday, quickly moving to the top of the leaderboard. Mickelson also hit a sweeping draw out of knee-high fescue at the par-4 fourth hole, eventually making par out of a tee shot that could have been much worse.
June 18 (Reuters) – Latest first round leaderboard in the 115th U.S. Open at par-70 Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, on Thursday (U.S. unless stated, a- denotes amateur): Par Holes P. Mickelson -2 5 H. Stenson (Sweden) -2 3 C. Gribble -1 6 K. Barnes (Australiia) -1 6 G. Woodland -1 5 R. Streb -1 4 a-L. McCoy -1 4 M. Kawamura (Japan) -1 3 H. Matsuyama (Japan) -1
Phil Mickelson made a storming start to the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay on Thursday as the world’s top golfers tried to get to grips with the largely untested links layout. The 45-year-old American had birdies at the third and fifth to dip to two under par on the testing par-70 course. Conditions overlooking the scenic Puget Sound in Washington state were ideal for scoring with light cloud cover
