Patrick Cantlay racked up six birdies and Rory McIlroy played a bogey-free round on their ways to five-under-par 65s to share the first-round lead at the US Open in Pinehurst.
Cantlay established the lead early in the day, and McIlroy, the 2011 champion, had birdies on two of the final three holes playing in the afternoon.
Sweden's Ludvig Aberg shot 66 to hold third place.
France's Matthieu Pavon had a pair of eagles during the first 10 holes. He ended up shooting 67, a mark later matched by 2020 champion Bryson DeChambeau.
Tony Finau, Akshay Bhatia from nearby Raleigh and England's Tyrrell Hatton shot 68s to share sixth place.
Golfers had to negotiate the tricky greens on Pinehurst No.2 along with the increasing heat of the day.
Cantlay began the round on No.10. He got better later in the round, with four birdies on the first eight holes on the front side.
"Feeling good about my game," he said. "I've been working hard. I have to just keep putting myself in the fairway, giving myself opportunities and I did a good job of that."
This is the first time Cantlay has led or co-led in a major.
Pavon became the first golfer to ever record multiple eagles in the same US Open round at Pinehurst. His first breakthrough came with an eagle on No.5 and later on No.10 - the course's two par-5 holes - where he rolled in putts of 18 feet and 27 feet.
He reached five under before his first bogey on the par-4 11th.
After the second eagle, Pavon played the final eight holes in two over.
It was a rough day for Tiger Woods, who shot 74 with two birdies - both on the par-5 holes - and six bogeys.
Woods, who began the round on the back nine, birdied his first hole. But a seven-hole stretch with five bogeys sent him tumbling down the standings.
"I didn't hit my irons particularly well," Woods said. "... But I drove it on a string all day. Unfortunately, I just didn't capitalise on it."
Woods, a three-time US Open champion who received a special exemption for entry to the tournament, added that he was off on the speed of his putts.
"If I clean that up and I hit a couple of iron shots not as loose as I did, I'm right there at even par," he said.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler had a lacklustre 71. Defending champion Wyndham Clark managed just one birdie during his round of 73.
with Reuters
