Rory McIlroy lies just one shot back of first-round leader Adam Hadwin after a three-under 67 at the Brookline Country Club. The Northern Irishman hasn’t got his hands on a major since 2014 and he’s focused on ending the drought. “It’s been eight years since I won a major, and I just want to get my hands on one again,” he said after his round.
When is it?
The second round of the US Open is today, Friday, June 16. The final round will be on Sunday June 19.
What time will it start?
Local time on the East Coast is five hours behind British Summer Time. That means the early starters will begin their first rounds around noon UK time. The full field may not complete their rounds until the early hours.
What TV channel is it on?
The event will be shown live on Sky Sports. Alternatively, bookmark this page and follow Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of all four days.
Latest news
Adam Hadwin of Canada fired a four-under-par 66 late Thursday to secure the first-round lead in the US Open at The Country Club in Brookline.
Hadwin moved ahead of Rory McIlroy, who shared the lead at the conclusion of his round and ended up in a five-way tie for second place at three-under 67.
McIlroy, a four-time major champion from Northern Ireland, was tied with Joel Dahmen, England’s Callum Tarren, David Lingmerth of Sweden and MJ Daffue of South Africa. Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose of England, Dustin Johnson, Hayden Buckley, Matthew NeSmith, Brian Harman and Aaron Wise were tied for seventh at two-under 68.
Hadwin compiled five birdies in a six-hole stretch to make the turn at four-under 31. That included three straight birdies at Nos. 7-9, with his second shot at the par-4 ninth rolling to inside three feet of the pin.
After a bogey at the par-4 12th, Hadwin recovered with a birdie at the par-4 13th to re-establish himself as the sole leader.
“Not much better of a start to a U.S. Open … that you can ask for,” Hadwin told reporters. “I did a lot of good things. Got on a nice run there midway through the front. Then I kind of just held down the fort there the last little bit. Some key up-and-downs. Made a nice one from the fringe on 13. Just doing a lot of good things.”
Hadwin, 34, earned his only PGA Tour victory in 2017. He has never finished inside the top 20 at a major.
“Sixty-six at a U.S. Open to take the first-round lead is incredible,” Hadwin said. “It’s amazing. It’s something … nobody can ever take away from me at this point, but I have bigger things in my mind.”
McIlroy entered as the odds-on U.S. Open favourite after he won the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday. He stayed hot, starting his day on the back nine with two birdies before holing back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to reach 4 under.
But a tough shot from off the ninth green left him a long par putt he couldn’t convert, and his only bogey of the round left him out of the outright lead at the end of the day.
“I wanted to try to shoot a round of golf on a really tough course without making a bogey,” McIlroy said on the NBC broadcast. “I achieved that for 17 holes and then didn’t quite save par there at the last. But overall a really good day. Had some really good par savers. Hit the ball pretty well and it’s a great start to the tournament.”
What happened last year?
Jon Rahm became the first US Open champion from Spain when he finished with two brilliant birdies to outlast Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke at Torrey Pines.
An emotional Rahm dedicated the victory to his late compatriot Seve Ballesteros, the man who put Spain on the golfing map by winning five major titles before dying of brain cancer at age 54.
“This is definitely for Seve. I know he wanted to win this one most of all,” said Rahm. Rahm fired a final-round 67 for a six-under-par 278 total, and was confirmed as the champion when Oosthuizen was unable to eagle the closing par-five.
What are the latest odds?
Rory McIlroy 4/1
Justin Thomas 10/1
Jon Rahm 11/1
Matt Fitzpatrick 11/1
Scottie Scheffler 16/1
Collin Morikawa 18/1
Dustin Johnson 20/1