Rory McIlroy takes first round lead at the US Open
Rory Mcilroy takes first round lead at the US Open Reuters

A superb first round score of six under has put Rory Mcilroy at the top of the leader board at the end of play of day one at the 111<sup>th US Open. Rory Millroy keen to forget his meltdown at the the Masters earlier this year shot a superb round of 65 that has put himself three shots ahead of the chasing pack. Mcilroy was be eager to build on his first round score and avoid any repeat of his Master's collapse.

It was a master class from tee to green from the young Irish man as he put himself into the lead with some stunning stroke play. It was a near flawless performance from Mcilroy who took to the course superbly well, attacked his shots and completely outshone his partners. Mclilroy hit seventeen out of eighteen greens in a regulation display of stunning ball hitting.

It was his putting that was most impressive. He was calm and highly assured, knowing what puts to attack and which to hold. His playing partners, Phil Mickleson and Dustin Johnson simply couldn't keep up with both the pace of Mcllroy's play and his supreme consistency. His superb round included six birdies, contained no bogies, which leaves him three clear of the field on six under par.

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has kept pace with the Irish man after a stunning back nine put the South African back in contention. Schwartzel bounced back from a disappointing first nine to stun the crowd with his second. He birdied four out of five holes in a stunning display that was reminiscent of his charge for the Masters title earlier this year.

It was a disappointing round for the world's top three players with Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer all struggling to find their game. Mcilroy's playing partners, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson carded 74 and 75 respectively as Mcilroy established himself the firm favourite for the title.

Leaderboard - Top 10

Rory McIlroy-6 18

E. Yang-3 18, Charl Schwartzel-3 18Sergio

Garcia-2 18, Louis Oosthuizen-2 18, Ryan Palmer-2 18, Alexandre Rocha-2 18, Scott Hend-2 18, Kyung-Tae Kim-2 18,

Johan Edfors-1 18