Rory McIlroy struggled in his opening round at the US Open, suffering a significant setback in his hopes of a second major victory of the year.
McIlroy began promisingly at Oakmont – a course notorious for its difficulty – but after being two under through nine holes the Masters champion unravelled with four bogeys and a double bogey as he posted a four-over 74.
It proved to be a challenging day across the board, however, with only five players from round one’s morning wave ending under par.
Reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau was another to struggle in the opening round, with the American posting a three-over 73.
JJ Spaun, who McIlroy beat in a play-off to win The Players Championship in March, currently leads the way on four under. The American became just the eighth player to card a bogey-free round at Oakmont in US Open history.
Watch and learn! 👇👇👇
Every televised shot from J.J. Spaun’s bogey-free 66, just the 8th flawless round in U.S. Open history at Oakmont. pic.twitter.com/fuQnyLMgL9
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025
While McIlroy chose not to speak to the media post-round, DeChambeau admitted that his performance was not up to scratch.
“Just didn’t get anything out of it,” said DeChambeau. “I kept it 1-under through 7, through 8, perfect drive on 9, and this golf course can come up and get you pretty quick and you’ve just got to be on your game, and it got me, and I wasn’t fully on my game. Pretty disappointed with how I played.
“It’s not too far off. Just got to get the putting a little bit more dialled, and I’ll be right there because 3-over could have easily been 2-under today. For whatever reason, just couldn’t get the speed of the greens dialled in.
“I was in the collar a couple times, just three-putted on those holes, and three three-putts and doing whatever happened on 12, then No. 9, three-putting there, too. I mean, it could have been a couple-under round pretty easily.
“I think the rough is incredibly penalizing. Even for a guy like me, I can’t get out of it some of the times, depending on the lie. It was tough. It was a brutal test of golf. But one that I’m excited for tomorrow. If I just tidy up a couple things and get some momentum going my way, we’ll see where it goes.”
