Defending champion Graeme McDowell said he accomplished his mission on Thursday by putting himself in the thick of the hunt in the first round of the US Open golf championship.
The Northern Irishman posted a one-under 70 at Congressional Country Club to put his name on the leaderboard among the early starters.
“I felt really good this morning. I felt normal,” said 31-year-old McDowell, who won his first major at last year’s US Open at Pebble Beach. “It felt like a regular major championship. It didn’t feel like I was defending anything.
“I set myself some challenges this morning, to go out and try ... to go through my processes correctly, through my routines, and just be patient and enjoy the round.”
McDowell bogeyed the first hole but bounced back with a birdie at number two and another at the par-five sixth. He parred the next 12 holes, narrowly missing on a few good birdie opportunities, to complete a solid 70.
The Briton said it was not all smooth sailing, as he had to navigate changing conditions as winds picked up.
“Holes like 15 and 16 played different than what we saw in practice. I hit nine-iron on 15, and in practice I’ve been going on with three- and four-irons. You had to adapt your game plan a little bit,” he said.
“But I kept it in play well. I played smart golf. My iron play could have been better, but all in all, very happy with most departments today.”
McDowell also experienced something out of the ordinary at the ninth hole, where he had to mark his ball on the fairway after British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen’s approach shot nestled right next to the Northern Irishman’s ball. – Reuters
(B>Scores
(US unless stated): 65: Rory McIlroy (Nir); 68: Yang Yong-eun (Kor), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa); 69: Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Ryan Palmer, Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Scott Hend (Aus), Kim Kyung-tae (Kor), Sergio Garcia (Spa);
70: Chez Reavie, Stewart Cink, Graeme McDowell (Nir), Henrik Stenson (Swe), Johan Edfors (Swe), Davis Love, Bubba Dickerson, John Senden (Aus), Robert Garrigus, Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Brandt Snedeker, Robert Rock (Eng); 71: Heath Slocum, Angel Cabrera (Arg), Padraig Harrington (Irl), Jason Day (Aus), Bubba Watson, Brandt Jobe, Bud Cauley, Zach Johnson, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Charley Hoffman, David May, Christopher Deforest;
72: Shane Lowry (Irl), Harrison Frazar, Matt Kuchar, Peter Uihlein, J.J. Henry, Jeff Overton, Brad Benjamin, Christo Greyling (Rsa), Noh Seung-yul (Kor), Peter Hanson (Swe), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa); 73: Marc Leishman (Aus), Kevin Streelman, Brian Gay, Russell Henley, Paul Casey (Eng), Ernie Els (Rsa), Bill Haas, Scott Piercy, Gary Woodland, Stephen Gallacher (Sco), Retief Goosen (Rsa), Martin Laird (Sco), Todd Hamilton, Ryan Moore, Robert Allenby (Aus), Kenichi Kuboya (Jpn), Kim Do-hoon (Kor);
74: Justin Hicks, Kang Sung-hoon (Kor), Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Anthony Kim, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Luke Donald (Eng), Jim Furyk, Adam Scott (Aus), Justin Rose (Eng), Sam Saunders, D.A. Points, John Ellis, Pan Cheng-tsung (Tpe), Michael Putnam, David Toms, Phil Mickelson, Matteo Manassero (Ita), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Chris Wilson;
75: Alex Cejka (Ger), Thomas Levet (Fra), Fred Funk, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Lee Westwood (Eng), Jonathan Byrd, Webb Simpson, Tim Petrovic, Matthew Edwards, Adam Hadwin (Can), Michael Tobiason, Scott Barr (Aus), Patrick Cantlay, Jason Dufner, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Nick Watney, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Ian Poulter (Eng), Briny Baird, Alexander Noren (Swe), Bae Sang-moon (Kor), Brian Locke, Wes Heffernan (Can), Ryan Nelson;
76: Chad Campbell, Marc Turnesa, Greg Chalmers (Aus), Kirk Triplett, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Joey Lamielle, Adam Long, Michael Smith, Jesse Hutchins, Bo Van Pelt, Lucas Glover, Kevin Chappell, Jon Mills (Can), Bennett Blakeman, Beau Hossler, Chris Williams; 77: Brad Adamonis, Gregory Havret (Fra), K.J. Choi (Kor), Nick O’Hern (Aus), Zack Byrd, Michael Whitehead, Geoffrey Sisk, Matt Richardson (Eng), Ben Crane, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Camilo Villegas (Col), Brett Patterson, Elliot Gealy;
78: Robert Dinwiddie (Eng), Mark Wilson, David Howell (Eng), Andreas Harto (Den), Steven Irwin; 79: Kim Dae-hyun (Kor), Marcel Siem (Ger), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Will Wilcox, Andres Gonzales, Maarten Lafeber (Hol), Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn), Scott Pinckney; 80: Kevin Na; 82: David Chung; 83: Michael Barbosa; 84: Ty Tryon.