GOLF – Scottie Scheffler endured a shaky start in his bid to complete a career Grand Slam in first-round US Open action yesterday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, while Masters champion Rory McIlroy finished one stroke adrift of clubhouse leader Sam Stevens.
Play was delayed for two hours early in the day due to fog.
Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, is making his first attempt at completing the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors after winning last year’s PGA Championship and British Open but trails the top of the leaderboard with a two-over par 72.
The American had one birdie against a pair of bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine, where he struggled with his putter.
He put three circles on the back half of the course against two bogeys, including another misjudged putt on the par-five 16th hole.
Windy conditions with gusts up to 34 mph (54.7 kph) tested the field at the famously tricky Southampton course, where the Northern Irishman McIlroy started on the back nine and grinned as a gust of wind knocked his hat off at the 13th tee, appearing at ease even as a pair of bogeys offset his two early birdies.
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