While no hole at Shinnecock Hills could be described as easy, the first is a friendly opening to the round.

Most players are hitting irons or hybrids off the tee for position and Jon Rahm, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth are all away with fairway finders from the elevated tee.

A fast start to round two for Scotland's finest.

Bob MacIntyre arrows his tee shot down the middle of the 10th fairway and follows that with a pin-seeker to five feet to set up an early birdie chance. And it's one the man from Oban tucks into the hole.

Amateur Ryder Cowan is having an absolute dream US Open debut, with the 21-year-old picking up his first birdie of the day to move to three under for the tournament.

Amazingly Cowan managed to hit 14 out of 14 fairways yesterday but he's miles off it today, managing to hit just four of five so far today, useless...

That sort of accuracy will take you a long way around Shinnecock.

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Disappointment for Gary Woodland at the par-three second as he immediately gives back the shot he won at the first after finding the sand off the tee.

Dustin Johnson dodges the same fate with a well-judged par save from nine feet while Wyndham Clark also cards a three and moves on.

Bryson DeChambeau laughs as he blasts his tee shot on the second miles wide, and short, of the green on the long par three - playing 262 yards today!

He gets lucky with a decent lie in between the bunkers albeit with some rough stuff around him, but the chip is elite and leaves a tap-in for par.

Speaking of elite shot games, cross-handed Matt Fitzpatrick almost holes out from just off the front of the green with another stunner of a chip.

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Jon, Justin and Jordan were all on the links at 06:35 local time (11:35) to tidy up their opening rounds.

Justin Rose fared the best, finishing with successive birdies on the eighth and ninth holes to get himself right back in the mix, 13 years on from his victory at Merion.

Jordan Spieth is by no means out of it though, and the 2015 champion closed with two pars, as did Jon Rahm who was the only man to complete the opening round without a bogey on his card.

That is some achievement by the Spaniard who has two top-10s and a joint 12th since winning this title in 2021.

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Robert MacIntyre is one to keep an eye on today after a fine finish to round one.

He picked up four shots in his final eight holes to come in at level par.

Remember he came second last year at Oakmont and would love to go one better this year.

That's an ideal start for Gary Woodland. Scintillating approach shot and a fine birdie from two-and-a-half feet.

He's almost followed into the cup by Dustin Johnson who shows tremendous touch from 60 feet to nudge it tight.

Par for DJ and leader Wyndham Clark.

A really quick turnaround for this group! At least Matt Fitzpatrick can slip his golf shoes back on quickly without needing to tie any laces...

He has a first birdie look on the opening hole, still about 20 feet so more of a half chance and he's off walking after it as soon as it leaves the blade as he's not happy with that one. Just a par.

Bryson DeChambeau left himself 30 feet after his approach and also makes an opening four - as does Viktor Hovland as he still searches for a first birdie of the tournament.

Jon Rahm sees a curling birdie putt slide agonisingly across the face of the hole, but he taps it in for his 16th par of the opening round to go along with two birdies in his 68 - with ZERO bogeys.

Not one single player managed a bogey-free round at the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, but Rahm was in total control of his golf ball throughout that round - admittedly, yes, in the best of conditions.

Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth both struggle somewhat, but they're not a million miles away and since this group will bounce back out again there's a chance they could turn things around quickly.

The below graph shows the metrics for the leading contenders in round one.

Let me summarise - they were good off the tee, they were good at putting and they were good on approach.

Their around-the-green numbers are not as strong, likely because they didn't need to be.

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What a three-ball this is contending at the top of the US Open leaderboard.

Will it be redemption for Wyndham Clark, given this time last year he was reprimanding for smashing up a locker at Oakmont Country Club when he missed the cut at the 2025 US Open?

Or the return of Dustin Johnson, a majestic champion, who just has not been a factor since moving to LIV Golf in 2022?

Then there's Gary Woodland, winner in 2019, but since having undergone brain surgery and suffered with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

I can't wait to cover this group.

There's been some talk on social media, so take it with a pinch of salt, about the course being too easy - specifically the greens being soft and allowing players to spin their golf balls on approach shots.

The USGA took the decision to soften the greens due to high winds expected, and Tommy Fleetwood feels they got the course just about right.

Jon Rahm has a chance to get to three under as he leaves himself just six feet on the eighth, but he lets the chance go begging and has to make do with par.

One more hole to go before this group can get back into the clubhouse, grab a very quick drink, snack or whatever before they'll quickly be back out there again for round two.

A glance down the top five shows a host of former champions from the past decade are right in the mix once again at a US Open.

So, tell us. Which ex-winners would you like to see competing for the trophy again and why?

You can go recent - or you can go way back.

Let us know using the big yellow form on this very page.

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Right, what's going on I hear you all cry? Well, we're in that twilight zone that sometimes happens in the majors where we have a handful of players still finishing off round one while some have already started out for round two!

Wyndham Clark leads the way after his insane round of 64, with playing partners Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland in hot pursuit - and Matt Fitzpatrick right there as well.

Jon Rahm still has a couple of holes to play in round one and is currently fifth - alongside amateur star Ryder Cowan who is a couple of holes into his second round.

Current leaderboard:

-6 Clark (64)

-4 D. Johnson (66)

-3 M. Fitzpatrick Woodland (67)

-2 Cowan (2), Rahm (16*), Stevens (68)

-1 McIlroy, Aberg, McGreevy, Harman, Conners, James (69)

Full leaderboard

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That's a round of DJ's greatest hits from Dustin Johnson with yet another birdie to finish with as he signs for a 66 - although he wasn't even in the best in his group!

He was one shot better than 2019 winner Gary Woodland but two off Wyndham Clark, the 2023 US Open champion in Los Angeles after his stunning 64.

It's clear the late starters got some glorious conditions to play in, but you've still got to hit the shots. It's also blindingly obvious just when the perfect spell of weather was - just after this group started their back nine.

They were firing darts at these unusually soft greens across the first five holes on the course - Johnson, Woodland and Clark playing them in a combined nine under with ninie birdies, one eagle and just two bogeys.

And they may just be able to build on their great form as they'll be heading back out for round two within the next 30 minutes or so.

Bryson DeChambeau ends his first round with a bogey to drop back to level par for the round, but much better than that Viktor Hovland's disappointing 76 given he was playing in the best of conditions.

But Matt Fitzpatrick is right at the sharp end after very nice round of 67 containing six birdies and theee bogeys leaving him in just three shots off the lead.

Just time for a quick coffee and for this group as they're back out again for their second round in about half an hour!

What year is this? As Dustin Johnson is playing like the Dustin Johnson who won the US Open in 2016 and then went on to become world number one a year later - and also hoover up The Masters in 2020.

He's missed six cuts from the last 11 majors but did manage his two best LIV Golf results of the season in the last two events, so the clue was there.

But still, adding a seventh birdie of his first round this morning to move to three under is something nobody really expected - especially that rampant run of four straight birdies he reeled off yesterday.

Gary Woodland, another former US Open champion, has also made a birdie this morning and he's right up there challenging. These late starters yesterday really have lucked out with conditions so far.