Rory McIlroy overshadows Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele at U.S. Open

PINEHURST, N.C. – Rory McIlroy was the unquestioned star of the U.S. Open’s premiere pairing Thursday. While McIlroy shot 65 to share the first-round lead with Patrick Cantlay, both Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler failed to break par.

Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy represent the top three players in the Official World Golf Ranking and were placed in the same group for the U.S. Open’s first two rounds. Scheffler is No. 1 in the world, followed by Schauffele and then McIlroy.

“I enjoy playing in these groups. When you've been out here for, whatever it is, 16 or 17 years, sometimes you need a little extra to get the juices going, and being in a group like that definitely helps,” said McIlroy.

Schauffele, who won his first major at last month’s PGA Championship, shot 70. Scheffler shot 71, just days after picking up his fifth win of the season at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

For Scheffler, it was his first over-par opening round in a major since a first-round 71 at the PGA Championship in 2022. He hit just six fairways Thursday, which made scoring difficult. He made just two birdies, at the par-4 seventh and then at the par-3 17th. The latter got him back to 1 over par for the day.

“I didn’t hit it, chip it or putt it very well,” Scheffler said. “But other than that, I played well.”

Scheffler’s victory Sunday at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday was his fifth in his previous eight starts. He also has two runners-up in that span and has finished no worse than eighth. He has finished in the top 10 in five of his past six majors.

Schauffele, who has finished in the top 15 in all seven of his U.S. Open starts, is one stroke ahead of Scheffler and just one stroke outside the top 10 after Round 1. He made four birdies Thursday but also had four bogeys. Like Scheffler, he only hit six fairways.

McIlroy, Scheffler and Schauffele are scheduled to tee off at 7:29 a.m. Friday. Morning tee times typically play slightly easier, so the early tee time should help Scheffler and Schauffele in their quest to move up the leaderboard.