Rory McIlroy tops US open day one leaderboard after battle with Boston beast

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Riled-up Rory McIlroy survived a couple of mini meltdowns to surge to the top of the US Open leaderboard on day one at Brookline.

The Northern Irish ace got off to a flier with a superb three under par 67 to set the early pace.McIlroy battled with the notorious Boston beast – as well as a few of his own demons – and came out on top.The 33-year-old took a couple of angry swipes in a bunker on his back nine after struggling to move his ball a few yards in to another sand trap.And there was another blow out when he lobbed his club away in disgust after missing his approach to the final hole.He was left raging at dropping a shot at the last but still at the top end of the leaderboard going in to tomorrow’s second round.Teeing off at the 10th, McIlroy was dialled in from the off.

The Northern Irishman reeled off six pars to lay the foundations before picking up birdies after sinking decent length putts at the 16th and 18th to reach the turn in two under par.McIlroy was in control but the first real fist pump of the day came at the second hole - and it wasn’t for making a bridie.

Brookline doesn’t have the nightmare hack-it-out-rough usually seen at US Open venues. But it does have some nasty patches best avoided.McIlroy found one such horror spot after a rare wayward tee shot at the short par 3 11th.It took a brilliant mix of brute strength and killer touch to thrash his ball out of the spinach to about 20 feet.Pouring in the par putt made it a superb recovery and kept the round well on track.The calm display went right out of the window at the fifth though – McIlroy had a minor meltdown.The 33-year-old miraculously managed to scramble a thrilling par in dramatic fashion.He dumped his ball in a horrible spot next to a bunker