Rory McIlroy lost his temper during the opening round of the US Open after a mistake on his 14th hole threatened to derail a strong start.
The Northern Irishman, who started his bid for a first major since 2014 with six straight pars from the 10th tee, had put himself into contention on the opening day and was two-under par with five holes left to play.
Having been among the early starters, McIlroy featured towards the top of a leaderboard that also contained defending champion Jon Rahm and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, with the trio of big names making positive starts.
But McIlroy’s bid faltered when he found the fringe of a bunker on the par-four fifth hole, leaving him a tricky shot hacking out of the thick rough with the ball well above his feet – and forced to stand in the bunker for good measure.
Facing a tough ask, McIlroy’s shot flew into another bunker just yards in front of him, resulting in a furious reaction as he lashed out at the sand not once but twice in frustration (watch video below).
However, the four-time major winner managed to regain his composure to chip out of the sand onto the green, and holed out the challenging putt from around 16 feet to save par and maintain his bid.
After opening with a run of six straight pars, McIlroy holed from 18 feet for birdie on the par-three 16th, although another good chance went begging on the next after a well-controlled pitch to five feet.
The missed opportunity on the 17th did not concern McIlroy for long, the world No3 holing from 15 feet for birdie on the next to reach the turn in 33.
An errant tee shot on the uphill par-three second looked set to result in a first bogey of the day, but after pitching out of thick rough McIlroy holed from 16 feet for par to remain one off the lead.
Open champion Morikawa set the early pace at Brookline on Thursday, with birdies at the second and fifth.
Defending champion Jon Rahm was level par after five holes, having recovered from a bogey on the third with a birdie on the fifth and picked up further shots on the sixth and eighth to improve to two under before giving one back.
Morikawa’s birdie on the ninth took him to the turn in 32 on the par-70 layout, with Matthew NeSmith also three under after 11 holes.