McIlroy takes three shot lead into second round

By Brendon Hanley Jun 16, 2011, 23:29 GMT

Bethesda, Maryland - Rory McIlroy will take a three-shot lead into Friday's second round at the US Open being played at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland after carding a six-under 65 on Thursday.

It is the third time that the young Irishman leads a Major at the end of round one, having already done so at the Open and the Masters, where he gave away a four shot lead going into the last round to finish ten off the pace.

'I need to prove to everybody that I have learnt from Augusta and I have moved on,' he said after finishing on Thursday.

McIlroy leads by three from 2009 PGA champion YE Yang and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, with a group of players, including Open champion Louis Oosthuizen a further shot behind.

But the day belonged to McIlroy, as he tore the course apart, going around without a single bogey.

'It felt good. But to be honest, it felt like it could have been a couple of shots better, but I'll take 65. I played really well out there.

'I did not make any mistakes, I think I missed only one green and if you do that in the US Open, you are going to do pretty good.'

The 22-year-old said that he believed the key to his impressive start to competitions was the preparation. 'I like to get to the venue a week early, do my practise rounds before anybody else is here.

'Then I can sort of rest and conserve all my energy and put it into the four tournament rounds.'

Earlier South Korean Yang was the early leader in the club house after his round of 68.

Rain early in the morning made the course - which is playing as the second-longest-ever in the history of the US Open - difficult to play.

Yang birdied the four par-threes and the par-five sixth, but dropped two shots on the back nine.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell was five off the pace with a one-under par 70. 'I was pretty happy with that. I rolled the ball well, positioned the ball very well.

'My only bogey was on the first hole and I would have been happy to pick up more birdies, but I am happy with the round.

'You have got to drive the ball great to stand a chance here.

'I feel really, really good about this week. It has been a great 12 months and I am happy to hand back the trophy and look towards what I want to achieve now.'

The world's top three players - Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, who are playing the first two rounds together - did not have it their own way, with Donald and Kaymer finishing their round on three-over, while Westwood was a further shot behind.

In the injury-forced absence - for the first time since 1996 - of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson is carrying much of the American hopes, but Lefty had the worst-possible start with a double bogey on his opening hole - the 10th.

He birdied the 12th, but then dropped another shot on the 14th to be two-over after five. He added another two bogies on the back nine and birdied the second hole to finish his round on a three-over 74.