Stenson & Johnson lead US Open after Day One with Woods floundering
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Sweden’s Henrik Stenson jointly leads the US Open after the first day’s play on five-under-par, and is 13/2 with Coral to win the tournament.
Tiger Woods, however, is in trouble on 10-over-par and is unlikely to last distance, even if his form improves just a little. He needs a miracle at Chambers Bay, and 1000/1 odds for him to win reflect this.
Pre-tournament favourite and US Masters champion, Jordan Spieth, meanwhile, is perfectly primed on two-under-par, tied for seventh after an encouraging first round.
He is now 6/1 to victor, behind the other joint-leader Dustin Johnson at 5/1, who, as highlighted by Coral, could easily secure a top five finish, with his big-hitting style particularly suiting this course.
Not far behind on two-over-par, there is a clutch of British contingent, all ready to make a move. Rory McIlroy (20/1), Justin Rose (40/1), Ian Poulter and Paul Casey will be hoping they can push on in the second day and will be hoping to finish under-par.
Just one shot behind them, English pair Luke Donald and Lee Westwood have to up their game if they want to last the course.
However, it is revered seniors of the game Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jiminez who are joined by the irrepressible Phil Mickelson on one-under-par and, while the latter will harbour realistic hopes of winning, the former duo will have performed admirably if they last until the final day.
When asked if he could win, Motgomerie, affectionately known as ‘Monty’ said: “Can I win? Have stranger things happened? What Tom Watson did at Turnberry aged 59 [losing a play-off for the 2009 Open] has given everybody over 50 hope.”
Mickelson who finished joint-second at Augusta, has a decent price at 14/1 and he often saves his best golf until the final day. However, on such an unpredictable course, there is everything to play for.
