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| - Justin Thomas closed with a 25-foot birdie putt to grab the early clubhouse lead over ace-firing Patrick Reed with Rory McIlroy two adrift in Thursday's opening round of the 120th US Open. World number three Thomas, the 2017 PGA Championship winner, fired a five-under par 65 at Winged Foot to edge ahead of fellow American Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, at the famed Mamaroneck, New York, layout. "This is one of the better rounds I've had tee to green. I was very proud of my patience," Thomas said. "I got off to a good start." Reed blasted a hole-in-one at the 165-yard par-3 seventh and ran off three birdies in four holes on the back nine to share the lead until the amazing finish by Thomas. "I was just trying to hit myself a solid iron shot," Reed said of his ace. "I took a little off it, 90%, and one-hopped it in." There were no spectators to applaud either of their amazing shots as a coronavirus pandemic precaution, the deadly virus having delayed the event from its usual June date. Fourth-ranked McIlroy, playing his first major round since becoming a father with the birth of daughter Poppy two weeks ago, shot 67 to stand third, the four-time major winner making three of his four birdies on par-3 holes. "Got off to a really nice start. Hit the ball very well, kept it in play," McIlroy said. "I sort of walked off the green a little disappointed but if someone had given me a 67 at the start of the day I'd have taken it." Top-ranked Dustin Johnson and second-ranked Jon Rahm teed off to start their first round as the leaders finished. Tiger Woods, a 15-time major winner chasing a fourth US Open title at age 44, grinded all day but closed bogey-double bogey to stand on 73. Woods made six bogeys, five birdies and the double. He birdied three in a row from the ninth through 11th holes only to close with three bogeys and a double in the last six holes. "I needed to finish off the round better, and I didn't," Woods said. "I made a few putts the middle part of the round. Seemed like I wasn't getting anything out of my round early on, and it flipped, and unfortunately I just didn't finish off the way I needed to." Thomas, who fired the lowest US Open round ever at Winged Foot, dropped his approach to 2.5 feet at the first for birdie, took a bogey at the par-3 third after finding sand off the tee, then birdied the par-4 sixth after putting his approach inside eight feet. Thomas ran off three birdies in a row starting at the par-5 ninth, where his approach landed inside six feet. He birdied the par-3 10th from 10 feet and the par-4 11th from nine feet, then parred his way along until his outstanding final putt. After his ace, Reed added birdies at the par-5 12th, on a 10-foot putt, and the par-3 13th, dropping his approach to three feet, then made a nine-foot birdie putt at 15. He clung to second by blasting out of dense rough to two feet at 16 to save par. "It definitely was a scramble out there," Reed said. "What kept me in it was the short game and when I got out of position, getting back into position. "When you get lies that look good here they can still be bad. You had to limit the mistakes. The only way you can do that is by chipping and putting." Sharing fourth in the clubhouse were Americans Harris English, Jason Kokrak and Brendon Todd on 68 with 21-year-old compatriot Davis Thompson on 69. The University of Georgia senior got in the field as the world's fourth-ranked amateur player. "I can compete with the best," said Thompson, whose dad serves as caddie. "I had a rough finish but everyone is going to make bogeys out here... I came here to compete. I didn't come here to be a tourist." js/mw
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