Pinehurst, N.C. _

Former Gopher Clayton Rask birdied the first hole and the 18th, finishing with a three-over 73 in his first U.S. Open round. At the moment, he's tied for 100th.

He said he enjoyed the round, but struggled with putting speed on the back nine. Before he hit a 4-iron off the 10th tee, he was tied for the lead in average driving distance, at 320 yards.

I'll have more on Rask and fellow former Gopher Donald Constable later, and in tomorrow's paper, and on startribune.com