Keep that card

Thomas Pieters: Just weeks after Pieters, pictured, came out of quarantine, his 66 didn't exactly come out of nowhere. "I made my comeback in Wales five weeks ago and I was expecting it to take a couple weeks before I get into like competition mode," said Pieters, who was sidelined by COVID-19. "And did well there, finished third. So I kind of knocked the rust off and came here with a bit of confidence."

Toss that card

Tiger Woods: After making a 40-footer for birdie on No. 16, Tiger Woods looked as if he would finish with some momentum. He closed bogey-double bogey, including a duffed pitch from in front of the 18th green, for a 73.

On the course with …

Two holes in, Jordan Spieth had reason to believe it might be a long day and a short week. His approach from the No. 1 fairway was too short and rolled back to the front of the green, and he three-putted for bogey. Then he figured he would be have to scramble for par on the second hole until he learned his ball never came down from the tree it hit. He made double bogey and was 3 over. The good news? It never got any worse. He finished 3 over. "All in all, shooting 3 over at a U.S. Open feeling like I had no control, it's not bad," he said. "Standing on a tee at the U.S. Open and not exactly knowing where the ball is going to go is not a great feeling."

U.S. Open moment

Amateurs Davis Thompson and John Pak got off to solid starts, each shooting a 69. They were the only ones of the 13 amateurs in the field to finish under par. Pak, who plays for Florida State, grew up about an hour south of Winged Foot in Scotch Plains, N.J. "It feels nice to play in the Northeast again," he said. "I think this is some of the best golf you can play."

Chip shots

• Twenty-one players finished under par. There were a total of 17 opening rounds under par in the five previous U.S. Opens at Winged Foot.

• Will Zalatoris made a 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the par-3s.

• Play was suspended because of darkness with three players — Connor Syme, Paul Barjon and Marty Jertson — left on the course

Key hole

No. 7, 165-yard par-3: The pin location made the hole vulnerable enough to produce a pair of aces and several near misses. Patrick Reid aced it with a 9-iron directly into the cup. Will Zalatoris landed a 9-iron shot in the middle of the green, and the ball trickled into the hole. Steve Stricker and Matthew Wolff also barely missed aces on No. 7, and Zalatoris nearly had a second ace when his 6-iron on the 13th hole hit the flagstick and rattled out of the hole.

Quote of the day

"I'm so sick of this." — Phil Mickelson, caught on an on-course mic, after hitting an errant shot on No. 9 on his way to a 79.

Day 2

TV coverage of the second round begins at 8:30 a.m. on Golf Channel and moves to Ch. 11 at 3 p.m.

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