Down between the third and the fourth fairways, the Church Pews bunker is one of the most famous and intimidating sights in golf.

And right on cue Scottie Scheffler zings his ball right in there, although he gets a bit of fortune as his ball bounces off the edge of one of the grassy sections and gives him a decent lie in the sand.

He scoots his second right through the dance floor into an area that's considered a good place to miss but then can't keep his chip on the green.

He's putting from the fringe for par and leaves that well short and right. The world number one will be giving back that shot he picked up at the second, possibly with interest.

South African Thriston Lawrence drives the par-four 17th and secures a two-putt birdie to get to three under par, one behind the leader JJ Spaun.

A double bogey on the ninth meant he reached the turn in a level-par 35, but he has made three birdies on the way home.

A lot of hanging around for this trio of former US Open champions as they wait for the group ahead to play their way down the long par-five 12th.

Dustin Johnson, winner of the most recent US Open to be staged at Oakmont in 2016, goes way left off the tee and there's nothing much he can do but play out sideways onto the fairway.

Jon Rahm lays up short of the green, while Jordan Spieth scuttles an iron up onto the putting surface and will get a chance for an eagle.

Two birdies in three holes for American Sam Burns are enough to catapult him up into a tie for second place right away at the start of his round.

He's probably wondering what all the fuss is about with his serene start - but Oakmont will no doubt throw a few more heavy punches at him as his round goes on.

You hear "heck of a bogey" a lot more at the US Open than any other tournament - with one such exemple being Justin Thomas at the third after he came up well short, then saw his chip up the steep bank to the green come rolling well back down the hill.

A putt from 80 feet whistled 20 feet past the hole so knocking that in for a bogey was a big result after that scrappy piece of play from JT. He'll need to sharpen up that short game going forward.

Alongside Scottie Scheffler at one under after two holes played is England's Tyrrell Hatton, who dunked in a 28-footer for a birdie on the 10th and was maybe an inch off doing something similar on the 11th green.

Scottie Scheffler's super aggressive drive leaves him a simple chip in from under 100 yards which sticks six feet shy of the pin. Birdie putt incoming, which he knocks in. Of course he does!

Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland both clip in past the flag but the Norwegian is in the intermediate stuff and can't control his chip out that squirts 35 feet or so past.

Hovland can't save his par with an uphill putt and drops a second shot in as many holes, while Morikawa cards a second successive par.

Scheffler has played two holes and is in a tie for fourth.

Cameron Young could be the best player not to have won on the PGA Tour yet, after coming so close to winning the Canadian Open on Sunday left him still winless.

He's got a major game though with two top threes in 16 appearances in golf's big four events - and maybe not winning in Canada will do him a favour as Oakmont has history for players winning their very first event in the US Open.

Angel Cabrera in 2007, Ernie Els in 1996 and even the great Jack Nicklaus in 1962 - all three won the US Open at Oakmont in what was their very first PGA Tour victory.

Can Young add to that?

It's 10 years since Jordan Spieth won the US Open at Chambers Bay. Incidentally, that's the most recent time a player won consecutive men's majors - he had won the Masters a couple of months earlier.

He three-putts the 11th to drop a shot, while 2021 champion Jon Rahm and 2016 winner Dustin Johnson also drop back with bogey fives.

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When Henry Fownes built Oakmont in the early 1900s, he had to deal with a railroad track that ran right through the middle of the property.

So when the federal government constructed the interstate highway system starting in the 1940s, the route through Oakmont already existed

And now Scottie Scheffler and Co are off over one of the two foot bridges and traffic to play the second, with the three-time major winner absolutely smashing his tee shot right down the middle of the fairway.

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Two pars to start for Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka - the two-time US Open champion who is such an interesting character when it comes to the majors.

He was utterly dominant for a few years when he won back-to-back US Opens and then back-to-back US PGA Championships to make it four wins in just eight majors.

He hardly won a regular PGA Tour event but was a different animal in majors - as he showed with four wins, three seconds and five other top-seven finishes in the space of just 16 events.

He added a fifth major title in 2023 but hasn't been the same since - if he can find that major beast inside him again he will be dangerous.

Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa are both in at around 15 feet on the first but Viktor Hovland's approach takes a huge bounce and skips on some 35 feet beyond the pin.

The Norwegian does a decent job of rolling that across the contoured putting surface to around four feet but then shunts his par putt right.

Scheffler is up next and aims well right of the cup...this is on a nice line but it does not have enough juice to drop. Morikawa, who has a read off that, ends up missing high.

A reminder of the tough pins in place today as the USGA have come out swinging - and judging by the scores they're playing just as tough as they look!

Image source, USGA

Peter Scrivener
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

This week's 125th US Open will feature the longest par-three hole in major championship history at 301 yards.

It has been called "ridiculous" by Collin Morikawa, who hit a driver off the tee in practice, and "silly" by Viktor Hovland, but will the eighth at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania prove to be a gimmick or psychological masterstroke?

John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer at the United States Golf Association (USGA), wants players to "get every club dirty, all 15 of them - 14 in their bag and the one between the ears" at a course which "prides itself on being America's sternest test of golf".

The eighth was the first 300-yard par three when Angel Cabrera triumphed at Oakmont in 2007. The Argentine holed a 20ft putt for a two in the final round and was the only one of the leading contenders to make birdie.

It has been a talking point for more than 70 years.

At the 1953 US Open the eighth played 253 yards, longer than the average drive by a PGA Tour player that year.

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New Zealand's Ryan Fox enters a second successive major having won a PGA Tour event the previous week.

The Canadian Open champion has made a mixed start - par, birdie, bogey - to be level par through his first three holes.

Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm give themselves looks at birdies on the 10th hole, their first of the day.

Rahm's effort from about 30 feet doesn't trouble the cup, while Spieth can't make his from about eight feet.

Dustin Johnson is short of the green in two but judges a brilliant swinging putt to leave a tap-in par.

Right then, it is irresistible force versus immovable object time.

World number one Scottie Scheffler is on the tee looking to bend Oakmont to his will.

Viktor Hovland tees off first and skips his ball down the left of the fairway. Collin Morikawa hits his like a peach, pinging it straight down the middle...as does Scheffler whose ball trickles up alongside his compatriots.

Matt Fitzpatrick takes an aggressive line straight at the pin on the 18th and gets his reward as he zips into two or three feet.

Can he finish with a flourish? Surely he will..... Yep he does.

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Well, after cruising through his front nine two under I did not see a 74 coming for Rory McIlroy with that six over on the back nine being a huge disappointment.

He was in no real danger during his first nine holes as well, but his iron play struggled down the stretch as he continually missed in the wrong places and ended up -1.75 in strokes gained approach.

Coupled with losing strokes on the greens as well and that was a recipe for golfing disaster for the Masters champion.

World number one Scottie Scheffler is keen to play down his favourite's tag as he gets under way at the US Open.

The 28-year-old won the PGA Championship last month and then followed it up with a PGA Tour win at the Memorial Tournament.

However, he knows the difficulty of the course at Oakmont, which he describes as "the hardest golf course that we'll play", will be a leveller.

"I don't pay attention to the favourite stuff or anything like that. Starting Thursday morning we're at even par and it's up to me to go out there and play against the golf course and see what I can do," he said.

"This is probably the hardest golf course that we'll play, maybe ever, and that's pretty much all it is. It's just a different type of test.

"There's certain holes where you know when you step on the tee box and par is going to be a really good score.

"There's certain holes where there's some opportunity. When you're in the fairway, there's opportunity but what's so special about this place is pretty much every time you're off the fairway it's going to be very difficult for you to get the ball to the green."