Image source, Getty Images

JJ Spaun, speaking to Sky Sports after starting the US Open with a bogey-free round of 66:

"My strategy was to take what the course gave me. I scrambled well, putted well and that's the recipe you need to have a bogey-free round at the US Open.

"I had no idea what to expect teeing off this morning, as far as history here, never being here and this is only my second US Open. Maybe that freed me up, where I didn't have to worry about certain expectations. I'll take a bogey-free 66 at the US Open."

Two-time major winner Jon Rahm is just about to tee off alongside Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, and he says his mental game is ready to be tested at this week's US Open.

The 30-year-old Spaniard won his first major title at the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines and added the Masters crown in 2023, but he has not won since last September's LIV Golf Chicago event.

While he is confident in his game, Rahm also knows formidable Oakmont's thick rough and fast greens will test his shot-making and mental game. "It's going to be a challenge. A lot of unfortunate things are going to happen," Rahm said.

"It's hard fairways to hit, bad lies, difficult bunkers, difficult greens. It's going to be a difficult test. I think my main issue is always with accepting the mistakes. I'm fully aware that I can make mistakes, but accepting that I've done it, it's my fault and move on.

"A lot of times I'm very vocal about blaming something on the outside even though when I'm saying it, I'm fully aware it was my fault. So the quicker I accept that it's me and I move on is going to help. If there's any part of your game that will be tested on a week like this, it will be your mental game, that's for sure."

A 25-footer for a three on the last means Xander Schauffele will sign for a two-over 72 in the opening round. He ends with consecutive birdies.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau's approach to the last is just a smidgeon too short, so spins back away from the hole and he has to settle for a par.

He'll be three over overnight, currently seven off the lead.

Matt Fitzpatrick snaps a run of three consecutive bogeys with a birdie on the 17th.

It's been a bit of a grind for the Englishman, who won this title just three years ago. If he could walk off the 18th with another birdie it'd be a welcome boost heading into Friday.

When Kim Si-woo won the Player's Championship back in 2017 you'd have thought a major might have followed by now.

But could this be the one for the 29-year-old, who plays the seventh hole in exemplary fashion - finding the green with his approach and then sinking a 18-foot putt for consecutive birdies.

Image source, Getty Images

Scottie Scheffler arrives at Oakmont as the biggest US Open favourite since Tiger Woods, and he's trying to do something only the great man himself has achieved - and that's win the US Open as the current world number one golfer.

Woods did it three times - at Pebble Beach in 2000, Bethpage Black in 2002 and in 2008 at Torrey Pines, and this is Scheffler's fourth attempt to join that one-man club.

Scheffler's been close, finishing tied for second at Brookline in 2022 and third in Los Angeles in 2023, but never really got into the fight last year at Pinehurst No.2 with a tied-41st finish.

He's won three of his past four events though, including the US PGA Championship, so could not be in better form - can he make it fourth time lucky?

Rory McIlroy has missed the green on this fearsome long par-three eighth, and he tries the high difficulty tariff shot of opening the face and trying to send it high and land it soft.

But with the thickness of this rough it's always a dangerous shot and the ball just pops up and flops back down a few feet in front of him.

Take two is better as he digs it out and runs it across the green, but he's left with a long bogey putt now and a double staring him in the face.

Many of the early starters are approaching the end of their rounds, but there's another wave of players starting to head out onto the golf course.

The world number one, former champions, title hopefuls - there's plenty of action still to come over the next five or six hours.

Adam Scott finishes with a par for an even round of 70, and there'd be plenty of players teeing off later that would buy that off him for a decent amount.

Ludvig Aberg would certainly take that after his late collapse has cost him big time- with bogeys on four of his last five holes to drop from two under to two over.

The 17th hole is a driveable par four, so of course Bryson DeChambeau is close to the green with his tee shot.

Unfortunately for the defending champion, he's unable to get up and down in two so he has to settle for a par.

Xander Schauffele goes a slightly more conventional route, pitching to within four feet and dropping in his birdie putt to move alongside DeChambeau on three over.

Image source, Getty Images

There are currently only six players under par and Scotland's Bob MacIntyre is now one fo them.

The 28-year-old drains a long-range birdie putt from the right of the 15th green and is now three shots off the lead with three holes to play.

We mentioned a little earlier about Ben Griffin's stupendous recent form and he's right in contention at Oakmont.

A birdie on the long par-three eighth takes him to two under, two off the lead, with one hole of his first round left to play.

There are a pair of Griffins inside the top 10 - namesake and fellow American Lanto Griffin is one over after 14 holes.

Oh Rory McIlroy! Another short par putt goes begging, and this one is even worse as it was nowhere near the hole, with the bemused look on McIlroy's face telling the story that it was a massively bad read on that one.

He's back at two over now and in danger of throwing away a really good start.

Thomas Detry is still going along nicely with pars all the way so far on the back nine and he's still in a tie for second.

Approach play has been his big strength today, he's second in the field in strokes gained approach and he leads the field in greens in regulation, which is a key stat around Oakmont.

As the last three winners all starred in this category - Dustin Johnson (1st), Angel Cabrera (3rd) and Ernie Els (1st) won the US Open thanks to hitting greens in regulation - so Detry is attacking this in the right way.

Brilliant bounce-back birdie for for South Korea's Kim Si-woo who zips into five feet on the par-three sixth and drops in his putt.

Image source, Getty Images

Well played, JJ Spaun.

There's every chance he could be leading the field at the end of the first round after starting this year's US Open with a four-under-par, bogey-free round of 66.

That's equal to the lowest first round score ever carded in the US Open at Oakmont by Andrew Landry in 2016.

Starting on hole 10, the 34-year-old made four birdies in his first eight holes and then parred each of his final 10.

The infamous long par-three ninth hole wins the battle with both Adam Scott and Ludvig Aberg as the both make a bogey four.

It's an unwanted hat-trick for Aberg as well with this third straight bogey as the limps towards the end of the round after a strong start.

American amateur Matt Vogt hit the opening tee shot of the 125th US Open and has gone round Oakmont in a 12-over-par 82.

Six bogeys, three double bogeys and no birdies today for qualifier Vogt, who runs his own dentistry practice.

Image source, Getty Images

World number one Scottie Scheffler is the headline act in the late wave of tee times in the draw. He will tee off in today's opening round at 18:25 from the first hole alongside Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa.

Here are a selection of the late tee-off times on Thursday.

Starting from hole one (all times BST)

18:03 Brooks Koepka (US), Min-Woo Lee (Aus), Justin Thomas (US)

18:25 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Collin Morikawa (US), Scottie Scheffler (US)

18:36 Corey Conners (Can), Jason Day (Aus), Patrick Reed (US)

18:47 Daniel Berger (US), Bud Cauley (US), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)

Starting from hole 10

18:14 Dustin Johnson (US), Jon Rahm (Spa), Jordan Spieth (US)

18:25 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Sepp Straka (Aut)

18:36 Tom Hoge (US), JT Poston (US), Cameron Young (US)

18:47 Michael Kim (US), Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)

18:58 Nick Dunlap (US), Marc Leishman (Aus), Aaron Rai (Eng)

The lustre around Jordan Smith's round has just been lost a little bit on his final two holes of the day.

He's unable to knock in a four-foot par saver at the eighth and the Englishman coughs up another shot after taking three on the green at the ninth.