Defending champion Martin Kaymer had some bright spots early on Thursday, but the German dropped a couple shots down the stretch en route to an opening round, 2-over 72 at the U.S. Open Championship.
Kaymer is back after rolling to an 8-shot victory at Pinehurst No. 2 last year for his second career major title to go along with a 2010 PGA Championship win.
Starting his round on the back nine at Chambers Bay, Kaymer opened with a par and then tripped to a bogey at No. 11.
At the drivable par-4 12th, Kaymer rolled his ball to within eight feet of the hole with his tee shot and he knocked that in for eagle, pushing him to minus-1.
That sub-par score did not last long, however, as Kaymer gave both of those shots back with a double-bogey on 13. Another birdie from about eight feet at the par-3 15th got one of those shots back and Kaymer was back to even-par.
Kaymer made the turn with seven straight pars from 16 before back-to-back bogeys at five and six left him at 2-over. The 30-year-old closed his round with a trio of pars for his 72.
Back-to-back 65s in the first two rounds last year saw Kaymer crush the competition in North Carolina as he finished at 9-under 271. He went on to beat Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton by eight.
[SportsNetwork.com]
