All three were between seven and eight shots behind the leader, and all were in danger of being cut Friday. The U.S. Open remains golf’s cruelest test.

Rory McIlroy made a couple early birdies at the U.S. Open. That encouraging start was short lived for the slumping Masters champion. A poor second nine left McIlroy with a 4-over 74 in Thursday's first round at Oakmont.

The sky at Oakmont Country Club was somehow both hazy and bright, and the contradiction was a nice accidental framework for what we saw from Rory McIlroy in his opening round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.