Woods is in serious danger of missing the cut on Friday unless he can come up with a low round.

“I fought, I fought hard,” Woods said. “And that was my number. I couldn’t grind out any harder than that. So that’s just the way I played and unfortunately it was a high number today.

“It’s one of those things, just got to work through it. I’m trying as hard as I can to do it, and for some reason, I just can’t get the consistency that I’d like to have out there.”

It was hard to blame that on Chambers Bay. Some two dozen players were headed for rounds under par.

Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson set the tone for a relatively gentle debut of the eight-year-old course on the edge of Puget Sound. Both opened with five-under 65s to share the lead.

The first time Stenson saw Chambers Bay, he walked the course without playing it. The Swede did just fine with clubs in his hand on Thursday in a rousing start.

Johnson was flawless until a bogey on his final hole, the par-3 ninth, that showed how wild this course can play. He pulled a 6-iron long, and then hit a chip that looked like it was running fast off the green until it made a hard left turn. He missed the 15-foot par putt.

Stenson and Johnson had a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed.

Matt Kuchar, Ben Martin and Brian Campbell, the amateur who just finished his college career at Illinois, were at 67. In the group one shot behind was Masters champion Jordan Spieth, a 21-year-old Texan who has been around long enough to know that anything around par is considered good work at a US Open.

The morning groups were happy to get the first date with Chambers Bay out of the way.

“One day out of four done, and we’re right there with where we want to be,” Stenson said. “It’s still a long journey until Sunday afternoon.”

It’s a long journey every round at Chambers Bay, the mystery course built on a former sand-and-gravel pit with 60 metres of elevation from the highest point to the train tracks that run along Puget Sound.

The course was always going to be the star in the opening round because no one knew what to expect. The USGA allowed for a relatively gentle setup, and the overcast sky and lack of wind certainly helped.

Phil Mickelson showed early that he might be in the mix for another shot – or more heartache – in the only major he has never won. He was among the early leaders until back-to-back bogeys in the middle of the back nine for a 69.

“I thought there was nothing hokey or crazy with any pin positions or how it played,” Mickelson said.

“I thought it was difficult. I think the biggest challenge is that the green speeds are different from green to green. That’s going to wreak havoc on our touch.”

Rory McIlroy failed to take advantage of the early start. The world’s No. 1 player hit the ball beautifully for most of the day and couldn’t make a putt. He wound up with a 72.

Stenson was among those who were sceptical about Chambers Bay, which opened only eight years ago.

“Of it’s kind, it’s the finest,” he said tongue in cheek. “It is a links course with some extreme features.”

“Regardless of whether you like all the holes, you like some of the stuff on this course, I’m here to do a good tournament and a good championship,” he said.

“So just keep your head down and keep on going, that’s what’s going to get me in a good spot.”

Slowed by a stomach virus in the spring, he flew to Seattle on his way to the Match Play Championship and decided to walk the course to get a feel for how it played. It is faster now, and much firmer, and he thrived on it.

So did Johnson, no stranger to great starts in majors.

Johnson lost a chance to win the US Open at Pebble Beach five years ago with an 82 in the final round. He missed out on a play-off at the PGA Championship that same year by grounding his club without realising he was in a bunker at Whistling Straits. And his challenge at the British Open in 2011 was derailed by a 2-iron that went out-of-bounds on the 14th hole.

But coming off a six-month break to get his life in order, Johnson is as imposing as ever. He likes the look of a big course where he can smash his way around it, and hitting it straight always helps.

He surged into the lead with three birdies in a four-hole stretch, only to make bogey on his final hole. It didn’t bother him. Nothing does.

“I really felt like I swung it well and hit a lot of quality iron shots,” Johnson said.

“So the confidence is definitely there. I feel really good about where I’m at going into tomorrow.”