TOMMY FLEETWOOD turned up at the opening hole of the US Open telling himself not to “do anything stupid”.
But the Englishman made fools of the doomsayers who predicted Erin Hills would be a horror show by shooting a brilliant five-under 67.
That put him just two behind early leader Rickie Fowler, the American going bogey-free in his record-equalling 65.
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Fleetwood, 26, has enjoyed a spectacular return to form this year after a spell in the doldrums.
He stormed to victory in Abu Dhabi and was second to Dustin Johnson at the World Golf Championship in Mexico.
But he was not looking to shoot the lights out here, saying: “The traditional method of playing this event is to treat par as your friend and take anything else as a bonus.
“So even though the conditions were as good as we’re likely to get all week, I didn’t go out there thinking I had to attack.
“I told myself not to do anything stupid and ruin it, just to play sensible golf and see what came along.
“My putting was brilliant. I made five nice birdies in my first 11 holes and then had testers for par on all of the last seven holes.
“You would normally expect to miss at least one or two of them, but I was in that zone where the hole looks just a tiny bit bigger.
“The course was ‘gettable’ this morning, but only if you went about it the right way.
“There were still enough high scores to prove that point.”
Defending champion Dustin Johnson would not argue with that — he finished ten shots adrift of the lead after a three-over 75.
Modest Fowler, 28, described his flawless round as “simple”.
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He said: “It was nice and being told you’ve just equalled the US Open scoring record is cool too.
“You don’t get many rounds at the US Open that are as stress-free as this one was.
“I just did a good job — I knew I needed to drive it well and from there I was able to continue to swing well.
“I hit a lot of good shots and rolled a couple in. It was a simple day, but it is still a lot easier said than done.
“We kind of pieced our way around the golf course.”
Johnson looked under-prepared after only arriving in Wisconsin on Tuesday night following the birth of his second son the previous day. He was not helped by Wednesday’s thunderstorms forcing him to abandon his practice round early.
The world No 1 was lucky to get a double-bogey seven at the long 14th and kept finding the rough — even though the fairways at Erin Hills are up to 60 yards wide.
Playing partner Jordan Spieth, who pushed Johnson into second place at the 2015 US Open, also made the course look difficult.
He managed just one birdie and back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes meant he had to settle for a one-over 73. It was a happier story for Lee Westwood though in his quest for that elusive first Major.
He shrugged off an early double bogey to be handily placed thanks to a three-under 69.
The Englishman, 44, said: “I played great.
“My ball-striking is really coming back to its best now.
“I played great in practice and it’s carried over.
“If I keep it all going then there’s no reason I can’t be in contention on Sunday.”
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