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San Francisco - Michael Thompson refused to buy in to the tension of the US Open atmosphere, and his laid-back approach paid dividends as he seized the first-round lead at The Olympic Club on Thursday.
"I've got nothing to lose," said Thompson, playing his second US Open and his third major championship as a professional.
"This is just a bonus in my career. I'm not guaranteed into all the majors as a professional, and to be able to have the opportunity to play is just a wonderful experience."
The 27-year-old from Alabama made the most of it, firing seven birdies with just three bogeys for a four-under total of 66.
His morning round stood up for a three-shot overnight lead, but his closest pursuers might give him pause - a group of five led by 14-time major champion Tiger Woods.
While the likes of Masters champion Bubba Watson and four-time major winner Phil Mickelson, world number one Luke Donald and defending champion Rory McIlroy wrestled unsuccessfully with Olympic's Lake Course, Thompson returned in style to the layout where he finished runner-up in the 2007 US Amateur Championship.
"I've been working hard since Friday and I think that really calmed me down ... I just went out and enjoyed the experience. I didn't really care what happened today(Thursday)."
Thompson, who said qualifying for the tournament was more stressful than his opening round, shook off a bogey at the par-four first with a birdie at the par-three third.
Back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth were followed by birdies at seven and nine as he made the turn at even par.
He settled into his rhythm coming home, using a hot putter to nab four birdies in his final eight holes.
"On the backside, seems like every putt went in the hole," Thompson said. "I think I made five threes in a row, and then was cruising."
His birdie putt at 18 drew an appreciative cheer from the fans in the grandstand, nestled on the hillside just below Olympic's clubhouse.
"I was just trying to make a good putt and made I guess a 10-footer or so for birdie to finish off the round," Thompson said.
As he gained steam, attention on his group increased.
"Got a little nervous there once all those cameras showed up," he admitted. "But I really held it together -- 16 was playing really difficult into the wind today and then 17, I thought I hit a great third shot and then almost putted it in from just off the back of the green."
Thompson was paired on Thursday with Colt Knost, who beat him 2 and 1 in that 36-hole US Amateur final in 2007. Knost carded a 75
"Today was fun with Colt," said Thompson, who turned pro in 2008 and joined the PGA Tour in 2011. "We talked about the US Amateur and the changes with the golf course from then till now."
Thompson knew that most who looked at the leaderboard would zero in on one name behind him: Tiger Woods.
That's fine with him.
"I've always kind of flown under the radar," Thompson said. "I've always been a player that just kind of hangs around. I don't give up very easily and I'm very proud of that.
"Give Tiger the spotlight. I don't care. I'm going to go out and play my game. If I go out and putt the way I did today, I'll be in contention."
Collated scores on Thursday in the first round of the US Open golf championship at The Olympic Club's 7,170-yard, par-70 Lake Course (a-amateur)
66 - Michael Thompson (USA)
69 - Tiger Woods (USA), David Toms (USA), Nick Watney (USA), Justin Rose (ENG), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
70 - a-Beau Hossler (USA), JB Park (KOR), Jason Bohn (USA), Robert Karlsson (SWE), Alistair Presnell (AUS), Ian Poulter (ENG), Matt Kuchar (USA), Jim Furyk (USA)
71 - Martin Flores (USA), Branden Grace (RSA), Jonathan Byrd (USA), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Michael Allen (USA), John Peterson (USA), Casey Wittenberg (USA), Ryo Ishikawa (JPN)
72 - Raphael Jacquelin (FRA), Charles Howell (USA), Webb Simpson (USA), Fredrik Jacobson (SWE), Robert Garrigus (USA), DA Points (USA), Morgan Hoffmann (USA), Aaron Watkins (USA), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), John Senden (AUS), Hunter Mahan (USA), Jason Dufner (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Angel Cabrera (ARG), Anders Hansen (DEN), Blake Adams (USA), Alberto Sanchez (USA)
73 - Steve Lebrun (USA), Joe Ogilvie (USA), Davis Love (USA), Kyle Stanley (USA), Charl Schwartzel (RSA), KJ Choi (KOR), Keegan Bradley (USA), Marc Warren (SCO), Jeff Curl (USA), Lee Westwood (ENG), Sergio Garcia (ESP), James Hahn (USA)
74 - Tommy Biershenk (USA), Matthew Baldwin (ENG), Kevin Na (USA), Stephen Ames (CAN), Tim Herron (USA), Gregory Bourdy (FRA), Padraig Harrington (IRL), Bob Estes (USA), YE Yang (KOR), KT Kim (KOR), Rod Pampling (AUS), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Nicholas Thompson (USA), Casey Martin (USA), Peter Lawrie (IRL), Charlie Wi (KOR), Simon Dyson (ENG), a-Jordan Spieth (USA), Gary Woodland (USA), Martin Kaymer (GER), Kevin Chappell (USA), Spencer Levin (USA)
75 - Scott Piercy (USA), Colt Knost (USA), Carl Pettersson (SWE), Retief Goosen (RSA), Vijay Singh (FIJ), Robert Rock (ENG), Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN), Alexander Noren (SWE), Paul Claxton (USA), Alvaro Quiros (ESP), Jason Day (AUS), Dustin Johnson (USA), Ernie Els (RSA), Aaron Baddeley (AUS), Darron Stiles (USA), Roberto Castro (USA), Mikko Ilonen (FIN), Justin Hicks (USA), Jesse Mueller (USA)
76 - Matt Bettencourt (USA), Scott Langley (USA), Phil Mickelson (USA), Brendan Jones (AUS), Patrick Cantlay (USA), Mark Wilson (USA), Adam Scott (AUS), Anthony Summers (AUS), Kevin Streelman (USA), Edward Loar (USA), Bill Haas (USA), Steve Stricker (USA), Lucas Glover (USA), Geoff Ogilvy (AUS), Matteo Manassero (ITA), Samuel Osborne (ENG)
77 - Zach Johnson (USA), Tim Clark (RSA), Bae Sang Moon (KOR), Lee Dong-Hwan (KOR), Hunter Hamrick (USA), Cameron Wilson (USA), Olin Browne (USA), Rory McIlroy (NIR), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Stewart Cink (USA), Tadahiro Takayama (JPN), Martin Laird (SCO), Ben Crane (USA), Brian Harman (USA), a-Brooks Koepka (USA), Brian Gaffney (USA)
78 - Shane Bertsch (USA), Thomas Bjorn (DEN), Bubba Watson (USA), George Coetzee (RSA), Toru Taniguchi (JPN), Bo Van Pelt (USA), Peter Hanson (SWE), Tim Weinhart (USA), Scott Smith (USA), Nick Sherwood (USA), Jim Herman (USA), David Mathis (USA), Joe Durant (USA), Alex Cejka (GER), Brice Garnett (USA)
79 - a-Andy Zhang (CHN), Michael Campbell (NZL), Luke Donald (ENG), Lee Slattery (ENG)
80 - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP), Cole Howard (USA), Dennis Miller (USA), Chez Reavie (USA), Trevor Immelman (RSA)
81 - William Lunde (USA), Hunter Haas (USA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP)
82 - Mark McCormick (USA), Kyle Thompson (USA)
84 - Steve Marino (USA)
85 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Brian Rowell (USA)
