On the walls of the contestants locker room at the 119th U.S. Open are a handful of quotes from past U.S. Open champions printed on sepia-toned poster board along with a black-and-white headshot of the winner and meant to inspire.

The skies above Pebble Beach Golf Links for most of Thursday’s first round were gray, but the leaderboard featured a different hue, one players aren’t typically accustomed to seeing at the U.S. Open: Red.

Rory McIlroy finished three shots off the pace in the first round as he made his debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Vaughn Taylor doesn’t know how he lost his game. Even more mystifying was the way it returned.

Graeme McDowell is not the first golfer to have lost motivation in his career due to positive changes in his life away from the course but the former US Open champion admitted last night he considered actually quitting the game such was his wish to be at home with his new wife and their baby.