The PGA Tour is confident it will be able to assure Congress it controls the shock new venture with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund after a United States Senator opened an investigation into the deal.

The PGA announced a week ago a plan to combine its commercial business with those of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which includes the LIV Golf series that the PGA had previously been in open dispute with.

Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic Senator for Connecticut, wrote to PGA Tour chief executive Jay Monahan and his LIV Golf counterpart Greg Norman on Monday to say the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was “reviewing matters” concerning the deal.

Senator Blumenthal wrote in his letter to Monahan: “PGA Tour’s agreement with PIF regarding LIV Golf raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution.”

In response, the PGA Tour issued a statement which read: “We are confident that once Congress learns more about how the PGA Tour will control this new venture, they will understand the opportunities this will create for our players, our communities and our sport, all while protecting an American golf institution.”

The PGA insists the new venture is not a merger and that it is not owned by PIF. It says PIF will be investing in this new subsidiary, with the PGA Tour retaining majority ownership and control.

Senator Blumenthal asked for relevant documents and information to be shared by June 26.

He noted in both letters that the announcement last Tuesday marked “a sudden and and drastic reversal of position” from the PGA Tour towards LIV Golf which raised “serious questions”.

The PGA and LIV Golf had been involved in litigation in the US courts, with a number of players defecting from the PGA to LIV for huge sums of money.

The new venture, which the PGA promised would “unify the game of golf, on a global basis” and which also includes the European Tour, is sure to be a major topic of discussion as players gather for this week’s US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club.

Rory McIlroy, one of the PGA’s most high-profile supporters in its battle with LIV, said last week he felt like “a sacrificial lamb” after the deal was confirmed.

Matt Fitzpatrick admits he is as confused as anyone about the direction golf is heading in but insists it will not affect his thinking when he begins the defence of his US Open title on Thursday.

The dust is still settling a week on from the shock announcement of the commercial merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund), which has been the backer of the breakaway LIV Golf.

On the face of it golf’s bitter civil war appears to be over but under the surface there are many so-far unanswered questions and residual feelings of resentment by a large section of the two main tours’ membership at how they have been treated in the whole saga.

But although several days have passed since PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan went on live network television in the United States with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan to announce the surprise deal there are very few details about how things will work, and that has led to dissent among the rank and file.

“I guess the whole thing is confusing. It was confusing last year,” said the Sheffield golfer, who swerved a question about whether those players who remained loyal to the established tours should be suitably compensated for missing out on LIV’s millions.

“I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on. Are we signing with the PIF? Are we not signing with the PIF? I have no idea.

“Even though I guess it is confusing, it’s pretty clear that nobody knows what’s going on apart from about four people in the world.”

That will not cloud his thought process when it comes to mounting a defence of his breakthrough major title from Brookline 12 months ago.

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“You’re thinking, ‘It’s a par four, where do I need to hit it? Where is the wind?’ That’s all you’re thinking about.”

Fitzpatrick will have plenty of things to think about at the Los Angeles Country Club, which he last saw in February on a reconnaissance mission.

That differs from Brookline, a course on which nine years earlier he had won the US Amateur.

“I seem to remember just last year just thinking about the tournament, just the US Open,” he said.

“It was obviously different because I had a tie to the golf course and the history there, so probably was easier for me to mentally focus on that and be in a better place than obviously all this confusion that’s going on this week.

“I guess in this day and age you’d like to think there might be some artificial intelligence you could use to kind of plot your way around. That’s probably something I’ll have to look into.”

Fitzpatrick admits finally getting a win over the line in a major has done wonders for his self-belief, even if a back problem has restricted him this season.

A year ago he rose to the occasion coming down the stretch, memorably hit a brilliant approach from a fairway bunker to 20 feet to save par and secure a one-shot victory over Will Zalatoris, who missed a birdie putt to force a play-off.

“It’s obviously been a huge boost. Winning last year gave me the boost that when I played my best or when I play well I can compete with anyone and I can win a major,” added the 28-year-old, who revealed he took the US Open trophy on holiday with him to Italy last summer, stopping off at Capri, Amalfi and Positano.

“I think that was the biggest thing for me to take away, (now) turning up to events knowing that (if) my game feels in good shape I’ve got a chance to win this week.

“Maybe previously I’ve almost felt like I played well and not necessarily competed in majors, whereas now I feel like it’s kind of the opposite.

“As long as my game is there or thereabouts, I feel like I can perform.”

The US Senate has launched an investigation into the planned commercial merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf.

Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, has written to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan requesting all documents and information relating to the controversial agreement.

Blumenthal has raised concerns over the involvement of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns LIV Golf.

“PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government and PGA Tour’s sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf raise serious questions regarding the reasons for and terms behind the announced agreement,” Blumenthal writes.

“Prior to this agreement, PGA Tour was one of the loudest critics of LIV Golf’s affiliation with Saudi Arabia.”

Blumenthal also talks about the “risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution” and notes that the PIF is using its investment in sport to “further the Saudi government’s strategic objectives”.

The PGA’s intention to preserve its tax-exempt status once the merger has been completed raises additional concerns, according to the Democratic Party senator for Connecticut.

The documents requested by the investigation must be provided by June 26, three weeks after news of the merger broke.

While signalling the end of a year of unprecedented disruption in the men’s professional game following the launch of the LIV Golf circuit, the arrangement is highly contentious and has been met with shock by some players.

A PGA professional with cerebral palsy hopes his achievement will encourage more players with a disability to follow in his footsteps.

Gregor McDonald recently graduated from the PGA’s degree programme to become a fully qualified professional, successfully completing modules ranging from coaching and club repairs to sports science, business principles and finance.

McDonald’s physical limitations meant that he effectively had to perform club repairs with one hand, but the 27-year-old did not ask for any accommodations to be made for his condition.

“I’m very proud of myself,” McDonald, who is based at the Cluny Clays facility in Kirkcaldy, told the PA news agency.

“It was a massive weight lifted off my shoulders when I found out I’d passed and a massive achievement for myself. I didn’t think I would get there when I was younger so it’s good to be able to do something I’m passionate about as my job.

“I don’t actually know any other disabled PGA pros at the moment so I hope it inspires a lot of people to do this. There’s no limits on what you can and can’t do. You can always achieve what you want to.

“I’ve proved that a disability shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your goals.”

McDonald was introduced to golf by his father Steve and had to make numerous adjustments to his game due to his condition.

“My dad took me to a local driving range and taught me all the basics,” McDonald said.

“I wouldn’t say I was a natural, but my dad worked hard with me in terms of getting everything correct. There were a lot of compensations in how I hold the club and I play cack-handed.

“There’s very little strength in my right arm so it’s mainly all left-hand power. My right hand basically just holds on to the club and I have lighter shafts in my clubs to help me get a wee bit of extra distance.

“I went on to get lessons from Craig (Donnelly), who is now my boss, and then did a college course in professional golf at Elmwood and then the natural progression was to go on and do the PGA course.

“Graduating from that is a nice reward for all the hard work I’ve put in, as well as for those who have helped me.”

Nick Taylor has become the first Canadian to win the RBC Canadian Open since 1954 after beating Englishman Tommy Fleetwood in a thrilling playoff finish, landing a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole on Sunday.

The raucous crowd in Toronto willed the ball into the hole as Taylor hit the longest putt of his PGA Tour career, securing his third PGA Tour victory.

Taylor said after the tournament: “I’m speechless. This is for all the guys that are here. This is for my family at home.

“This is the most incredible feeling.”

As Taylor celebrated, throwing his putter into the air, his close friend and professional golfer Adam Hadwin was tackled by security as he ran onto the green to congratulate Taylor.

A strong outing for Tommy Fleetwood looked like he might land his first PGA Tour victory, but it was not to be.

“I played great today, even though I missed some chances, if you like, on those playoff holes,” Fleetwood said.

“Yeah, it was close. I just have to take the positives from it and start practicing tomorrow. I got a major next week. So can’t dwell on it too much.”

Taylor finished strong on the last day with eight birdies and two bogeys, with a crucial birdie on the 18th to send it to a playoff finish.

Fleetwood had the chance to win in regulation play on the 18th, but failed to capitalise, missing the birdie for a par.

English duo Tyrell Hatton and Aaron Rai narrowly missed out on joining Taylor and Fleetwood in the playoff, finishing one stroke short of the pair.

Joining them on 16 under par was CT Pan, while Rory McIlroy finished five strokes behind.

England’s Dale Whitnell completed the journey from courier driver to DP World Tour winner as he claimed an emotional victory at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.

Whitnell was regarded as one of British golf’s brightest prospects when he turned professional in 2009, shortly after playing on a Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team that included future European number one and Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood.

But he struggled to find his feet in the paid ranks and took on work as a delivery driver while playing on satellite tours before claiming a win on the Challenge Tour in 2019, the same year he earned his DP World Tour card via the Qualifying School.

He has been establishing himself on the main circuit since and a closing 70 in Stockholm handed him a 21 under total and a three-shot victory over American Sean Crocker.

“It’s awesome,” said a clearly emotional Whitnell. “It tested me out there.

“It’s been a long time coming, I’m ecstatic. It means everything to me, it’s what I get up every day for. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. I’ve dreamt of this for a long time.”

The 34-year-old brought a six-shot lead into the weekend and extended that to eight at one point on Saturday but he was not to have it all his own way at Ullna Golf and Country Club.

Despite a bogey on the second, he led by six after four holes of his final round but the advantage was back to four at the turn and when Crocker made a second eagle of the day on the 15th and Whitnell found water on the 13th, the lead was just two.

A seemingly nerveless 17-foot birdie putt on the 17th handed the leader some breathing room, however, and after finding the green in two at the last, he and caddie Garry Melia – who was only on the bag for this week – were left to celebrate.

Crocker’s closing 65 left him at 18 under, three shots clear of German Ryder Cup hopeful Yannik Paul and Anne Van Dam, who was the leading women’s player.

English duo Gabriella Cowley and Paul Waring were at 14 under, with Swedish amateur Hugo Townsend, son of two-time Ryder Cup player Peter Townsend, two shots further back.

Robert MacIntyre could be forgiven for having mixed feelings on several fronts when he sits down to watch the US Open on TV.

First and foremost is the fact that it will be just the fourth major championship which MacIntyre has missed since he made his debut in the game’s biggest events with a tie for sixth in the 2019 Open.

Secondly, this year’s US Open is being staged at Los Angeles Country Club, venue for the 2017 Walker Cup in which MacIntyre represented Great Britain and Ireland and won 1.5 points from his three matches.

But while MacIntyre enjoyed a “great experience” six years ago, the visitors were beaten 19-7 by a United States team featuring current world number one Scottie Scheffler, two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and PGA Tour winners Will Zalatoris and Cameron Champ.

“I knew they were good but you never know how good they’re actually going to become,” MacIntyre told the PA news agency.

“They’ve probably exceeded their own expectations at times but that team is going to go down as one of the best Walker Cup teams in history so it wasn’t too bad getting absolutely hammered by them!”

In fairness, MacIntyre did thrash Champ 6&4 in the opening day’s singles and, after suffering a foursomes defeat alongside Matthew Jordan on day two, also halved a rematch with Champ to emerge with great credit from a testing week.

“It was brilliant. The Walker Cup was a great experience,” the left-hander from Oban said.

“The set-up of the golf course was incredible. The place was playing firm and fast, it was the first time I’d putted on greens with that kind of speed and slope.

“And the whole place, the setting of it right in the middle of LA is absolutely spectacular from the minute you drive in through the gates to the minute you drive out.

“It’s completely different to where I come from and for me it was a cool experience to be there to see. The golf course is brilliant but it’s super, super long, as everyone’s going to find out.

“It was reasonably thick rough, there were certain holes you didn’t want to miss the fairways because you couldn’t get it there, but I just remember it being so fast.

“If you hit the fairway it would run 70-80 yards with the driver and the greens were probably running at 13 (on the stimpmeter).”

MacIntyre described Oak Hill as an “absolute monster” as he suffered his first missed cut in a major in last month’s US PGA Championship and Los Angeles Country Club could prove equally tough.

The 7,423-yard, par-70 layout includes a 623-yard par five and two of its five par threes measure 284 and 290 yards, although the shortest hole on the course will not exactly be a walk in the park either.

“It could be absolutely anything depending on what they’ve done to the place,” MacIntyre added. “They will grow the rough and narrow the fairways. It could be crazy.

“In one round in the Walker Cup all the par threes were played off the back tees except the 15th.

“They were playing it at 101 yards to a front-right pin and guys were missing the green because of the firmness. If you hit a certain point on the green it was kicking into the back bunker.

“It’s the best players in the world so length doesn’t really cause them problems, but it will depend on how firm and fast it is. It will be entertaining to watch that’s for sure.”

Rory McIlroy’s bid for a third successive Canadian Open title stepped up a gear as he moved into a tie for second heading into the final round in Toronto.

McIlroy’s third round 66 leaves him two behind leader CT Pan and in a group of six players tied on 12-under-par, which includes English duo Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose.

They are joined by Americans Mark Hubbard, Harry Higgs and Andrew Novak while England’s Aaron Rai is a stroke further back after a 69 left him alongside Canada’s Nick Taylor, who broke the Oakdale Golf & Country Club course record with a 63.

Tyrell Hatton, who was tied second with Rai and Pan at halfway after a second round 64, slipped six strokes off the pace with a 72.

Victory on Sunday would make McIlroy the first player to win three consecutive Canadian Opens – over the space of five years due to Covid cancellations – and the first on the PGA Tour since Steve Stricker in 2009-11.

McIlroy fired six birdies in a blemish-free round and admitted conditions were set up for low scoring after the previous day’s rain.

“It was prime for scoring,” said McIlroy, who will chase a second US Open title in Los Angeles next week. “It’s really that back nine you need to take advantage of. But it was nice to sort of have what I felt was a cushion after playing the front nine so well.

“I’ve never won a tournament three times in a row. I felt like last year the win wasn’t just for me, it was for a few other things. But this one, this year, if I were able to get over the line, will be solely for me.”

Last year’s win came in the midst of LIV Golf’s birth while McIlroy headed into this week’s tournament having said he felt like “a sacrificial lamb” in the wake of the merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the rival Saudi-backed circuit.

“For whatever reason, I seem to play better when there’s a little bit of noise going on in the world of golf,” he said.

“It’s really nice to get inside the ropes and just concentrate on my job at the end of the day, which is trying to get the ball around the golf course.”

Rose, who won his US Open title 10 years ago, shot into contention as he birdied five straight holes from the 12th and added another on the last.

Fleetwood, who is still looking for his first win in the US, would have matched the course record if it were not for Taylor’s earlier effort.

Pan, from Taiwan, birded the final two holes in a round of 66 as he chases a second tour title.

England’s Dale Whitnell will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed as he goes in search of a first DP World Tour title in Sweden.

A stunning 61 on day two in Stockholm had handed him a six-shot advantage after 36 holes and despite dropping a first shot of the week on the second, he responded with four birdies in his next five holes to lead by eight.

He would not have it all his own way, however, as he made a double-bogey on the ninth after a poor tee-shot and another on the 16th after finding the water, although birdies on the 10th and 15th limited the damage.

German Ryder Cup hopeful Yannik Paul had cut the advantage to three with a tap-in birdie at the last as he completed a 68 but playing partner Whitnell followed him in from 15 feet to get to 19 under after a 70 and stay in pole position for victory.

“I had a couple of instances where it didn’t quite go to plan but I thought I kept my head, just tried to plug away and take one shot at a time,” he said.

“It is hard to go through a round of golf without dropping a shot, let alone two or three or four, so I sort of stuck to my guns, had a gameplan and tried to execute it.

“I mean it wasn’t a bad day, it wasn’t exactly ideal but it was more than acceptable.”

Scotland’s Richie Ramsay was six shots off the pace after a 69 as he looks for a fifth DP World Tour victory and second in as many seasons.

“The boys are playing well in front but I’m within touching distance and the goal was always to be in the mix on the back nine and I feel the back nine has a lot of opportunities,” he said.

“If I can just sort of jostle for position a little bit I can be right there, but you don’t know what they are going to do, all you have got to do is give your best, your 100 per cent and then if an opportunity arises, go for it.”

The Netherlands’ Anne van Dam matched the lowest round of the day with a 63 to be the leading woman at 12 under, a shot clear of English pair Matthew Jordan and Gabriella Cowley, with the latter making three eagles in her 64.

A decade may have passed since Justin Rose won the US Open, but unsurprisingly memories of his momentous achievement at Merion quickly come flooding back.

“It turned into a magical week and there were so many factors in play,” Rose told the PA news agency in an exclusive interview.

“It was one of the first majors that I really identified as a huge opportunity and I really went out of my way to prepare for, really did things a little bit differently that week.

“There was some great preparation mixed in with kind of a mystical side of it being Father’s Day, me feeling like my dad was watching down and being very much a motivating factor for me that week.”

Yet it was a week which could easily have turned out so differently.

The preparation Rose alluded to was three full days spent at Merion the week before the championship, only for the conditions to change significantly following a downpour caused by the remnants of tropical storm Andrea.

With torrential rain continuing to fall on the East Course, plans were even put in place to use two holes on the West Course, while Ian Poulter offered an illuminating response when asked whose game would be suited to the test.

“Someone who can use flippers and snorkel the best,” Poulter replied.

“That was fortuitous that the bad weather came in and I wasn’t around for it, but in some ways it made me doubt my preparation because I’d seen Merion in a certain way,” Rose recalled.

“The course was playing fantastically and it was a US Open so you build your game plan in a way to think, ‘How can I get round this course without making mistakes and shoot even par?’

“Then all the rain came down and softened up the course and all the Golf Channel pundits are saying it was going to be a bloodbath, birdies everywhere and double digits under par was going to win.

“I was like, ‘Oh well, that was a bit of a waste of time then,’ but it was too late to change my game plan so I stuck with it and, lo and behold, one over par won the golf tournament.”

That winning total belonged to Rose following a dramatic final round played out alongside Luke Donald, the English duo starting the day two shots behind Phil Mickelson, who was celebrating his 43rd birthday.

Mickelson double-bogeyed the third and fifth to limp to the turn in 39 before holing out for an eagle on the short par-four 10th, only for Rose to immediately respond with birdies on the 12th and 13th to reclaim the lead.

Two bogeys in three holes from both players left Rose one ahead on the 18th tee, from where he hit a perfect drive to within a few yards of the plaque which commemorates Ben Hogan’s one-iron to the 72nd hole of the 1950 US Open, which helped get the American into a play-off the following day which he went on to win.

“I hit probably the best shot of my life at the right time which ultimately ended up missing the green, which shows you how hard that shot is in there,” Rose laughed.

“I left myself in the perfect spot really to make an easy four which I hoped was going to be good enough.”

After tapping in for par, Rose raised his fingers to the sky in tribute to his father Ken, a massive influence on his career who died from leukaemia in 2002.

“Being a father myself by that point in my life, it was very special,” he said.

“My coach at the time, Sean Foley, sent me a really great message the morning of the final round making it clear what a good day would look like.

“It wasn’t necessarily based upon the result, it was more about going out there and carrying myself in a way that would make not just my dad proud, but my kids, being a role model for them and showing them how to carry yourself in pressure situations.

“Obviously I had to wait for the final groups to finish, so there was some nail biting going on because I felt like I had done enough and you can almost taste victory at that point.

“I would have hoped it would have been the catalyst to go on and win some more majors, but that obviously isn’t the case yet.

“Having that monkey off the back was a huge relief at that point in my career. It came before there were any questions on being the best player not to have won a major – it was nice to take care of business and I hoped the freedom of that would have kicked me on to win more.

“I’ve had a few opportunities and that’s where majors are hard to win because yes, you have to play great golf, but you also need that little moment of brilliance or luck right at the end that gets the job done.”

Rory McIlroy boosted his chances of a third consecutive RBC Canadian Open title with a flawless second round of 67 in Ontario.

McIlroy recorded five birdies at Oakdale Golf and Country Club to improve to six under par, three shots off the halfway lead held by China’s Carl Yuan.

The world number three first won the tournament by seven shots in 2019 but it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. McIlroy carded a closing 62 to win at St George’s 12 months ago.

Asked about trying to win the title for a third time on a third different course, McIlroy said: “I sort of like it.

“I like reacting to what I’m seeing out there and targets. And I’m not a great player at playing a course by memory.

“There’s certain venues on tour that I go back to and I play well, but it’s not really because I remember how putts are breaking or where to miss it. It’s just I feel comfortable at that venue.”

Rounds of 68 and 67 gave Yuan a one-shot lead over home favourite Corey Conners, C.T. Pan and the English pair of Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai.

Hatton, who fired six birdies in seven holes from the seventh in his 64, said: “A lot of putts went in, which was nice.

“The greens were a bit funky this afternoon; I managed to hit my start line, they’d bobble off line and thankfully they bobbled back on line and went in. Just happy to see the ball go in the hole and have a decent day.”

Rai was three over par after six holes of his opening round, but has played the next 30 in 11 under in pursuit of his first PGA Tour title.

“It’s a funny game and you can sometimes be playing great but sometimes be doubtful in the mind and not feel amazing over certain shots,” Rai said.

“You can sometimes be playing quite poorly but then kind of flick a switch in the mind and feel very positive about what you’re doing and what’s to come.

“So I think that was the biggest thing that even on hole number seven (on Thursday), although I was three over I felt pretty calm and pretty settled in the situation we were in. I think that was key for then finishing off the round very strongly.”

England’s Dale Whitnell carded a stunning second round of 61 to open up a commanding six-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed in Stockholm.

Whitnell fired six birdies in his first eight holes and started the back nine at Ullna Golf and Country Club with three more in succession from the 10th.

A 10th birdie of the day on the 15th left the 34-year-old needing to play the last three holes in three under to card the second 59 in DP World Tour history, but he could only par 16 and 17 before making a birdie on the last.

At 17 under par, Whitnell held a six-shot lead over Germany’s Ryder Cup hopeful Yannik Paul, with Scotland’s Richie Ramsay another shot back after a bogey-free 66.

England’s Alice Hewson and France’s Emma Grechi were the leading female players on five under par in the unique event which sees 78 men and 78 women compete on the same course for one prize fund and one trophy.

Defending champion Linn Grant, who recorded a stunning nine-shot victory 12 months ago in Halmstad, added a 69 to her opening 72 to lie three under.

Former AIG Women’s Open champion Georgia Hall hopes her relationship with fellow player Ryann O’Toole will encourage others to be “true to themselves”.

Hall and O’Toole had been acquaintances for several years before finally being paired in a tournament in 2022 and their relationship blossomed from then on.

“I knew her, knew her name and knew who she was but we really didn’t play together at all for like five years and we would never be near each other,” Hall said in an interview with the LPGA to mark Pride Month.

“Then we got paired together a couple of times last year, and we just got on really well and it’s went from there really.”

Although the couple are not shy about their relationship online, Hall admits she still feels her sexuality surprises some of her fans.

“There are so many comments from people we don’t know saying like, ‘So happy for you guys.’ They can see on our faces how happy we are and our love,” the 27-year-old from Bournemouth said.

“Maybe (there are) a few people kind of being like, oh, okay, she’s with a woman. That’s basically it. It’s not negative either.

England’s Aaron Rai claimed a share of the lead after the first round of the Canadian Open with compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick a shot behind as he warmed up for his US Open title defence.

Rai recovered from a terrible start to shoot a five-under-par 67 to sit alongside Corey Connors – looking to become the first Canadian winner in 69 winners – and American pair Chesson Hadley and Justin Lower.

A week before the US Open in Los Angeles, Fitzpatrick’s bid for a third PGA Tour title began with a four-under-par 68 at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club.

Having started on the back nine, the 28-year-old fired five birdies and would have been sharing the lead were it not for a bogey on his penultimate hole of the day.

He was one of nine players on 68, ahead of an even larger group on three-under-par which included former US Open champion Justin Rose and fellow English duo Callum Tarren and Harry Hall.

Rai had looked in all sorts of trouble after dropping four shots in three successive holes from the third to slump to three over, but he turned things round in remarkable fashion.

After recording birdies on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn on one over, the 28-year-old from Wolverhampton picked up further shots on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th – where he came close to making a hole in one – 16th and 18th to move to five under.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy, whose build-up to the tournament saw him fielding questions about the shock merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, was one under after an eventful opening 71 that included five birdies and four bogeys.

“At the end of the day, this is business and my job is playing golf,” said McIlroy. “The more that I can focus on that and focus on the birdies and the bogeys instead of the stuff that’s happened in the boardroom, I’ll be much happier.

The world number three is seeking a hat-trick of victories at the Canadian Open following triumphs in 2019 and 2022, with the tournament having been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.

McIlroy was one behind England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Knox, whose fellow Scot Martin Laird was among those on one-under-par. Tyrell Hatton and Ireland’s Shane Lowry both opened with level par 72s.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick will defend his title when the 123rd US Open takes place at Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18.

Fitzpatrick is bidding to join Brooks Koepka (2017-18) in winning back-to-back title as the US Open returns to LA for the first time since 1948.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main contenders for the year’s third major championship.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka won the US Open at Erin Hills in 2017 and triumphed again 12 months later at Shinnecock Hills, making him the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to win back-to-back titles. He also won the US PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019 before suffering career-threatening injuries and a loss of form, but won his third US PGA and fifth major title at Oak Hill last month. Koepka now has more major wins than regular PGA Tour titles and looks set to be a factor in the game’s biggest events for years to come.

Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler was unable to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods in winning successive Masters titles, although a share of 10th at Augusta ensured his worst result in 2023 remarkably remains a tie for 12th in the Genesis Invitational. He finished joint second behind Koepka in the US PGA and third in the Memorial Tournament, both times being let down by his putting. The world number one leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee and tee to green, as well as greens in regulation, but is ranked just 114th in total putting.

Jon Rahm

Rahm’s brilliant early-season form had taken a slight dip before the Masters and he then four-putted the first hole at Augusta National, but the 2021 US Open winner responded superbly to shoot an opening 65 on his way to a four-shot victory and second major title. He recovered from an opening 76 to make the cut in the US PGA, but finished a distant 50th and was 16th in the Memorial after shooting four over par over the weekend.

Max Homa

Homa has yet to record a top-10 finish in 15 major appearances, with a best result of 13th in the 2022 US PGA, but the California native has won four of his six PGA Tour titles in his home state and set the course record of 61 at Los Angeles Country Club on his way to winning the prestigious Pac-12 title in 2013. The field averaged 73.29 on the par-70 layout when Homa carded nine birdies in his bogey-free round; he also three-putted the par-five eighth for par.

Patrick Cantlay

Another California native, Cantlay held the course record at LACC until it was broken by Homa and has played there a lot as it re-opened after renovation work in 2010, shortly before Cantlay began attending UCLA. The world number four has made the cut in all seven US Open appearances to date – he was low amateur in 2011 – and has recorded five top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2023, including a tie for ninth in the US PGA after a closing 66.