Late bogeys don't ruin Rose's round, or his outlook

Justin Rose finished his opening round at Oakmont with three bogeys in his final five holes. But the young Englishman chose to focus on the five birdies he carded, and stressed that he's pleased to be in the thick of things after Day One.  

By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Surely he didn't want to finish off an otherwise impressive round with bogeys on three of his final five holes, but Englishman Justin Rose will gladly take the 1-over-par 71 he shot to begin the 107th U.S. Open -- a mark that has him three shots behind countryman and friend, Nick Dougherty.

Especially after the way it all started with a nightmarish double-bogey 6 at the 435-yard, par-4 10th hole, his first of the day.

"I haven't shot myself out of the tournament today, which is what the round one is all about, getting yourself in the tournament and I think after starting with a double on my first, I feel like I managed to sort of keep myself in the game today," he said. "Although I dropped a few shots coming in, I'm pretty happy with the day."

After the double bogey on his first hole and a bogey at his second, Rose rattled off a set of birdies to kick-start the round beginning on No. 12. With a bogey at the 15th hole, his sixth of the day, Rose made the turn at even par.

Shortly thereafter, Rose chipped in at No. 1 to get into the red at 1 under, and then birdied No. 3 after stuffing a 6-iron approach to three feet.

I thought today the greens were pretty soft with relatively easy pin placements and only two guys are under par, so if it does firm up and you get some Sunday pins and what have you, I fully expect over par (to win)," he said.

While pleased with the score overall, Rose was a touch annoyed with the bogeys he took on Nos. 5, 6 and 8 to close out the round. Those bogeys were the result of a three-putt from 45 feet and two failed up and downs.

"I made five birdies in my round, which was more than I sort of planned on -- well, not planned, but anytime you make five birdies around here, that's a good day," he said. "The key is to limit your mistakes and, unfortunately, I didn't manage to do that completely."

Rose, of course, is the young man who came to fame in 1998. Playing in the British Open as a wide-eyed 17-year-old amateur, he wowed the world of golf with his play throughout, which ended with a fairytale hole-out for birdie on the 72nd hole and a tie for fourth.

Famously, Rose turned professional the next day and struggled mightily in the professional ranks before finding his way over the last few years. In 2007 on the PGA TOUR, the newly married 26-year-old has accumulated three top-5 finishes -- including a tie for fifth at the Masters -- in just six starts.

He also finished second at the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour just a few weeks back, where he lost in a playoff to Anders Hansen. All of Rose's success this year has come in spite of the fact that he's been fighting through back problems typically reserved for the game's elder statesmen.

If his career has taught Rose anything, it's that even after a great first round there's still plenty of work left to be done.

"All in all I'm in the hunt, right in the ballgame from the word go," he said. "There's three rounds to go so it's not worth thinking about, but certainly it's a good, solid start."