LEADERBOARD 

June 16th 2011, Maryland, U.S.A.: On Thursday, Rory McIlroy showed no emotional scars from losing a four-shot 54-hole lead in a scathing Sunday second-nine beating at Augusta National Golf Club in April. The floppy-haired 22-year-old took a scalpel to Congressional Country Club's Blue Course, shooting a 6-under 65.

By doing so, McIlroy created a three-stroke cushion over 2009 PGA champion Y.E. Yang and the main beneficiary of his Masters meltdown, Charl Schwartzel. The margin is the largest U.S. Open first-round lead since amateur Mike Reid led by four in 1976.

"I don't know if it says that I've just got a very short memory," said McIlroy. "I took the experience from Augusta, and I learned a lot from it. You can't be thinking about what's happened before, you've got to just be thinking about this week and how best you can prepare and how you can get yourself around the golf course."

How the Northern Irishman got around Congressional was by hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation en route to the only bogey-free round on a day when the stroke average was nearly three strokes higher than par (74.109).

This is not the first time McIlory has displayed his immense talent in a major. He made his majors debut as an amateur with a 68 at the 2007 British Open. A final-round 68 at the 2009 U.S. Open earned him his first top-10 finish. Last year, he posted 7-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open at St. Andrews. And there was also a 7-under 65 at Augusta this year.

"The best one was definitely St. Andrews," he said. "I played really good there, had a real chance of shooting the lowest round ever in a major. I felt as if today I had a chance to do that, as well. It felt like quite a simple 65. I didn't do much wrong. I think I hit 17 out of 18 greens, just kept giving myself opportunities for birdies, and when you can do that in a U.S. Open, it's pretty good."

McIlroy is learning to be even-keeled as he also has a history for ballooning. He followed his debuting 68 in 2007 with a 76 (he still was low amateur), and his sterling 63 at St. Andrews was offset by a second-round 80 in gusty conditions.

"I just learned that it's a long way to go, even after that 63," McIlroy said. "It's hard to put thoughts out of your head about going on and winning and everything, but you've got to really stay in the present and stay in the moment. And I felt like I handled the second round at Augusta this year a lot better than I handled the second round at St. Andrews last year."

One stroke behind Yang and Schwartzel, at 2-under 69, is a group of six players, including the reigning British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, a resurgent Sergio Garcia of Spain, who went through sectional qualifying on June 6, and American Ryan Palmer.

McIlroy's fellow Northern Irishman and defending U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell shot 70, one of 12 players at 1 under that included current U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.

Yang posted his score early, during the morning wave that resulted in more favorable course conditions.

"It's always easier to be in front than to be chasing," said Yang, who birdied each of the four par-3 holes. "So from that sense it's a lot more relaxing than building up confidence, per se. But at the same time because I had such a good showing in the first round it also makes me believe that I can do it once more."

Schwartzel, who bogeyed his opening hole - the mercurial 199-yard, par-3 10th - also has his blinders on.

"It's a long way to go," he said. "But it's nice to get yourself in contention. It makes your work almost less. If you start falling too far behind on a tough golf course, things can get a little bit too far in front of you. So you need to stay in there with a chance."

Though a number of major winners dotted the top 10, there were several names noticeably absent. World No. 1 Luke Donald opened his round with a pair of birdies before finishing with a 3-over 74.

"Certainly, at three over, I'm not out of it," said Donald, who entered as a leading favorite based on 10 consecutive top-10 finishes. "Everyone knows that it's only going to get tougher and if I can plug away and shoot some good scores coming in, I'm still right there. Little bit discouraging that I didn't play like I felt like I could play, but I'll go out and find something on the range and get back tomorrow."

Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, who are Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, behind Donald in the rankings, shot 75 and 74. Phil Mickelson, who played with McIlroy, also shot 74.