Australian Adam Scott displayed a tidy short game to hang within three strokes of the clubhouse lead during the opening round at the US Open.

Scott, seeking that much-anticipated major breakthrough, struggled with his long game but extricated himself from trouble more often than not to post a respectable two-over-par 72 on the extremely tough Winged Foot layout.

Colin Montgomerie was the only morning starter to break par, a one-under 69 giving the Scot a one-shot cushion over highly-fancied Americans Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk with half the field back in the clubhouse.

Scott was best of the six Australians to play early, although Robert Allenby and Rod Pampling did their chances no harm by shooting 73, two shots better than Nick O'Hern and Richard Green, while Mathew Goggin putted poorly for 81.

"I survived one round," said a relieved Scott.

"I had my chipper working, chipped everything close and I didn't have to putt long ones. That saved me today, because I didn't really hit it very well. I didn't have very good rhythm this morning."

Pampling, meanwhile, was on the leader board for most of the round but bogeys at the final three holes left a nasty taste.

"We just got goosed on the 16th hole with the wind," he said.

"The (approach) shot I hit felt fine. It just kept going left and I didn't have a good lie in the bunker. Then I missed the next two fairways. It wasn't the best way to finish but it was a nice solid striking day out there."

O'Hern, who usually drives it as straight as anyone in the world, was strangely out-of-sorts, finding just six fairways, and under the circumstances he could hardly complain about his score, because it could have been considerably worse.

"I played like an absolute dog," said the left-hander.

"The front nine I hit one green (in regulation) and turned in two over, so I was a legend around the greens. I hit the ball better the second nine and shot three over. It's quite weird how it works out.

"I haven't shot myself completely in the foot and if I start hitting the ball well, my short game's really good. I heard someone at the start of the week saying five over would probably win and the way things are going, it would be a great score."

Green lamented a four-putt bogey at the 17th, but other than that he didn't do much wrong.

"Every bogey was a soft one," he said. "Take them out and I'd be right there. If I can get rid of those sloppy mistakes tomorrow I'll post a good number."

Leader Montgomerie twice finished second at the Open back in the distant 1990s, and perhaps this is the week he finally wins that elusive major title.

"Obviously 69 is a good score under any circumstances," said Montgomerie, who made a dreadful start, two over after three holes.

"The expectation of me to win this thing back in the '90s was very high. The expectation was lower this year and it does make a difference where you are more relaxed.

"It's nice I can sort of free-wheel and not worry about things the way I did in the 90s. This course tends to be set up more for driving and iron play than it does for putting, and that's in my favour."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP