US Open Golf 2012 Leaderboard: How Phil Mickelson and Top Stars Fared on Day 1

This is going to be one ugly U.S. Open.

The rigorous 7,170-yard course at Olympic Club in San Francisco has proven to be a nightmare for some of golf's top stars, including newly-inducted Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson.

For all his accomplishments, Lefty has never won a U.S. Open, and it looks like he won't be getting his first in 2012. He was absolutely terrible in Thursday's opening round, finishing with a six-over 76.

Mickelson dug himself a massive hole early on, bogeying his first three holes of the day. According to ESPN Stats & Info, this was his worst three-hole start at the U.S. Open as a professional.

"

This is the first time as a professional that Phil Mickelson has opened a U.S. Open with 3 scores worse than par.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 14, 2012"

He went on to bogey four more holes, including Holes 4 and 5, which are supposed to be the two easiest at Olympic Club.

Luckily for Lefty, he did finish strong, parring his last last three holes to build a little momentum heading into Day 2.

Mickelson had plenty of eyes on him, as he was one-third of a star-studded group, which also featured Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson. Despite being a few of the PGA's biggest names, the three men had very different results on Thursday.

Watson struggled even more than Phil, finishing with an eight-over 78.

He had a promising birdie on 17, but he followed it with a double-bogey on the next hole. He also registered bogeys on Holes 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 15 and 16. If he wants to play into the weekend, he will need to be much better in Day 2.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods is looking like the dominant force that he once was.

After winning the Memorial, Tiger has capitalized on his positive momentum. He finished Round 1 with a one-under 69, putting him just three strokes behind leader Michael Thompson. He was consistent throughout, sinking three birdies and just two bogeys.

If Tiger can have a similar performance in Round 2, he will be in perfect position heading into the weekend.

Leaderboard

Here is how the top of the leaderboard looks after Round 1.

Position	Player	Today	Thru	Total
1.	M. Thompson	-4	F	-4
T2.	G. McDowell	-1	F	-1
T2.	N. Watney	-1	F	-1
T2.	J. Rose	-1	F	-1
T2.	T. Woods	-1	F	-1
T2.	D. Toms	-1	F	-1

Click here for the full 2012 US Open leaderboard.