US Open Golf 2016 Leaderboard: Latest Scores, Round 1 Standings at Oakmont

Danny Willett overcame a star-studded field to kick off golf's major season with a victory in the Masters back in April. Now Oakmont Country Club is hosting the game's best for what should be an outstanding test of both physical and mental strength at the 2016 U.S. Open.

Oakmont represents a difficult test because of its small margin for error. The course magnifies even minor mistakes, which is why the champion is often the player who can best limit the damage when he does get in trouble, as Angel Cabrera proved with his plus-five winning score nine years ago.

Let's take an early glance at the tournament leaders. That's followed by a closer look at a trio of possible championship contenders who will tee off in the afternoon. 

Tournament Leaderboard

Afternoon Starters To Watch

Jason Day

Matt York/Associated Press

Day sits atop the World Golf Ranking after a strong first half of 2016, which featured three victories and just one missed cut. He's also enjoyed a lot of success at the U.S. Open in recent years, racking up four top-10 finishes in five career starts, though he's never won.

The biggest concern isn't the state of his game but rather his ability to withstand four straight days of grind-it-out golf. Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune noted the Australian stated he's been dealing with an illness that probably stems from stress:

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I've never been more stressed in my life than right now. Being No. 1 in the world, having a lot of expectations, having to practice so hard to keep that No. 1 spot, trying to win as many tournaments … it puts a lot of stress and pressure on your shoulders. Sometimes your immune system gets a little heated, and you're more susceptible to getting some illnesses that way.

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It's hard to win any event when dealing with those types of circumstances. Add in the fact it's a major on probably one of the toughest courses he'll face in his life and it's fair to say raising the trophy Sunday would be one of the most rewarding feats of his career, regardless of what happens in the future.

That said, he has the game to make it happen if he's able to find a comfort zone on the course. His play over the first few days is one of the most intriguing storylines to follow.

Dustin Johnson

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

While Johnson is still looking for his first win of the season, he's been playing well as of late. He's scored four top-five finishes in his last six starts, highlighted by a fourth-place effort in the Masters, and he hasn't missed a cut all year.

Unsurprisingly, he's generated plenty of attention leading up to the tournament on a course that rewards long and straight play, which is his strength when he's in top form. In turn, Matthew Holt of CG Technology pointed out he's become the people's choice this week:

The American is still looking for his first triumph in a major, though he came painfully close in this tournament one year ago. He three-putted from 12 feet to go from potentially winning the title to handing it over to Jordan Spieth.

Johnson's high-risk, high-reward style of play is going to leave him in some precarious positions this week, but his power will also generate more birdie looks for him than most others. How he handles those moments of turmoil will determine whether he's in the mix Sunday.

Henrik Stenson

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Stenson started to look like an afterthought for the U.S. Open after missing the cut in back-to-back events last month. But he returned at the European Tour's Nordea Masters a couple of weeks ago and finished fourth, carding a tournament-best six-under 66 in the final round.

That performance was a promising sign at the perfect time for the Swede. When at his best, his play from tee to green is exactly what's needed to win this week. Rusty Cage of AmateurGolf believes it could give him a notable edge:

His putting will be the biggest key to his success. He ranks 147th on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained from putting, according to PGATour.com. That could lead to a lot of headaches on Oakmont's slick greens if he's not lagging the ball well.

The silver lining for Stenson is that his advantage in other areas combined with the difficulty of the course means he doesn't need to putt great to win. Even an average week on the greens should give him a legitimate chance at the title. He just can't let mistakes with the putter doom him.