US Open Golf 2017 Leaderboard: Latest Scores, Round 1 Standings at Erin Hills

The competition is alive and well at the summit of the 2017 U.S. Open leaderboard, as Thursday saw this year's tournament get under way in Erin Hills, Wisconsin, with a handful of stars snatching a share of the lead early on.

Charley Hoffman and Talor Gooch impressed early on and took a chunk of the lead after shooting two under alongside the likes of Rickie Fowler, Thomas Aiken, Tommy Fleetwood and Martin Laird.

However, it was Fowler who claimed a two-shot lead towards the latter part of the first round, ending his day on seven under.

Thursday also brought about the anticipated news that Phil Mickelson officially withdrew from the competition in order to attend his daughter's graduation and was replaced by Roberto Diaz, per ESPN.

Even with Lefty out of the field, a raft of superstars lie in wait to tee off later on in Round 1, with Dustin Johnson (2016), Jordan Spieth (2015) and Martin Kaymer (2014) making up a star-studded group of previous U.S. Open winners.

Read on for a roundup of the early first-round action from Erin Wells, complete with a recap of Thursday's highlights thus far.

Recap

Hoffman kicked off his 2017 U.S. Open on the 10th tee alongside Jason Dufner and Hideto Tanihara, but it was the former who immediately looked more at ease on the Erin Hills fairways.

Two birdies on his first three holes put the American in a commanding position atop the leaderboard, one shot ahead of his peers, although 5NEWS reporter Andrew Sacglione noted this wasn't unfamiliar territory for Hoffman:

It was at this year's Augusta Masters that the San Diego native carded a superb 65 on the opening day to lead before a capitulation saw him finish tied for 22nd, something he'll be hoping to avoid in Wisconsin this week.

Gooch isn't as accustomed to such pressures, but he impressed early on Thursday, as Sean Zak of GOLF.com lauded a few of the 25-year-old's more impressive shots early on:

The Oklahoma State University alumnus even moved one stroke clear of the pack on three-under but blinked first in the battle for the first bogey among the early contenders, dropping a shot on the par-five seventh hole.

Hoffman soon followed with a bogey of his own on the 15th and fell from the joint-leaders while Fowler, also teeing off from the 10th, took two quick birdies to replace him tied level with the pace-setters, per Golfweek:

The Americans took an early grip on the top positions as the first groups got their tournaments up and running, but England's Fleetwood and Scot Laird ensured there was some European representation up top.

More trios and feature groups will be teeing off as Thursday's action continues, but those early risers will be hoping their scores will be sufficient to keep them in the mix until Round 2.