Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson hold on to lead at 2015 U.S. Open

As tough as Chambers Bay Golf Club was supposed to play as the host of the U.S. Open, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson both found a way to make it out of the first round with the lead at five-under 65.

Johnson made his push on the front nine with four birdies in the first seven holes. Stenson got his on the back with four in the last five holes.

Phil Mickelson was the early clubhouse leader Thursday but three bogeys on holes 10, 13 and 14 dropped him to one-under 69, tied for 14th.

One of the biggest surprises of the day though was amateur Brian Campbell, who qualified for the U.S. Open at the Newport Beach sectional, who was tied at third at four-under through 15 holes with six birdies.

Masters champion Jordan Spieth had a solid if not dominating round to start the championship finishing with a two-under tied for seventh. Rory McIlroy, the No. 1 golfer in the world, finished two-over tied for 62nd.

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Don’t sleep on Jordan Spieth.

The 21-year-old put together a string of three birdies to climb up to 3 under for a tie at sixth through 13 holes at the U.S. Open.

Spieth had a 17-foot putt for birdie on the par 4 No. 13 after his two approach shots on holes 11 and 12 set him up for short, easy puts of 12-inches and four feet.

Jason Day, who is also in the grouping with Spieth and Justin Rose, has also climbed up the leaderboard with a 4 under through 14 holes with five birdies.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler are getting beat down by the course at Chambers Bay. Woods has had trouble hitting the fairways and needed three shots to get out of the bunker at No. 14.

Woods is at 10 over through 14. Rickie Fowler (+9) and Louis Oosthuizen (+7) have also struggled with the course in that group.

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Gary Woodland was taken the the Tacoma General Hospital and treated for dehydration after finishing four-over 74 in the first round.

Woodland has been sick since Sunday according to the Associated Press and needed IV fluids before he started the first round on Thursday.

Rory McIlroy said before the championship that during his practice rounds he walked about 10 miles a day at the links-like Chambers Bay course. Others have put the actual hole milage somewhere around 7.5 miles.

Woodland agent said he hopes to return for the second round Friday.

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Ben Martin is no longer alone in his efforts to chase down Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson.

After settling for a bogey on his second hole (the 11th), Kevin Kisner has rallied back with four birdies on the back nine. Martin birdied his seventh hole to get to 4 under, tied for third.

It’s early, but amateur Brian Campbell, who qualified for the championship at the Newport Beach sectional, is 3 under with three birdies through his first seven holes.

Masters champion Jordan Spieth is even through the front nine with one birdie on No. 8 after hitting seven of the first nine greens.

On the other end of the spectrum, Tiger Woods began the U.S. Open with back-to-back bogeys -- four in all -- through his first seven holes. Woods is struggling at 4 over.

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Will anyone match or catch Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson, who shots 5 under in the morning rounds?

Well, Ben Martin is off to a good start at 3 under after three holes. He did it with a birdie on his second hole (the 11th hole on the course) and then an eagle on the 317-yard, par 4 12th hole. There have been eight eagles on Thursday, all on the 12th.

J.B. Holmes was 2 under after eight and Camilo Villegas started strong with 2 under after two holes.

Still, the number for everyone to shoot at is the 5 under Johnson and Stenson.

Things weren’t going so well for Tiger Woods, who bogied three of his first four holes. Making the cut might be difficult unless he turns his game around.

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The morning group is all in the clubhouse with Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson tied for first at 5 under.

Stenson blistered the course for seven birdies with two bogeys mixed in on the front side. Johnson had six birdies with his only bogey coming on the ninth hole.

Patrick Reed was one back at 4 under followed by Matt Kuchar at 3 under. Cody Gribble, Francesco Molinari, Jason Dufner and Marc Warren finished at 2 under.

The early mover of the golfers teeing off in the afternoon was Brad Elder, who is two under after four holes. He started on the back nine.

Phil Mickelson got the crowd excited holding the lead for a while this morning before consecutive bogeys left him at 1 under.

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Dustin Johnson took sole position of first place in the first round of the U.S. Open with five birdies and no bogeys through 15 holes.

He has a two-shot lead over Henrik Stenson (through 15 holes) and Patrick Reed (13). Reed had the lead at one point at 4 under, but a bogey on the first hole (his 10th hole of the day) dropped him back.

Codt Gribble, who with an early tee time held the lead early in the morning, was the leader in the clubhouse at 2 under. Kevin Chappell (16), Matt Kuchar (16) and Francisco Molinari were all at two under.

Phil Mickelson (17) got the crowd excited early as he moved to the top of the leaderboard at 3 under but bogeys on 10, 13 and 14 dropped him back, but still easily in contention.

The afternoon group, which includes Tiger Woods, will start teeing off around 1 p.m. PDT.

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Hold on, the course has woken up.

The names at the top of the leaderboard have started to back up as play continued into the afternoon.

Phil Mickelson’s time leading came to an abrupt end with consecutive bogeys on 13 and 14.

Patrick Reed took sole control when he birdied the 17th hole (only the eighth hole he has played). It was his fourth birdie of the day with no bogeys.

But he fell back on the first hole (10th played) when he was short of the green with his second shot and then a poor chip left him well short of the pin. He two-putted for the bogey and dropped to 3 under and a share of the lead.

Matt Kuchar (through 12 holes) and Dustin Johnson (11) were tied with Reed at 3 under.

Mickelson dropped to 2 under with a bogey on the 13th, his second bogey on the back nine. On the 14th hole he put his drive near the lip of a fairway bunker and then his second shot caught another bunker short of the green. A poor sand shot and two-putt dropped him back to 1 under.

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Phil Mickelson had his first stumble of the tournament when he bogeyed the 10th hole, but he recovered nicely with a birdie on the next pin and retained a share of the lead at 3 under after 11.

Patrick Reed is also at 3 under after seven holes. Reed started on the back nine, while Mickelson started his round on their first tee. Reed hasn’t bogeyed a hole.

At 2 under are Kevin Chapell (through 10 holes), Hideki Matsuyama (9), Matt Kuchar (9), Dustin Johnson (9) and Marc Warren (7).

The course continues to be challenging, but not as difficult as some had feared. The wide fairways have served as an advantage to the long hitters.

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Things are looking pretty good for Phil Mickelson so far in the U.S. Open. He stands atop the leaderboard at 3 under after eight holes.

He birdied the par 3 third, par 4 fifth and par 5 eighth. He missed a short putt on six that could have really separated him from the field in the early going. The U.S. Open is the only major he has never won.

In second, one stroke back are Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Adam Scott. There are 13 golfers tied at 1 under, erasing any early fears the course would be too difficult.

All of the morning golfers are on the course, going off the first and 10th tees. The afternoon golfers, which includes Tiger Woods at 2:28 p.m. PDT, tee off at 1 p.m.

Alexander Levy (1 under), Victor Dubuisson (1 under), Cameron Smith (even) and Kurt Barnes (1 under) join Mickelson with three birdies. Martin Kaymer has the only eagle of the day, a 2 on the par 4, 304-yard 12th hole.

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What’s all this talk about Chambers Bay being a tough course? As virtually all of 76 morning golfers were on the course, 18 were under par and 40 were even par or better. But, it is only Thursday.

The leaderboard is shaping up to be pretty good through the early play. At two under were Phil Mickelson (through 7 holes), Henrik Stenson (4), Dustin Johnson (3) and Adam Scott (3).

Among the better names at 1 under were Matt Kuchar (4), Colin Montgomerie (3), Rory McIlroy (3), Patrick Reed (2) and Keegan Bradley (2).

As far as scoring, there has been one eagle (Martin Kaymer on the 304-yard 12th), 50 birdies, 238 pars, 77 bogeys and 8 double bogeys or worse.

There doesn’t appear to be a decided difference between those starting on the first or 10th hole.

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No one has separated themselves from the field in the early in the first round of the U.S. Open. There are seven players tied for first, all at 1 under.

The biggest of the names are Phil Mickelson (thru 4 holes), Matt Kuchar (2) and Adam Scott (1). Even Colin Montgomerie, aka Mrs. Doubtfire, is 1 under after one. Rounding out the leaderboard are Morgan Hoffman (3), Hideki Matsuyama (2) and Cody Gribble (5), whose fling with short-term fame is lasting longer than anyone expected.

Four of the seven leaders started on the 10th hole.

Other golfers you may have heard of include Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk at even par; Angel Cabrera at 1 over and Bubba Watson at 2 over.

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OK, it’s early, we know. But Phil Mickelson sits atop the leaderboard after three holes in a tie with Cody Gribble and Matt Kuchar at 1-under par.

Michelson birdied the par 3, 165-yard third hole for his first birdie of the round.

It’s hard to say how difficult the Chambers Bay course is playing but, of the 41 players that have finished a hole, only three are under par.

Twenty-two players were even par and the rest are are over par with Josh Persons and Bernd Wiesberger at the bottom at 3 over.

The next marquee group, with a scheduled 8:17 a.m. PDT tee time, although they are behind schedule, is Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia.

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As the first golfers tackled the Chambers Bay course, fears of six-hour rounds were percolating through the spectators. How easy or difficult will the course be, we’ll start to know as the morning unfolds.

The first marquee group of Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Angel Cabrera was scheduled to go off the No. 1 tee at 7:33 a.m. Until then, there was the usual collections of names that may be familiar, but will little more than that.

After the first half hour of play, Cody Gribble sank the first and only birdie of the tournament when he scored a 3 on the par 4, 496-yard first hole.

There were 12 players tied at even par. Josh Persons was bringing up the rear of the 21 golfers on the course at 3 over after two holes. He took a triple bogey on the par 4, 436-yard 10th hole. Groups of three were going off both the first and 10th tees.

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The most anticipated U.S. Open, arguably, since Tiger Woods was tearing up the PGA Tour begins today at Chambers Bay.

The 115th edition of the national championship, being contested for the first time in the Pacific Northwest, has so many components that make it compelling. They start with the quirky, rugged, links-style course that has received wildly mixed reviews from the 156 players in the field. Some have said it will be a pure and creative test, while others have called it “funky” and “goofy,” and some of the drama in the first round will come in hearing how many players rip it apart.

The 8-year-old course is a complete unknown, so there’s no telling whether the setup will yield a bunch of birdies or far more horror stories. It’s guaranteed to be brutally unforgiving on players who did not study well for this exam.

Inside the ropes, there’s considerable buzz about the potential rivalry that could develop between the world No. 1, Irishman Rory McIlroy, seeking his fifth major, and young American star Jordan Spieth, who’s trying to win his second major after capturing the Masters.

Coming off a Players Championship win that put him into a new echelon, Southern California native Rickie Fowler is among the favorites, as is 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose. With the course seeming to favor long hitters, two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, who’s had a couple of near-misses in majors, would seem to be strong considerations.

And what of the most visible rivals of the past, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods? Mickelson, mired in a lengthy slump, is still seeking the elusive U.S. Open win to compete his career Grand Slam, while Woods is still trying to find some semblance of a consistent swing. Incredibly, the start of this Open marks seven years since Woods seized his last major win in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

In that summer of 2008, Cole Hammer was 8 years old, and Woods’ famous fist pump became the Houston boy’s first television golf memory. The now-15-year-old Hammer reached this Open through qualifying, and don’t think the kid is going to be checking his score compared to Woods’ at day’s end.

john.cherwa@latimes.com

tod.leonard@utsandiego.com