AS IT HAPPENED: John Parry at the US Open on Day One

Our team is following his progress. Scroll down to read about his first round as he headed around the tricky course at Chambers Bay, Washington.

Parry hit seven pars in a row as he began on the back nine, but then bogeyed the 17th and 18th, and then the 1st and 2nd, as he embarked upon the first nine. A par at the third (his 12th) settled nerves, and he proceeded to par the 4th and 5th.

Parry’s first birdie of the weekend came at the 6th, and he was able to bring his score right down with a further birdie at the 8th, rounding the day off with a par on the 9th to card a very respectable 72.

Parry was on the course from 3.11pm (7.11am local time) alongside Americans Josh Persons and amateur Jack Maguire.

Let us know who you are backing for the tournament, and whether 500-1 shot Parry has a chance of topping the leaderboard by tweeting @HarrogateSport and @EdWhite2507

That’s it for us tonight folks, thanks for following our live coverage. We will be back with John tomorrow.

20.25 HOLE EIGHTEEN (9th) - Par three (Parry, +2)

A strong first shot sets Parry up nicely and he secures a par to end a largely tidy final nine holes. Two birdies mean he hit a two-over-par 72 on Thursday.

20.00 HOLE SEVENTEEN (8th) - Par five (Parry, +2 T6)

Oo, er, he’s in the rough with his second shot. Second longest hole on the course this, at 602 yards, so time (and space) to recover.

And recover he does! Parry hits a four, his second birdie of the day, to take him to +2 for the day with a 203-yard par three to finish for the day, next.

19:50 HOLE SIXTEEN (7th) - Par four (Parry, +3 T7)

Cock-a-hoop Parry smacks a 286 yard drive onto the right of the fairway, then touches the edge of the green with his second. Tidy work to finish the hole results in a good par. Parry remains +3 for the day, two holes to go.

19.20: HOLE FIFTEEN (6th) - Par four (Parry, +3)

BIRDIE for Parry, taking him to +3 for the day. Hitting the green in two stunning opening shots, Parry then putts a ten-footer to set himself up for the final three. Go on yourself, John!

19.10: HOLE FIFTEEN (6th) - Par four (Parry, +4)

Three pars in a row for John Parry, solid golf for the first day on a tough, tough course.

Now, what’s happening at the top of the leaderboard. Well, well, well, Patrick Reed (my early pick) leads the way at -4, closely followed by countryman Phil Mickelson, hunting his first US Open title and, with it, a career Grand Slam.

19.00: HOLE FOURTEEN (5th) - Par four (Parry, +4)

Parry hits a 256 yard drive, solid hitting secures another par, despite those four bogeys, our man is on for a good round here, if he can maintain his composure.

18.47: HOLE THIRTEEN (4th) - Par four (Parry, 8, +4)

A 300 yard drive sets Parry up nicely. On the green in two, Parry hits two putts to make par.

18.25: How important could that settling par be for John Parry? Calming the nerves after four bogeys in a row, we’ve all been there!

18.20 HOLE TWELVE (3rd) - Par three (Parry, 8, +4)

Cheeky par three now, and Parry hits a tasty 165 yard shot and makes the green. But it’s a big green! 26ft putt for birdie, come on, John... Two putts and he makes par, solid hole for our man, stability after four bogeys in a row.

18.10 HOLE ELEVEN (2nd) - Par four (Parry, 8, +4)

Another bogey for Parry on the second at Chambers Bay, his fourth in a row.

18.00 HOLE TEN (1ST) - Par four (Parry, 7, +3)

Parry sets up a nine-yard putt to hit par and... doesn’t quite make it. Two putts mean it’s a third bogey in a row for the Knaresborough man.

Quick reminder of what’s happening at the top of the leaderboard for you:

Phil Mickelson (8th) - 1, -3

Henrik Stenson (5th) - 2, -2

Dustin Johnson (5th - 3, -2

17.50 As our man John walks to the front nine, carrying the dreams of a district, it’s time for a quick change. Sports Editor Ed White being replaced by News Editor Alex Johnston for Parry’s assault on the front nine at Chambers Bay. How we all doing? Picked up your copy of the paper today, I hope. Send me a Tweet: @HarrogateSport or @AlexWJohnston and share this blog with pals. Parry fans? This is the ONLY place to be.

17.35: HOLE NINE (18TH) - Par five (Parry, 5, +2)

Parry finishes off the back nine - his first nine - with two bogeys. Some lovely build-up work isn’t backed up by his putting sadly, so it’s a six on the 18th for our man.

17.17: HOLE EIGHT (17th) - Par three (Parry, 4, +1)

Oh, no! The run of pars ends for Parry as he nine foot putt to the right of the hole at the tricky par three 17th. His tee shot takes him wildly out of position into the dangerous rough, and, unlike from the bunkers before, he can’t rescue it and he’s down to one over par.

17.05: HOLE SEVEN (16th) - Par four (Parry, 4, evens)

Henrik Stenson has gone off like a train with two birdies in his first three holes to take a share of the lead alongside Phil Mickleson. Meanwhile, John Parry keeps churning out the pars. This time, he leaves his second shot 40 yards from the hole and tidies up with two putts.

16.45: HOLE SIX (15th) - Par three (Parry, 3, evens)

Parry’s first go at a par three brings about a sixth par in succession. He floats a lovely irons onto the green, but a nasty bounce takes it 15 feet from the hole. Parry is perhaps a little tentative on his putt and it comes up short again. With a third of the round done though, I’m sure he will be delighted to have avoided trouble - unlike his playing partner Josh Persons, who is stone dead last on five over par.

16.35: HOLE FIVE (14th) - Par four (Parry, 4, evens)

Yep, you guessed it. Another par for Parry in his fifth hole of the day, at the 14th. Again he rescues himself from the bunker to slot in from a foot.

16.20: HOLE FOUR (13th) - Par four (Parry, 4, evens)

Steady, steady from Parry. The 13th is another huge par four, this time at 534 yards. A 298-yard drive finds the right-hand side of the fairway, but he bunkers his second. Luckily, the lie isn’t too tough and he gets up and down for another par. Meanwhile, Big Phil Mickleson is on the charge, he’s got his first birdie of the day at the third and is joined at the top by Matt Kuchar and Cody Gribble.

16:01: HOLE THREE (12th) - Par four (Parry, 4, evens)

Live video coverage of the 12th hole is available on the US Open website, and Parry is out wearing a white shirt and sporting a trimmed beard – for all those wanting to know. The 28-year-old smashes a driver towards the short hole – standing at just 304 yards and is in prime position for a birdie. But John Parry fails to impress the cameras with a 60yard putt that diverts left of the hole. His birdie effort comes up short with a tap-in to complete his par. Frustration shows on his face, but I’m sure he’ll be content to take thee pars from three holes as he stays in a share for second. Cody Gribble is the only golfer under par.

15:41: HOLE TWO (11th) - Par four (Parry, 4, evens)

The second hole on Parry’s radar is the monster 537-yard par four hole 11. It’s not just the length of the hole that’s a problem, with the wind in the player’s faces too. Parry finds the fairway and the green again, with two putts for par.

15:30: HOLE ONE (10th) - Par four (Parry, 4, evens)

First up for John Parry, he has the par four tenth, which sits between two dunes and slopes back to front. And it’s solid enough for the Knaresborough star as he finds the fairway before making par with two putts. Playing partner Josh Persons has a slight nightmare, though, as he shoots a triple bogey seven.

15:04: John Parry doesn’t just have the support of golfers across the Harrogate area. Member of Parliament Andrew Jones tweeted earlier this afternoon: “Good luck to #Knaresborough golfer @johnparry17 at the US Open. Parry tees off at 7.11pm local time.”

14:55: Right then folks, welcome to this steady coverage of John Parry’s opening round at the US Open - his second fling with a major championships. So, what’s ahead of him? The course at Chambers Bay has been described as “brutal” by a few of the field, and it’s certainly caused a stir amongst the top players. Some have embraced it, others feel its severe undulations make it a course too challenging. Parry, who is used to the demands of a links style course, told the Harrogate Advertiser’s sports editor Ed White it was like nothing had played before. He said: “It’s going to be interesting. You’re going to have to hit a lot of different shots, which I quite like and you’re going to have to have some imagination. It could be one of those links tournaments where it’s all luck of the drawer, with it being on the sea. I know I can compete from the last US Open I played in, but it’s obviously a completely different style of course. They have never played a US Open on this style of course before. Even though it’s linksy, I don’t think it’s going to be like any golf course I have played before. All I can do is do as much preparation as I can and go in and have confidence and see what happens.”