Karlsson: six birdies
Swede Robert Karlsson recovered from a double bogey at the first to move into contention after a two-under-par 68 on day one of the USPGA.
The 38-year-old took advantage of ideal morning conditions at Oakland Hills Country Club, taking the lead amongst the early starters alongside Indian Jeev Milkha Singh.
Karlsson, the only player to have posted top-10 finishes in the first three majors this year, was delighted after making six birdies in 10 holes from the second.
"I played really well on the front nine and got the putter going," he said. "The greens were absolutely perfect so once I rolled a couple in I tried to just keep going."
But the seven-times European Tour winner is wary of getting ahead of himself.
"Still three rounds to go and you could be eight over in a hurry," he added. "I've had good rounds before and finished badly so it's so important to learn from your mistakes and just keep going."
Singh, who missed the cut in his USPGA debut at Southern Hills last year, leapt up the leaderboard with an eagle at the par-five second.
"I got a good bounce there," the 36-year-old said of his second shot. "It was perfect and ended up about five feet from the hole.
"I was just trying to hit shot by shot and hope I can shoot even par," he added. "It worked out pretty good. I shot two under."
