Mcllroy's superb start down to elite grouping

Inspired by playing alongside top rivals, Rory McIlroy grabbed a share of the US Open lead on June 13, saying that he has boosted his chances to end a 10year Major drought.

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The Northern Irishman, who last won a Major at the 2014 PGA Championship, fired a bogey-free five-under 65 to match ninthranked American Patrick Cantlay for the first-round lead at Pinehurst.

"I went through a run there for a while where my starts at Major championships weren't very good. Probably got myself a little too worked up at the start of the week," said the four-time Major winner, who had five birdies.

"Certainly the Major championships I've won, or the ones I've played well at, I've always seemed to get off to a good start. I think more so in this championship, getting off to a good start is really important to give yourself as much of a cushion as possible."

The 35-year-old world No. 3 has had increasingly better US Open results for the past five years, including last season's runner-up effort to American Wyndham Clark.

But he feels that nothing has drastically changed.

"I feel like I'm the same player.