Morgan Takes One-Shot Lead at Six-Under 66 : Golf: He birdies 18th hole to move one in front of Strange and two ahead of Mickelson.

Gil Morgan shot a six-under-par 66 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead late in the first round of the $1.5-million U.S. Open Golf Championship.

Morgan birdied the 18th hole to take a one-stroke advantage over two-time champion Curtis Strange.

Morgan shot a four-under 32 on the front nine and took a one-stroke lead with a birdie on the 13th hole to go to six under. But he made his second bogey of the day on the 14th hole to drop to five under.

Strange had five birdies in a six-hole stretch and was at seven under at one point before finishing at five-under 67.

Morgan leads former amateur star Phil Mickelson, playing his first tournament as a pro, Steve Pate and Andy Dillard by two strokes. Mickelson, Pate and Dillard each shot 68s.

Tom Lehman was the only early finisher at three-under 69.

A total of 14 players were tied at two-under, including Nick Faldo, who has won two Masters and two British Open titles.

Fred Couples was at even par 72 as he tries to become the first player in 20 years to win the Masters and U.S. Open back-to-back. Jack Nicklaus last accomplished the feat in 1972, the first year the Open was played at Pebble Beach.

Defending champion Payne Stewart shot a one-over 73.

Greens softened by early morning dampness and a lack of wind combined for favorable playing conditions.

Dillard, playing in his first U.S. Open, birdied the first six holes to jump to the top of leaderboard around the course.

Mickelson, who dominated college golf during his four years at Arizona State, birdied the first hole of his professional career, then added a birdie on the par-five sixth hole after pushing his drive into a fairway bunker.

A birdie on No. 12 was canceled out by Mickelson’s only bogey, which came on the par-4 13th. Mickelson then birdied No. 16 before finishing with birdie on Pebble Beach’s scenic but treacherous par-5 18th hole.

Lehman was the first player to break 70 in the field of 156. Jay Haas, a winner last week at Memphis, and Mark McCumber were the early finishers at 2-under-par 70.

Lehman, the 1991 Ben Hogan Tour Player of the Year who finished fourth at the AT&T; at Pebble Beach in February, eagled the par-5 sixth hole and birdied the seventh. He followed that with 11 consecutive pars.

Lehman also birdied the first hole, but fell back to even-par with a bogey on the dogleg left par-4 third hole.

Overcast skies, but little wind, greeted the players with the earliest tee times at the course hosting its third Open championship over the last two decades. Nicklaus won in 1972. Tom Watson won in 1982.

Haas, playing in the second group of the day, took advantage of early calm conditions and soft greens, posting three birdies and a bogey to become the early leader in the clubhouse.

McCumber eagled the par-five second hole and birdied No. 6, but fell back to one under with a double bogey on the 464-yard ninth. Birdies on the 11th and 14th holes got him back to minus-three before, but McCumber bogeyed the 17th hole.