( CNN ) -- It started with an overnight flight and a thunderstorm -- it finished with a place at the top end of the leaderboard . Phil Mickelson would dearly love to win the U.S. Open , having finished as runner-up on five occasions , but not even the lure of Merion was enough to keep him away from his daughter 's eighth-grade graduation . The four-time major champion missed the practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday to be with daughter Amanda in California before flying through the night on his private jet to Philadelphia . Arriving in Pennsylvania at 4.15 a.m. Thursday morning , Mickelson easily made his 7.11 a.m. tee time and produced his lowest round in the U.S. Open since 1999 -- which came just days before Amanda was born -- with a three-under-par 67 . It gave him the clubhouse lead , and when the rest of the field had finally finished their rounds Friday he had a one-shot advantage over England 's former world No . 1 Luke Donald . `` I loved having an early tee time , '' Mickelson , whose round was halted by a lengthy delay due to heavy rain , told reporters . `` I wish we did not have the delay because it made it a long day but the golf course is playing about as easy as it could , but Merion is fighting hard . `` It 's one of the best I 've seen for a U.S. Open . It 's soft but we are having a hard time getting under par . '' The 42-year-old also insisted his preparation for the tournament has not been undermined by spending time back in California . `` When I was here the week before I was able to do all the work I needed , the last part was getting my game sharp so being able to do that in nice weather on a good practice facility was advantageous . '' A weather break of three hours and 32 minutes meant an inauspicious start to the 113th U.S. Open , being hosted by Merion for the first time in 32 years . The Thursday morning starters managed just 111 minutes of play before torrential rain hit the course and forced play to be suspended . Donald , seeking his first major title , had been four under but dropped two shots in his last three holes after coming back to finish his round Friday . Big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts was tied for third after completing a 69 on Friday , alongside Scottish surprise package Russell Knox -- ranked 398th in the world . Former Masters winner Charl Schwartzel shot 70 to be tied for fifth with fellow South African Tim Clark , Americans Jerry Kelly and Rickie Fowler , Australians Jason Day and John Senden plus Swede Peter Hedblom , England 's former world No . 1 Lee Westwood and veteran South Korean K.J . Choi . Defending champion Webb Simpson completed a 71 to be in a big group including 2012 Masters winner Bubba Watson and his U.S. Ryder Cup teammates Dustin Johnson and Steve Stricker -- that trio finished their rounds on Thursday . Australia 's 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott had been tied with Mickelson after 11 holes on Thursday , but carded three bogeys and a double to slump to a 72 . World No . 3 Scott was playing with No . 1 Tiger Woods , who was two over after 10 holes Thursday , and No . 2 Rory McIlroy -- tied for 16th on even par through 11 . Woods , who shrugged off suggestions he had seriously hurt his wrist while hitting out of the rough , added two bogeys and a birdie to sign for a 73 . `` My left arm did n't feel too good on a few shots but overall it was not too bad a round , '' he told reporters . `` I missed a load of putts . '' McIlroy , the 2011 U.S. Open winner , had the same score after dropping shots at three of his last four holes Friday . Meanwhile , Sergio Garcia revealed he was heckled by `` a couple of guys '' during his opening round of 73 . His jibe last month that he would invite Tiger Woods round for `` fried chicken '' during the U.S. Open led to an immediate and unreserved apology from the Spaniard , who denied it was racially motivated . Woods took to Twitter to register his disappointment with the remarks , calling them `` wrong , hurtful and clearly inappropriate . '' The two men shook hands on Monday and Garcia has sent Woods a note , but he confirmed he had yet to hear from the American . Woods , 37 has not won a major since he won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 where he defeated Rocco Mediate on a playoff while playing with a broken leg . A 15th major victory would take him to within three of all-time record of 18 set by Jack Nicklaus , whose final triumph came at the 1986 Masters at Augusta .
Phil Mickelson opens with three-under 67 in first round of U.S. Open for clubhouse lead . Mickelson flew overnight in private jet to make tee time , the weather stopped play for three hours . Veteran has one-shot lead over England 's Luke Donald , who completed his round on Friday . Top-ranked duo Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy both finish with three-over 73 on Friday .