The Starter: Rd. 1, U.S. Open

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The first round of the 111th U.S. Open is set to begin. ESPN will televise live action from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET, then NBC will pick up coverage until 5 p.m. ESPN will return from 5 to 7 p.m.

Groups we're watching

Tee time Players   7:44 a.m. ET No. 1 Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey, K.J. Choi Kuchar and Choi are on many short lists of favorites, one for his remarkable consistency and the other for momentum from THE PLAYERS. 8:06 a.m. ET No. 10 Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer The world's top three play together. Kaymer is the biggest question mark, Donald and Westwood appear more than ready. 1:35 p.m. ET No. 10 Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson This week's featured group has all the game in the world but also carries some major scar tissue. Mickelson has five seconds in U.S. Opens. 1:57 p.m. ET No. 1 Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter, Hunter Mahan All three are contenders. Two are quirky Golf Boys, and the third is no wallflower either.

MORE ROUND 1: Tee times | TOUR REPORT: News, notes from the course

WHAT TO WATCH ON THURSDAY:
• ON TOP AND LOOKING TO STAY THERE: Luke Donald sits atop the FedExCup standings and the world rankings. One way to assure keeping both of those perches is to bag his first major this week. Donald determined

• A WORTHY FINISH: Take note of Congressional's par-4 18th hole, which could stretch to 523 yards if played all the way back. Johnny Miller calls it "a great finishing hole" and by week's end it figures to play a huge role in determining the U.S. Open champion. Good theatre at 18

Round 1 weather forecast

Afternoon thunderstorms Temp: 74 high/64 low Some morning showers and afternoon thunderstorms possible for both Thursday and Friday. Thursday Winds around 12 mph.

ShotLink Player notes

Here are some of the players you'll see on ESPN and NBC's coverage:

PHIL MICKELSON Has played 34 of his career 76 U.S. Open rounds at par or better. That's the most par-or-better rounds by any player in a U.S. Open since 1992. At the 2010 U.S. Open, Mickelson led the field for scrambling around the greens, salvaging par or better 69 percent of the time. MATT KUCHAR Has improved in recent major championships with two top-10s in his last five starts and a scoring average of 71.50. This is a vast improvement over his previous 17 major championship appearances where he missed 13 cuts, never finishing inside the top 10 and had a scoring average of 74.62. MARTIN KAYMER In his first seven major championship appearances, he failed to finish inside the top 10 and had a scoring average of 73.85. However, in his last six starts, his scoring average has improved to 71.70 and he's finished inside the top-10 four times, including a win at the 2010 PGA Championship.

Shotlink notes provided by Alex Turnbull