Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre says his level-par score on the first day of the US Open is one of the best rounds of his career.

While star names Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose all floundered on the notoriously difficult Oakmont course in Pittsburgh, MacIntyre’s 70 has him in a strong position after Thursday’s opening round.

The 28-year-old believes that replicating that scoring over the next three days will see him walking away as champion on Sunday night.

“I’m delighted with that,” he said. “That was superb. That’s up there.

“I mean, it’s in the top 10 of rounds that I’ve played. It’s just so hard. Honestly, it’s just every shot is like you’re on a knife edge.

“But overall, honestly, I don’t know if it’s good or bad to have a level-par, but that’s almost as good as I’ve got.

“I know that it will get tougher, but a level-par round today, if you shoot four level-par rounds, you’re walking away with a medal and a trophy. I’m sure I’ll take that.”

MacIntyre could have been in an even better position had he not bogeyed the 18th, but his consistency from the tee underpinned his excellent start.

“I played absolutely beautifully, to be honest, off the tee, because that’s where the real punishment is and that’s as good as I can drive the golf ball,” he said.

“I wasn’t really hitting long drives. I wasn’t trying to hit long drives.

“I was just trying to stay in the short stuff and manufacturing shots, whether it was 3-wood, whether it was driver, just try to hit the shape that I needed to find the fairway.

“I’ve never played a golf course as hard.”