Phil Mickelson kept his place atop the leader board after a couple of surprise challengers made noise as Round 1 of the U.S. Open was completed Friday morning at Merion.

Mickelson himself could be considered a bit of a surprise to be leading the field at 3-under, one shot better than Luke Donald and Mathew Goggin. Mickelson skipped Monday’s practice round in favor of attending his daughter’s eighth-grade graduation and only returned to the Philadelphia-suburb course Thursday morning.

You can read about Mickelson’s schedule here.

One of the most surprising first rounds was turned in by Goggin. The Australian finished his first-round play Friday morning and shot 2-under for the round. Goggin, No. 380 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has spent most of the year on the Web.com Tour and made just six of 19 cuts in PGA Tour events this year.

Another surprise near the top of the leader board was Russell Knox. The Scotsman was ranked No. 398 this week but finished his first round at 1-under and in a three-way tie for fourth with Nicolas Cosaerts and Peter Hedblom.

Round 2 play at Merion began before Round 1 action completed.