Yang holds early lead in US Open

South Korean golfer Yang Yong-eun on Thursday shot to an early lead in the first round of the 111th U.S. Open at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., setting himself up to pursue a second major championship.
Braving drizzling skies and winds, Yang, nicknamed "Son of the Wind," recorded a 3-under-par 68 to join the leaderboard at the year's second major tournament.
Yang said the gloomy weather was actually an advantage.
???The weather helped out because it rained this morning. The greens got softer," he said.???Actually I might have to eat my words on the easy setup. I think it's more because of the weather.
"It's just great timing for me. The greens were softer than it is right now in the morning. So I think it was more of luck than of what the USGA did for me,??? Yang said.
Yang, also known as Y.E. Yang, is among 156 golfers at the U.S. Open, whose field for the first time since 1994 does not include Tiger Woods.
Yang is one of 11 players in the tournament with South Korean origins. However, his fellow countrymen, including well-known golfer Choi Kyung-ju, or K.J. Choi, have gotten off to a rough start.
In April 2010, Yang won the Volvo China Open. He also clinched the HSBC Champions Tournament in November 2006, beating Woods.