By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent, Chicago

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In a United States Open career going back 31 years Tom Watson has seen it all and done it all.

But it still came as no surprise last night when the 53-year-old American cried after completing a magical 65 in the first round at Olympia Fields near Chicago.

The round gave Watson a share of the lead with Brett Quigley and matched his best-ever score in the championship.

But what made it extra special and what produced the tears was that the 1982 winner shared the experience with Bruce Edwards, the caddie who has been with him since 1973.

Last autumn Edwards was diagnosed as suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. There is no cure at present for the degenerative problem and Watson spoke passionately afterwards about the situation Edwards and many others find themselves in.

"What I would like people to know is that the disease needs help in finding a cure," he said. "We need to find a cure now and, believe it or not, money can speed up the cure.

"It affects 30,000 people and that doesn't make it a big enough disease for the drug companies to spend millions of dollars to try to find a cure, as they are for AIDS, cancer, heart disease and things like that.

"You find most of the funding coming from the patients and their families. There are some very strong indications that a drug will cure ALS - we just have to find it. We need the money.

"That's the message I want to say. I have the podium to be able to give you that message and it's really important to me to give it.

"As I said at Bruce's wedding in Hawaii in January there isn't a mean bone in his body. I think other caddies look up to him."

Last week Edwards was allowed to use a cart at the Senior PGA Championship. He was offered the same facility this week, but chose to walk the fairways and hopes to go on doing so the rest of the week.

Watson had a sense it could be a day to remember when he sank a 170-yard six-iron on his third hole, the 458-yard 12th.

He was still two behind Quigley with three to play, but then came a 25-foot putt which stopped on the edge of the hole at the seventh and after several seconds toppled in as he walked towards it, followed by an 18-foot putt on the next.

Watson drew on memories from playing in the 1968 Western Open at the course and was also using an old putter which Roberts had urged him to put back in the bag at the start of the week.

"I put it in and the magic started working," he commented.

The oldest-ever winner of a major title was 48-year-old Julius Boros at the 1968 US PGA championship, but Watson will be trying his hardest to change that.

"Bruce is an inspiration, for sure. I'm just out there trying to do my job and Bruce is over there kind of crying saying 'come on now, man'.

"I came here to play my best. We will just have to wait and see. I am hitting the ball well enough - it's just a matter of being able to deal with the pressure. Whether I can do that or not I don't know."

Watson and Quigley led by one overnight from fellow Americans Justin Leonard and Jay Don Blake.

Favourite and defending champion Tiger Woods is five behind. After 14 holes without a birdie Woods eagled the 555-yard sixth, but closed with a bogey.

World number two Ernie Els, partnering Woods in the first two rounds, opened with a 69, but Masters champion Mike Weir could do no better than 73 and Davis Love shot 76.