The U.S. Open is off and running at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, and we’ve already got a tight battle at the top of the leaderboard.
Coming into the week, it seemed as if everyone was going to be chasing Scottie Scheffler — who is on a heater not seen since Tiger Woods’ heyday. Scheffler, however, had a very average round. The top-ranked golfer in the world finished with a 1-over 71, which had him six shots off the lead.
Instead, it was Patrick Cantlay who took advantage in the early wave. He made three birdies in his final five holes of the day to card his 5-under 65. That briefly gave him a two-shot lead over the field when he entered the clubhouse. Cantlay needed just 23 putts in his round, which marked a career-low for him at a major. Ludvig Åberg finished at 4-under in his first ever round at the U.S. Open, which has him alone in third.
McIlroy hasn’t won a major championship in a decade now, but he’s started the last six U.S. Opens with a round in the red. He finished in second in Los Angeles last summer, too.
Bryson DeChambeau was right with McIlroy briefly, too. He dropped back to 3-under after a late bogey down the stretch, which has him in a tie with Matthieu Pavon in fourth. Tony Finau and Tyrrell Hatton are alone in sixth at 2-under. Brooks Koepka, who finished at even par, left the course without speaking to the media on Thursday — and his explanation was incredible.
Woods, on the other hand, struggled. After a birdie to open his day, he made five birdies in seven holes around the turn before finishing with a 4-over 74. He’ll need a big outing on Friday in order to make the cut, something he failed to do last month at the PGA Championship.
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Leaderboard Update after Round 1
Here’s a look at the leaderboard after Round 1 at Pinehurst No. 2:
Leaderboard Update
T1. Patrick Cantlay (-5)
T1. Rory McIlroy
3. Ludvig Åberg (-4)
T4. Matthieu Pavon (-3)
T4. Bryson DeChambeau
T6. Tyrrell Hatton (-2)
T6. Tony Finau
Other Notables
T17. Brooks Koepka (E)
T17. Collin Morikawa
T17. Neal Shipley (a)
T17. Xander Schauffele
T39. Scottie Scheffler (+1)
T69. Wyndham Clark (+3)
T92. Tiger Woods (+4)
T92. Dustin Johnson
T133. Justin Thomas (+7)
T149. Phil Mickelson (+9)
Bryson finishes T4
Despite the late bogey down the stretch, Bryson DeChambeau is once again right in the mix. He finished with a 3-under 67, which has him two back and in a tie for fourth with Matthieu Pavon.
Brooks Koepka’s media criticism
Brooks Koepka left Pinehurst on Thursday without speaking to the media — other than texting with Eamon Lynch. That exchange was, of course, incredible.
Since Koepka thinks the media needs to be more creative, here are a few of Jay Busbee’s hypothetical semi-golf-related questions for him:
Do you think prime Brooks can take prime Tiger?
You have to play a round drinking one beer a hole. How many holes do you make it, and what do you shoot?
You’re going to rob a bank. Which three players are you taking in your crew?
Click the photo to read more about Brooks Koepka’s text exchange after Round 1 at the U.S. Open. (AP/George Walker IV)
Walk it in, Rory
Rory didn’t hesitate on the 18th green. What a final putt.
Rory McIlroy’s bogey-free start
Here’s a closer look at Rory McIlroy’s bogey-free start at the U.S. Open:
Rory McIlroy tied for the lead
Rory McIlroy walks in a huge birdie at the 18th! He’ll card a bogey-free 65 to kick off the U.S. Open, which brings him into a tie with Patrick Cantlay in the lead.
It’s his sixth straight U.S. Open with an opening round under par.
Bryson drops back to 3-under
Bryson’s bogey-free stretch has come to an end. He just bogeyed the seventh and dropped back to 3-under for the day. He’s now two off the lead with two holes to go.
Rory joins Bryson at 4-under
Rory McIlroy isn’t going away, either. He just picked up his fourth birdie of the day at the 16th to join DeChambeau and Åberg at 4-under.
Either one of them can reach Patrick Cantlay before we’re done here.
Bryson DeChambeau just one off the lead
Bryson DeChambeau isn’t slowing down. He just carded his fourth birdie of the day — even after a rough shot off the tee — at the 5th to move into second with Ludvig Åberg.
He’s now one off the lead with four holes left.
Scheffler’s struggles and yet …
Scottie Scheffler is 1-over, still very much in contention. It feels like he should be 10 back.
Here are a few stats:
– Fairways hit: 5/12 (146th)
– Putts: 24 through 12 holes (98th)
– Greens in regulation: 9 of 14 (36th)
We could get into the strokes gained stats, but you get the point.
He’s spraying the ball everywhere, isn’t making any putts … and yet he’s just 1-over par, only six back of clubhouse leader Patrick Cantlay.
This very much feels like a team going 3-for-20 from 3-point land and still winning.
Hideki from the beach
Hideki Matsuyama with an absolute perfect chip to card his third birdie of the day.
Brooks Koepka’s hilarious “text” interview
Brooks Koepka didn’t want to talk to reporters after his even-par start at the U.S. Open. So, Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch texted with him instead.
The results were hilarious.
“Thanks, Dad.” 🤣
Click the photo to read Brooks Koepka’s text interview with Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
J.T. Poston’s brutal double bogey
J.T. Poston went up-and-down out of the bunker at the third, which was solid. But that only came after he went bunker-to-bunker-to the original bunker.
That landed him with a double bogey, and dropped him to 3-over on the day. Not great.
Bryson joins Rory at 3-under
Bryson DeChambeau, who is also running a bogey-free card, is keeping pace with Rory McIlroy perfectly. He just picked up his third birdie of the day to get to 3-under.
Adam Scott throwing darts
Adam Scott snuck into the U.S. Open this week in what was his 92nd straight major championship appearance.
This is the easy version of Pinehurst No. 2
It’s only going to get harder this weekend…
At the previous 3 U.S. Opens held at Pinehurst, the difficulty has been cranked up on the weekend.
Percentage of rounds in the 60s – Round 1 – 10.0% Round 2 – 8.2% Rounds 3 & 4 – 5.0%
Rory McIlroy’s bogey-free round continues. He just birdied the par-5 10th, which drops him to 3-under on the day and into T3.
Here comes Bryson
Bryson DeChambeau just chipped-in at the 18th to make perhaps the most improbable birdie of the day. He’s now at 2-under as he makes the turn, and is suddenly right in the mix.
Olympics berth on the line
Spain’s David Puig went 6-over today in his opening round. He’s going to need a great day tomorrow in order to make the weekend and keep his Paris hopes alive.
Tough circumstances for David Puig: Make the cut for a shot at Olympics. Miss it and the spot goes to Campillo. He opens with a 76.
