ERIN, Wis. _ There may have been an extra butterfly or two flitting around in Jordan Niebrugge's stomach Thursday morning.
The 23-year-old professional from Mequon has played in a lot of big golf tournaments, but this was special. He was about to hit the opening tee shot in the 117th U.S. Open _ the first-ever U.S. Open in Wisconsin.
"It's a pretty tough tee shot, too, to start with," Niebrugge said of drive on the par-5 first hole. "It would have been a little better teeing off on 10 _ you've got probably an 80-yard fairway there.
"Yeah, I managed some emotions early on and I played solid all day."
Niebrugge started his day with a par and had two birdies and three bogeys en route to a 1-over-par 73. After back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16, he finished with a birdie on the par-5 18th.
"It was a good finish," he said. "I think it was a really smart play, hitting 3-wood off the tee and keeping it short of that (fairway) bunker, because I knew I could get up there (near the green) with another 3-wood.
"I put it in a good spot and had a solid up-and-down. It definitely gives me some confidence. I just need to hit a few more iron shots a little closer. Other than that I played pretty solid."
Niebrugge had a nice gallery following him, even though he teed off at 6:45 a.m. He played in an all-Oklahoma State threesome with Talor Gooch and Kevin Dougherty.
"It's awesome," he said. "We had a lot of guys following us today. We had a bunch of OSU family and a lot of family and friends from around here. All three of us played solid and we had a lot of fun getting together again and playing out there.
"You're obviously going to be nervous in any event, especially one of this magnitude. But playing in front of a home crowd encouraging you every step of the way is pretty cool."
Niebrugge said he wasn't surprised by some low scores in the morning wave, including a 7-under 65 by Rickie Fowler, which tied the U.S. Open record for best first-round score in relation to par. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf shot 63s at par-70 Baltusrol in 1980.
"The greens are pretty soft and receptive," he said. "The greens are rolling so pure, so I can see a lot of guys getting on a roll with their putter and making some putts. If you're keeping it in the fairway, you can attack a lot of these holes."
Niebrugge won a qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Erin Hills in 2013 and then won the national title a few weeks later. He also finished second in the Erin Hills Intercollegiate as a senior at OSU.
"It's a lot warmer right now than when I played it back then, but we're playing a couple (tee) boxes back," he said. "It's a long golf course. It's tough, but it's fair. You've got to keep it in the fairway. You can attack some of the holes out there. I felt comfortable all day."
