Anyway, that’s your lot. Par for Martin at 9, while the amateur Campbell bounces back from double disaster at 7 with another impressive birdie at 8. He ends the day with a 67, the least he deserves. Some opening round, huh?
-5: Stenson, Johnson
-4: Reed
-3: Kuchar, Martin, Campbell (a)
-2: Gribble, Molinari, Dufner, Warren, Luiten, Spieth, Day
-1: Mickelson, Chappell, Harman, Snedeker, Jimenez, Montgomerie, Ogilvy, Beljan, Finau, Schneiderjans (a), Grace, Lowry
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+10: Woods
+11: Fowler
Updated
No birdie for Martin at 17. He doesn’t hit it, and stays at -3.
Campbell takes two putts, and that’s a painful double bogey. He drops to -2. Hey, much more experienced players have done much worse today. Martin’s third from down the bank to the side of 8 is pretty good, a bump up to ten feet. He’ll have a look at a birdie.
Oosthuizen can only just get his ball out of the bunker at 18. He’s left with a massive birdie putt from the front, the pin at the back, and he takes three strokes. Another bogey, and that’s a dreadful 77. He’s the success story of this grouping, though. Tiger takes two putts for a bogey, and that’s an 80, his third in a row, and his worst round in a US Open. Time to sack the coach, I think. Fowler takes two putts for par, and he’s signing for 81. The three laugh and smile as they shake hands, but what a complete show they’ve made of themselves this evening. And here’s a stat: Fowler’s last five majors: tied 5th, tied 2nd, tied 2nd, tied 3rd and tied 12th. He’s currently in 155th place out of 156. Tiger’s tied for 152nd. The Maurice Flitcroft and Walter Danecki de nos jours.
Campbell hoicks his drive into a tight lie down the left of 7. His ball then takes a flyer straight through the green, into more thick stuff. You certainly have to earn your score round this track. And this is going wrong, quickly, as he whiffs his third, the club going right under the ball, contact almost non-existent. His fourth is a heavy clunk miles past the hole. Oh dear. Meanwhile on 8, Martin loses his second down the big swale to the right.
On 18, Tiger trudges into the deep bunker. As he disappears from public view, the gallery erupts with laughter. The final indignity. Or is that when they break into ironic applause when Tiger splashes his ball out? Take your pick. He finds the centre of the green with his wedge, and leaves himself an uphill 30-footer to save par and break 80. Then a dot on the horizon called Rickie Fowler bumps his third into a similar section of the green. Oosthuizen still to play out of that bunker front right. This is one of the most farcical groups in the history of All Golf!
Back down the hole, and Tiger’s found a fairway with his driver! Much good it’s done him, though, as he tops a fairway wood like a rank amateur, his ball scampering into the deepest bunker on the entire course. That could get very messy. But this group are a total shower. Oosthuizen birdied 16, but he’s just found a bunker in front of the green. Fowler, meanwhile, has bogeyed 16 and 17, and he’s +11. Naturally, he’s winged his second into deep filth to the right of the hole. Utter nonsense.
Spieth can’t make his birdie putt, but he’ll sign for a 68. A fine round in difficult conditions, and one that stands him in good stead ahead of his morning tee-time tomorrow. Day’s birdie effort slips past the right of the cup, and he’s scribbling his name on a 68 too. But poor Rose makes a three-putt bogey, and he’s signing for a two-over 72.
Another birdie for Campbell, hitting his second at 6 to 12 feet and rolling in the putt! He’s back up to -4, one off the lead! On 18, Spieth pings his wedge pin high, but 20 feet to the right of the flag. Day lifts his third over the flag, and he’ll have a look for birdie from 10 feet.
A huge stroke of luck for Spieth down 18. He’s driven into sand down the left, then looks like finding the huge pot bunker in the middle of the fairway with his second. But it skips over the top. He’ll have a chance to wedge in and set up a birdie chance. As will Day, who is following him down the hole. Meanwhile Tiger makes his up and down on 17, and remains at +9.
Brian Campbell is made of the right stuff, by the looks of it. Back-to-back bogeys for the amateur at 3 and 4, but he’s responded immediately with birdie at 5, and he’s back to -3! Joost Luiten lags a 50-footer across 9 to secure his par, and signs for a 68. On 17, Tiger sends his tee shot into the Day-Spieth Valley. He’ll do well to get up and down from there to save his par.
Day’s on a rollercoaster right now. His tee shot at 17 is short and left, and he can’t get up and down for his par. He’s back to -2 again. Spieth had replicated his shot to the point that their balls kissed, snooker style. Spieth does manage a two-putt par, though, and he stays at -2. He really is a superb putter under pressure.
Birdie for Tiger! He lifts a lovely approach to 16, three feet from the flag. He’s not missing the putt, and that’s his first birdie of the day. He’s back to +9, and at least avoiding the indignity of an 80. As things stand, of course. Two holes still to play. Super-trouble for Justin Rose on 17. He finds sand front right, then takes no sand with his escape, whistling a hot ball into a bunker at the back. Plugged, he then splashes out delicately to a few inches, and will escape with a bogey; he’s +1. Tony Finau got himself up to -3 after 12, before stumbling on the way in, dropping shots at 13, 15 and 17. But he’s birdied the last to sign for a one-under 69.
Another dropped shot for Campbell, this time at 4, the course finally wearing the young amateur down a bit. Back-to-back bogeys. The 2006 champ Geoff Ogilvy signs for a one-under 69. Shane Lowry, starting at 10, had reached the turn in 33, but the front nine hasn’t been quite so kind; a bogey at 3, but he’s still -1 with three holes to play.
Louis Oosthuizen, the third member of the Woods-Fowler group, is +7. Combined, these three are 26 shots over par! A group of Maurice Flitcroft, Walter Danecki and Angelo Spagnolo couldn’t have done much worse. On 16, Spieth can only find the front of the green from sand, but does well to get up and down from distance. Par saved. Day peppers the pin, though, and picks up a birdie, much-needed succour after the double-bogey disaster of 15. He’s back to -3.
Tiger, with 80 a very real possibility now, clips his tee shot at 15 to eight feet. What a shot! He desperately needs that birdie putt to drop. But it stays out high on the left. Still no birdie. He’s still +10. Rickie Fowler, incidentally, had followed up his eagle at 12 with bogeys at 13 and 14. He’s currently +9 after par at 15, and in some respects that’s more of a shock. Up on 16, Spieth and Rose both find the long bunker down the right. Day splits the fairway, after waiting an age for a freight train to pass, then realising the thing’s about 16,000 coaches long, and hitting it amid the bedlam anyway. Bogey for Martin on 5, and he slips further back to -3.
The first dropped shot of the day for the amateur Brian Campbell, who misses a short par putt on 3 and is back to -3. On to 15, where Day, with no backswing, can only bash the ball sideways in the bunker. He splashes his third out to 15 feet, but can’t sink the bogey putt. A double, and he’s back to -2. Rose can only knock his sand shot to 20 feet, and that’s a shot gone, the putt not quite dropping. He’s back to level. Spieth has a long putt from off the green, and knocks it to 12 feet. He’s dead-eyed from this range ... usually, but for once he misreads and that’s a bogey that drops him back to -2. And can Tiger get any lower? After messing around in the sand on 14, he’s left with a short double-bogey putt, but he doesn’t hit it convincingly at all. That’s a triple-bogey seven, and he’s +10, heading for an 80 as things stand. This is through-the-fingers viewing.
Updated
Day’s in all sorts of trouble on the short downhill par-three 15th. His shot catches in the wind, and plugs in a bunker in front of the green, on a downslope, only just inside the trap. Will he get much of a backswing? That’s a complete nightmare! Spieth would be in similar bother, only he’s hit his tee shot so far to the left he’s found a patch of grass. Still not ideal. And then Rose plugs his ball in the sand too! What a total fiasco! Speaking of which, Tiger, from sand down the left of 14, hoicks his second into a bunker further up the hole, then duffs his escape. He’s still in it! Oh me, oh my. What a couple of minutes of action we’ve witnessed here. A lot of world-class talent faffing around like weekend hackers. And this is the USGA going easy on the players, with a promise to trick things up later in the week. God speed, everyone!
Tiger can’t tickle in his short par putt on 13. He drops to +7. Pars all the way in, and he’ll end the day level with the 15-year-old amateur Cole Hammer. But there’s certainly no guarantee of that, and he wangs his drive at 14 miles left, into more filth. This is turning into pure farce. Meanwhile a beautiful iron into 14 by Day, arrowed straight at the flag. He’ll have a six footer for birdie. Rose creams one in to three feet. A bit of trouble for Spieth, though, off the front of the green. He’s got to putt up a couple of ridges, and from 50 feet gets to within six. And lasers the par saver straight into the cup! Brilliant! But only a par, while both his partners, Day and Rose, make birdie. Day’s one off the lead now, while Rose moves up to -1.
-5: Stenson (F), D Johnson (F)
-4: Reed (F), Day (14), Martin (12*), Campbell -a- (11*)
-3: Kuchar (F), Spieth (14)
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This is a stunning performance by Tiger Woods, too, only in a very different kind of way. He’s just missed the widest fairway in US Open history, the 115-yard-wide 13th, by 20 yards to the right. He’s forced to chip out. And then he clips his third pin high to eight feet. Putting the way he’s doing right now, nothing’s certain, but at least he’ll have a chance to scramble his par. Meanwhile Campbell nearly replicates Martin’s huge birdie putt on 2, but has to settle for another par. That’ll do, though. What a round this young man is enjoying!
The young amateur Brian Campbell reached the turn in 31 shots, but has run into trouble immediately after it. He’s sent his second at 1 down the huge hill to the left-hand side of the green. This has done for quite a few folk today, including Bubba and Patrick Reed. But it’s not vexing Campbell, who gets up and down for his par, bumping up to 15 feet and knocking in the saver! He remains at -4. A short par putt missed by the joint-leader Martin on 3, though, and he’s back to -4. A third birdie on the bounce for Jordan Spieth, this time at 13. He’s -3. He’ll have the best of the conditions tomorrow; if he can keep this up, back-to-back majors will suddenly look a very real possibility. This is a stunning performance by the young man.
Tiger’s on a concrete path. He clips the ball over a hillock and onto the green. He’ll have a birdie putt from 25 feet. But he misreads it terribly, the ball breaking off to the left. A tricky four footer for his par. And he prods at it very gingerly indeed. A terrible three-putt bogey, on statistically the easiest hole on the course. He’s +6 now, and this is getting very ugly. But he’s not the only one making foolish mistakes. On 5, Danny Willett - who had been going well, having played the back nine in 33 strokes - misses a bogey putt from all of 18 inches, and suddenly he’s back to level par.
What’s Tiger done here? Larruped his tee shot on the drive-able par-4 12th, a 3-wood, 50 yards away to the right. Dear oh dear. That is awful. But then Rickie Fowler, at +9 after yet another dropped shot at 11, blooters his drive past the hole. The ball stops up the bank at the back of the green, before u-turning and trundling towards the cup. It’s one inch from dropping, a hole in one on a par four! He settles for a tap-in eagle, and he’s back to +7. That was nearly one of the most astonishing shots in US Open history. It was still pretty damn fine. He’s had an awful day, but has the good grace to laugh at his close brush with history, then launches the ball into the gallery to give some lucky punter a special souvenir.
The sun’s buggered off. A lot of cloud overhead, and the wind’s picked up significantly. That’s not stopping the amateur Brian Campbell, though; a birdie putt from 12 feet scampers into the cup on 18, and he’s -4. Another dropped shot for Tiger, this time at 11, having got himself snagged in the rough down the right. He’s +5 now. Spieth can’t drain his eagle putt on 12, but that’s a birdie and after a slow, uncertain start, he’s now -2, just three off the lead. And one behind his playing partner Day, who birdies the hole too. But the big news is Ben Martin’s birdie on 2, having hit his second pin high and raced in a right-to-left uphill 30-footer. He’s now grabbed a share of the lead! It’s taken a while, but the leaderboard’s had a bit of a shake-up!
-5: Stenson (F), D Johnson (F), Martin (11*)
-4: Reed (F), Campbell -a- (9*)
-3: Kuchar (F), Day (12)
Kisner and Grace drop shots, at 1 and 3 respectively, to slip back to -2. Moving the other way, Tony Finau, who is on quite a run right now. He’d bogeyed 4 and 6, but has birdied 7, 9 and 11, then eagled 12. He’s -3, all of a sudden. Meanwhile Ben Martin keeps on keepin’ on, nearly rattling in a birdie putt from distance on 1, but settling for par; he stays at -4, one off the lead. And Spieth could be about to make a move, battering his drive at 12 to the back of the green, leaving himself a 15-footer for eagle. I’ll hold on the latest leaderboard until we see how that one develops.
Spieth whistles an approach into 11, off the bank to the right, four feet from the flag. A great chance for a birdie that’d take him into the red numbers. Day follows him there. As does Rose. Spieth and Rose convert to move under par, but Day misses his short one and remains at -2. Tiger meanwhile is in a spot of trouble down the par-four 10th, in a greenside bunker hitting three, with little green to play with. He opens the face of his club, and bump-splashes a soft shot out of the trap and onto the very front portion of the green. The ball ends six feet behind the flag, a miracle from there. He nearly misses the par putt, but it drops, and anyway that’s not really the point. What a bunker shot. That should give him a huge boost.
Spieth spurns a fairly simple birdie putt at 10, to remain at level par. Rose can’t convert either, his ball bobbling all over the shop. He stays at level par, too. Back on 9, a 15-footer attempt for Tiger’s birdie, but the ball dies off to the right. He turns having taken 39 strokes. This group are dragging each other down: Louis Oosthuizen also reached the turn in 39, while Fowler got himself in a pickle at the bottom of yet another greenside swale at 9, and registered his third double bogey in four holes. He was level par after 5; after 9, he’s +8, reaching the turn in 43. This is a disastrous performance by one of the hot pre-tournament favourites. Only McIlroy, Spieth, Mickelson and Dustin Johnson were ahead of him in the betting. And now look.
Tee shot of the day by Jimmy Gunn, the Scottish journeyman. He gently lands his ball on the front left of 15, guiding it back in to 12 inches. He taps in for a birdie that brings him back to -2, having shed a shot on the previous hole. A fine performance from an unheralded player, this. Up on 1, Grace is an inch away from draining a 30-footer for back-to-back birdies, but he stays at -3.
Two putts for Tiger at 8, and that’s his daftest par. Fowler, meanwhile, having followed his double at 6 with another dropped shot at 7, doubles again after finding trouble down a swale to the right of the green at 8. All of a sudden, he’s +5. How quickly it can all go wrong. And Fowler one of the more links-minded of the US players, too.
A stunning birdie for Branden Grace on 18. He’s just off the back right of the green in two, but in a tight spot. He punches the ball up into the air, and it bites by the side of the hole. That’ll be a tap-in birdie, and he’ll have reached the turn in three-under 32. Jason Day is making a move, rolling a delicate left-to-righter up the par-three 9th for birdie. He reaches the turn in 33, he’s -2.
The indignities being heaped on Tiger Woods right now! He’s down that bank to the right of 8, trying to hack back up. His ball squirts out into the filth on the other side of te fairway - but his club whistles off over his shoulder, 20 yards back down the hole! He might have bent the club as well. But enough is enough: he then powers his third into the front of the green. He’ll have a 15-footer uphill for birdie! That’ll be one of the daftest birdies of all time if he gets it. It’ll be a pretty stupid par, all told. But that’s golf, folks!
Tiger pars 7. Back on equilibrium? Nope! He larrups a dismal drive the best part of 80 yards right of the 8th fairway. That’s quite astonishing. Meanwhile the normally dependable putter of Jordan Spieth lets him down; he prods with great uncertainty at that short eagle putt on 8, and has to settle for a birdie that’ll feel like a bogey all of a sudden. Still, he’s back to level par. Day birdies, in less dramatic style, and he skips off in the jaunty manner. Meanwhile another birdie for Kisner, this time at 18, and he’s -3. As is - wait for this - the 22-year-old amateur Brian Campbell, who has birdied 11, 12 and now 14. And Ben Martin’s just rolled in a 30-foot left-to-right slider from the bottom of the 16th green, and he’s -4, one shot off the lead!
-5: Stenson (F), D Johnson (F)
-4: Reed (F), Martin (7*)
-3: Kuchar (F), Kisner (9*), Campbell -a- (5*)
Spieth, having three putted 6, does rather well to two-putt from distance for par on 7. And here’s the payoff: he creams a fairway wood into the heart of the par-five 8th, his ball curling gently in from the bank to the left, stopping four feet from the flag! He’ll have a great chance for an eagle that’d take him into red numbers! Sheer brilliance from the young Masters champion.
It’s fair to say conditions are harder in the afternoon: the greens are harder, faster and less receptive. But there are still quite a few players a couple of shots under par for their rounds so far. Afternoon starters at -2 right now: JB Holmes, Joost Luiten, Danny Willett, Kevin Kisner, Branden Grace, the amateur Brian Campbell, and the last-minute qualifier, from the third-tier Gateway tour, Jimmy Gunn. And then there’s Ben Martin, who dropped a shot at 13 but has picked it straight back up at 14 and remains at -3. If any of these chaps can keep it together, they’ll be in great position tomorrow, when they’ll enjoy the (supposedly) easier morning conditions.
Ah well, that’s me wrong. Tiger doesn’t get his par, three putting from the back of the green, 20 feet from the pin. But to be fair to him, the first putt had a huge right-to-left break. He leaves himself a missable five footer, and it lips out on the left. Another bogey, his fourth in six holes. He’s +4. A double bogey for Fowler, too, who took two shots to escape from a greenside bunker, found from the middle of the fairway. He’s +2. Meanwhile Kevin Kisner, who lost out to Fowler at the Players, has followed bogey at 11 with birdies at 12, 14 and 17 to move to -2.
Villegas birdies 13! What a brilliant way to bounce back from that shambles at 12. He’s level par through his first four holes, having gone birdie-birdie-triple-birdie. Meanwhile on 6, a small reawakening of Tiger’s genius. He’s in a little trouble, just into the rough down the right. But he lashes a high approach up over a bank and into the heart of the green. Not close, but not far away either. He’ll surely escape with his par.
Updated
Things have got very ugly for poor Camilo Vilegas at the short, drive-able par-four 12th. His ball’s stuck in a clump just in front of a bunker. With an awkward stance, he hits the bank, and the ball trickles back into the sand, into a footprint. He takes three to escape from that. And all of a sudden, after a birdie-birdie start, he’s making a triple-bogey 7. He’s back to +1. A three-putt bogey for Spieth on 6; he’s +1 too. Rose gets up and down from the bunker, though, a fine escape and a par.
Tiger’s second to 5 is short and left, a mishit 6-iron from 190 yards. He then nearly drains a 60-footer from off the front of the green, with a huge left-to-right break. “We still believe, Tiger,” screams someone from the gallery. He’ll save par there, but what an effort he’s having to make just to avoid total meltdown. This isn’t particularly easy to watch at the moment. A second birdie for Paul Casey, this time at 14, and he’s sitting nicely at -1. And Rose’s fast start seems a long time ago right now; he’s found rough from the tee at 6, and his second can only slam-dunk into a bunker front right. Par looks a pipe dream right now.
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Tiger splits the middle of 5 with his drive. Meanwhile a miserable start for the 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke: double bogey at 1, featuring missed tiddler and embarrassed grin, then bogey at 2. Anyway, thoughts turn to Rich Berberian Jr., who we last heard of at 9.54pm BST. He was +13 through 15, having carded three double bogeys in five holes. Happily, he parred his way in, and settled for an 83 that suddenly doesn’t look quite so bad. Hey, it’s all about context.
Tiger can’t get up and down from the front of 4. His long putt up to the hole isn’t too bad, from 50 feet to eight. But his par saver dies to the right of the hole, and that’s three bogeys in the first four holes. All the problems, as usual with Tiger, can be traced back to his antics on the tee. He’s missing some of the widest fairways in US Open history! Fowler’s birdie effort dies to the right, too, but at level par, he can afford a wry smile. Meanwhile it couldn’t last for JB Holmes; a dropped shot at 17, and he’s back to -2. Branden Grace meets him there, coming the other way: after bogey at 10, he’s eagled 12 and now birdied 14.
Back up the hole, Tiger finds the Spieth Bunkers down the right. He walks off the tee dragging his driver on the ground behind him, in the style of Frank Costanza dragging the Festivus pole into Monk’s Cafe to put the fear into George. His second doesn’t find the green, well short. Fowler meanwhile sends his second onto the bank to the left of the green, the pin on the right, the ball working all the way back down to a couple of feet. Meanwhile more fast starts: birdie at 11 and eagle at 12 for Ben Martin, who is suddenly -3. And Camilo Vilegas birdies 10 and 11; he’s -2, quicksmart. “Jamie Lovemark or Lance Thruster,” writes a slightly over-excited Simon McMahon. I hope he’s not alone tonight. Or maybe that’d be for the best.
Yet another birdie for JB Holmes! This one at 16, and he’s -3 now, in a tie for fourth with Matt Kuchar. Spieth can only whistle his second to the back of the large green at 4, but a good two putts saves his par. Rose’s approach is high on the left, and he’s left with a long two-putt. He takes three. He’s back to level par, that fast start evaporated. But Day sends a hybrid over the pin, and knocks in the eight-foot return for birdie. All three of them are level par, but their moods are very different right now.
Here’s a leaderboard!
-5: D Johnson (F), Stenson (F)
-4: Reed (F)
-3: Kuchar (F)
-2: Gribble (F), Molinari (F), Dufner (F), Elder (6*), Holmes (6*)
“Let me apologise up front,” begins Cheryl, Sunless in Seattle. “I’m NOT a golf aficionado. So here’s the stupid question, based on my naivety about golf -- when you list the leaders, what does an asterisk (*) mean by the hole number mean? I would greatly appreciate a response - if you have the time.” No need to apologise, we’re all friends here. It means the player started his round at hole 10, rather than 1. (The field’s split in half like this, theoretically so the entire round gets finished earlier.) He’ll play the back nine first, and the front nine last. So Elder, above at -2, has played his first six holes, but not the first six holes. He’s started at 10. I’ve probably taken 100 words to explain that when ten would do, but there it is.
Spieth, steady so far, lashes his drive at 4 into the bunker complex down the right. That’ll set him a poser. Back on 3, some joy at last for Tiger. Well, nearly. He sends his tee shot to 15 feet, and very nearly strokes the birdie putt into the cup. The ball does everything possible to stay out on the right, and achieves its goal. Unlucky Tiger. Naughty, stubborn ball (incorporating bobble on green). Tiger’s a man who needs a break, and he didn’t get one there. Still, a par’s not a bogey, and from little acorns, and all that.
Jason Day finds the bunker at the front of 3 with his tee shot. He splashes out wonderfully to four feet, then rather stupidly pulls his putt to the left. An early dropped stroke for one of the pre-tournament favourites. Pars for Rose and Spieth. Meanwhile a Bubbaesque start to the day for Ian Poulter, who doubles 1. But how about this from Paul Casey, who is up on a high bank to the left of 12, miles out of position. He bounces his chip way past the hole, to the back of the green. It hits the slope, then starts coming back. And back. And back. And rests 12 inches from the hole. What a birdie! He’s back to level par, after opening with a bogey at 10.
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Donald, the best part of 80 feet away from the pin on 14, off the front, lags a birdie putt up to a couple of feet. That’s as good a putt as you’ll see all day. Par. Back on 2, Tiger dumps his second into the bunker front left of the green. This is a horrendous start. But he splashes out to 15 feet, so at least he’s given himself a chance of scrambling par. He gives it a good go, but the ball dies off to the right at the last turn, and that’s a bogey-bogey start. In much better shape: JB Holmes, who bogeyed his opening hole, 10, but has just strung three birdies together in a row. He’s through 14 now, -2 so far.
Tiger wangs his drive at 2 into the dirt down the right. This isn’t a good start. Up on the green, Rose’s birdie effort slips by the right of the cup, but he’d have taken a birdie-par opening 30 minutes ago. “US Open golfer names are a joy to behold,” writes this column’s reader Simon McMahon. “There’s a parlour game in there somewhere. US Open golfer or porn star? I give you Beau Hossler. Blayne Barber. Tony Finau. Dirk Diggler. Bryson DeChambeau. DA Points. Only one of them is not playing at Chambers Bay.” Cole Hammer probably qualifies for this game too, doesn’t he. And Tiger Woods.
Tiger nearly drains his par putt - more like 15 feet away, at second look - but he starts with bogey. Fowler was very close to knocking in a big left-to-right curler from 20 feet, but that doesn’t drop. Post-shank, that would have been the most preposterous birdie of all time. Quite a disappointing miss in that respect. Par for him, and for Oosthuizen too. What a hole of golf that was.
The 15-year-old amateur Cole Hammer pars the last, and signs for a superlative 77. That’s 15 years old. Put it another way, he’s 15. And he’s shot 77 on a US Open course! What talent. Up on 2, Rose pearls another iron straight at the flag, and will have an 12-foot, pin-high birdie putt. Stunning. As is Tiger’s bump down to the pin back on 1 from the tousled bank on the right. He’s a good 12 feet short, but couldn’t risk being too aggressive, as that bank down the left-hand side of the hole would wheech his ball 50 yards away.
“OH TIIII-GERRRRRRRR.” The big man swings hectically, sending his second into thick filth down the right of 1. He’s in knotted rubbish up a bank. Then Fowler shanks his second, the ball squirting off the hosel and towards Tiger Country - but the ball takes a kindly bounce off the bank and gathers onto the green! He’ll have a look for birdie! Lucky Rickie Fowler. Penny for Tiger’s thoughts.
Rose taps in for his opening-hole birdie. His playing partners Jordan Spieth and Jason Day make do with unfussy pars. Other afternoon starters benefiting from early birdies, and sitting nicely at -1: Brad Fritsch, DA Points, JB Holmes, Ernie Els, Marc Leishman, Bo Van Pelt, Charlie Beljan, Lee Janzen, Thongchai Jaidee and Billy Horschel. It’s going to be a busy afternoon all right!
Another English nearly man, Lee Westwood, starts out on 10, landing his second onto the big slope to the left of the green, his ball ricocheting into a bunker on the right. Hmm. But credit where credit’s due: the aforementioned Donald nearly holes out from 100 yards on 13, a gorgeous approach, and a birdie that might kick-start his round. But never mind all that! Here comes Tiger! Some will sniff haughtily, no doubt, but we know better, huh? The man’s box office, one way or another. And he BOOMS his opening drive down the middle of the 1st. His playing partners Rickie Fowler and Louis Oosthuizen follow him down there. This is on!
An abysmal start to the afternoon for Luke Donald. He bogeys 10 and 11, then three putts the short par-four 12th. His birdie effort, from eight feet, travelled five, six tops. A dismal effort by a player whose time as a major contender, you feel, has passed. Justin Rose, by contrast, took the next step at Merion at 2013, and look at the difference: he’s just arrowed his second straight at the flag at 1, the ball rolling to two feet. That’s a certain opening birdie. What an approach!
A spectacular start to the round for 27-year-old US Open debutant Jamie Lovemark. He creams his drive at the short par-four 12th to four feet, and taps in for eagle! But he hands one of the shots straight back at 13. He’s -1. Also with eagle at 12, his playing partner Brad Elder; that’s sandwiched by a bogey at 11 and birdie at 13, and he’s -2. Jason Dufner, incidentally, parred 18 to sign for a 68.
A clever putt from Marc Warren on 18. He’s on the par five in two huge booms, but left with a long putt up the green. So he clatters it right to the back, allowing the ball to stop on the slope and roll back down towards the pin! He’s got a six footer left for his birdie. And in it goes! The 34-year-old Scot hasn’t got too much experience in the majors - this is only his sixth go in one of them - and yet he’s got two top-15 finishes in the PGA. That’s a fine 68, and at -2 he’s just three off the lead.
Patrick Reed clips a lovely tee shot at 9 to five feet, and knocks in the birdie putt. That’s repaired the damage of that bogey at 8, and he’s putting his signature on the bottom of a brilliant 66! He’s one off the lead. Also very happy with their day’s work: Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jimenez, combined age 102. They both sign for one-under 69s. The third man in the group, the whippersnapper Jim Furyk (45), has to make do with a one-over 71. Time for a leaderboard, then ...
-5: D Johnson (F), Stenson (F)
-4: Reed (F)
-3: Kuchar (F)
-2: Gribble (F), Molinari (F), Dufner (17)
You may recall the early-day travails of Josh Persons, who started out with a triple-bogey 7 on 10. Things got better for him, though not by much. No birdies, but six more bogeys, and he finished with a nine-over 79. He’ll not be propping up the leaderboard, though. Poor Rich Berberian Jr. is suffering something of a breakdown right now. He’s just carded three double bogeys in the last five holes - 11, 12 and 15 - and that’s off the back of five other bogeys and one more double. He’s +13 through 15. I feel bad about bringing it up now.
It’s been a miserable day for the defending champion Martin Kaymer. He knocks in a 15-footer to save his par on the 9th, but he’s signing for a two-over 72. As is his playing partner Rory McIlroy, who can’t get up and down from a bunker. That’s a dismal finish for the world number one, two shots dropped in the final three holes, those bogeys sandwiching a spurned birdie opportunity. But here’s news of a fine finish: Bernd Wiesberger, who started out with two bogeys and a double bogey in his first five holes, parred the rest of the way round before birdies at 6 and 9. He’s +2 as well, like Kaymer and McIlroy, but will be feeling a damn sight better about himself.
Another birdie for The Somnambulist! Placidity’s Jason Dufner picks up another stroke, this time at 16, and suddenly he’s -2. Reed bumbles his way up 8, always playing catch-up after a poor drive. A dreadful bogey six for a player with so much power. He’s back to -3. A late charge here from Miguel Angel Jimenez, who birdies 16 and 17 to move to -1. And on 18, Stenson knocks his third pin high, then rolls in a 20-footer for a birdie and a five-under 65! He punches the air as the ball drops. It’s been a good day for Stenson’s group: Molinari signs for a 68, while Brandt Snedeker, who went out in 37, comes back in 32 for an excellent 69.
It’s just not been happening for Rory McIlroy. A three-putt bogey at 7, and now he misses a very gettable birdie putt from eight feet at the par-five 9th. He stays at +1. Meanwhile back on 9, Sergio nearly drains a 30-footer for birdie. He’ll have to settle for par. But as he’d birdied 6 and 7, he’s signing for a 70, which given how averagely he’s played, is a decent return. The same applies for Adam Scott, who bogeys the last but will be pleased enough with his 70. And then Dustin fails to give his ten-foot left-to-right breaker enough juice, and he ends with a bogey, signing for a 65. A slightly poor finish, all told, given his antics from the centre of the fairway on 8, but what a round.
-5: D Johnson (F)
-4: Stenson (17), Reed (16*)
-3: Kuchar (F)
A sensational shot from Dustin Johnson on the par-three 9th. He dumps his tee shot into thick filth in front of a huge bunker guarding the front of the green. With seemingly nowhere to go, he punches out to the left, onto a bank at the back of the green, allowing his ball to break back, 90 degrees to the right, and trundle 60 feet down towards the hole. It stops ten feet away, and he’ll still have a little work to do to avoid dropping his first shot of the day at his final hole. But the fact he’s given himself a chance at all is almost beyond comprehension. What a clever, and brilliantly executed, chip.
Anyway, Monty. One of the shots of the day at 15, off the bank front-left of the green, sending his ball curling back to the right towards the pin. A four-footer for birdie, and he doesn’t miss this one. He’s -1 again, though 16 now. “Two Scots in the top ten. Incredible!” writes Simon McMahon. “But not entirely surprising seeing as we invented the game.” Scotland of course remains in second place in the all-time US Open nationality table, with 13 wins to the USA’s 80. And Willie Anderson - whose story is told, sort of, in this Joy of Six - still ties the all-time multiple wins record, four, with Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus. Just thought you’d like to be reminded.
Dustin sends his fourth shot at 8, a putt from down the bank, 12 feet past the hole. But he rattles in the return, and his round remains bogey free. A two at the last, and he’ll be signing for one of those 63s! Meanwhile our old pal Jason ‘The Somnambulist’ Dufner, who started in the slow style with bogeys at 5 and 7, has turned things around magnificently. He’s birdied 9, 10 and now 15, and is decently placed at -1.
As for Phil Mickelson ... having driven into sand yet again at 18, he laid up, then wedged to six feet. A brilliant approach, but he couldn’t sign off with a birdie, and had to make do with a one-under 69. That’s not bad at all, but it could have been a whole lot better. Bubba, post-time-tantrum, finished off with a par, some doofus in the crowd calling him an “amateur” because he failed to accurately read a putt with about six huge breaks in it. Silly Bubba, with his two green jackets. Birdie for Marc Warren at 15, bringing him back to -1 after back-to-back bogeys at 10 and 11. And trouble for the leader Dustin Johnson on 8; he’s short of the green with his second, and his weak chip doesn’t scale the ridge running across the green and rolls off down a swale to the right.
Many thanks to Bryan there. Now, there’s been quite a few changes at the top. Yet another birdie for Dustin Johnson, this time at 7. He’s -6 for his round, and a birdie away from a 63, which would equal the lowest score in a major. Off the top of my head, I think that’d be the 28th 63 in major championship golf, but seeing he’s not done it yet, it’s not really that important. Yet. A stunning round, and yet he’s only two shots clear of Henrik Stenson, who has just birdied 14, 15 and 16, and was a dimple’s width of raking in a 45-footer on 17 for four in a row. He’ll remain at -4, alongside Patrick Reed, who has just carded his first birdie in quite a while at 6. Meanwhile Francesco Molinari has embarked on quite the run himself: birdies at 12, 13 and 15, and he’s right in the mix.
-6: D Johnson (16*)
-4: Stenson (17), Reed (15*)
-3: Kuchar (17*)
-2: Gribble (F), Molinari (17)
“Waiting for 30 minutes! This is pathetic professional golf!” bellows Bubba Watson after a mis-hit approach shot on 18. The moment is caught by the microphones and should be making the rounds on social media in three ... two ... one ...
I agree Bubba. Joe Buck calling a major IS pathetic professional golf #USOpen2015 pic.twitter.com/9V5KhaI8dn
— Jeffy K (@djsnagglepuss) June 18, 2015
The two-time Masters champion is clearly perturbed by the pace of play here at Chambers Bay. Hopefully our Scott Murray, who’s taking back over, is doing a little better.
Updated
Mickelson drives his tee shot on the par-5 18th into the bunker. He’s led all 17 holes by as many as four strokes over playing partner Watson, but will need to push to finish ahead of Bubba here. Seems like he began played conservative off the tee starting on the 12th. Two-over on the back on a day that’s ended slightly cooler than it started.
A second consecutive birdie for Dustin Johnson, who is now two clear at -5. A bogey-free afternoon so far for last year’s fourth-place finisher.
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson (-1) has steadied the ship with three straight pars on 15, 16 and 17 after consecutive bogeys on the previous two holds to tumble off the lead.
Dustin Johnson is our new leader, tickling in a ten-footer at 4 to move to -4. And it’s all happening! Back-to-back birdies for 24-year-old Cody Gribble on his US Open debut; he’s -2. Matsuyama grabs back the shot he dropped at 4 with a 25-foot birdie putt on 5; he’s -2 again. Meanwhile Monty’s second into 12 is a beauty, a pitching wedge from 100 yards that lands eight feet past the hole and puts the handbrake on with a dramatic squeal. He’ll have that to move to -2. But he misses it. Gah!
-4: D Johnson (13*)
-3: Kuchar (13*), Reed (11*)
-2: Gribble (16), Chappell (14), Matsuyama (14*)
And with that, I’ll leave you in the capable hands and loving arms of Bryan Graham for a little while.
Updated
A dropped shot for Matsuyama on 4, something of a kick in the teeth after going close with a birdie putt on 3. He’s back to -1. A little gap now between the group at -3 and the rest of the field. Reed nearly moves to -4 with a 20-footer on 2, but he doesn’t give it enough juice. One of the putts of the day on 12, Molinari draining a 60-footer from off the front for a birdie that takes the Italian back to level par. And Mickelson finds the middle of 15 with his tee shot, and is an inch or so from knocking in the birdie putt from 30 feet. He remains at -1.
Monty, though. It’s Monty!
Another birdie for Kevin Chappell, who lest we forget has a couple of top-ten finishes to his name at the US Open. He’s -3 after birdie at 13. And he’ll have a share of the lead, because Reed can only knock his long par putt to eight feet. He’s in danger of dropping two, but he knocks in a tricky curler for bogey. He’s back to -3, but that could have been so much worse. This also applies to Mickelson, up on 14. His second bunker escape only just finds the front of the green, and his long par putt zips 12 feet past the hole. But he rattles in a big left-to-right breaker, and that’s a bogey celebrated by a fist pump! He’s back to -1, but like Reed, that could have been much more painful. And mixed news for our Scottish pals: a bogey for Warren at 10, but the old trooper Monty picks up one on 11 and he’s in red figures again! Go Monty! Go Monty! Yes, OK, but dreaming is free, and they can’t take it away from us.
-3: Chappell (13), Kuchar (12*), D Johnson (12*), Reed (10*)
-2: Matsuyama (12*)
-1: Mickelson (14), Kawamura (12), Stenson (11), Scott (12*), Furyk (11), Montgomerie (11), Warren (10)
Trouble for Patrick Reed on 1. His tee shot finds the rough down the left, and his approach lands front left of the green. That’s flirting with danger, and he finds it, his ball rolling off the left-hand side of the putting surface and miles down the bank. He ends up a good 50 yards from the green. Bubba double-bogeyed from here. Phil, on the other hand, flopped to a couple of feet and saved a crazy par. He bumps a chip up - and it sticks on the bank. He’s still got 50 feet to the hole, though he can consider himself fortunate the ball didn’t pick up speed and roll all the way back to his feet.
Adam Scott rattles in a long birdie effort on 2, a fine response to a shot dropped at 1. He’s -1 again. Kuchar makes his birdie at 3, and moves to -3, and a share of second spot. Mickelson’s day is beginning to turn a little sour; he’s driven into a huge bunker down 14, and his ball’s nestled up against the lip. He’ll be able to get it out, but how far down the hole is a moot point. Well, he’s going for the green with a long iron. This is a hell of a gamble. And though he gets the ball out, he takes far too much sand. He only advances into another bunker up the hole. He’ll do well to make bogey now.
Reed completely fannies his birdie putt at 18. A total mishit, and he leaves it four feet short. But if a lame birdie putt is the only blemish on your card at a US Open, you’re doing not too badly at all. He rattles it in for par, and he’s reached the turn in 31 shots, leading at -4. He’s a shot ahead of Dustin Johnson, who’ll soon be joined at -3 by Matt Kuchar, the permanently smiling Floridian having gently stroked his tee shot at 3 to a couple of feet. Things have suddenly changed a bit at the top. Here’s a full list of everyone under par.
-4: Reed (9*)
-3: D Johnson (10*)
-2: Mickelson (13), Chappell (12), Matsuyama (11*), Kuchar (11*), Warren (8)
-1: Stenson (10)
Trouble for Mickelson on 13. He hits a fat one into the bunker front right of the green, and only just gets out with his third. He underhits the uphill 15-footer he leaves himself, and he’s back to -2. Going the other way, Dustin Johnson with birdie at 1; he’s -3. Matsuyama is a dimple away from rolling in a long birdie putt on 2, but he remains at -2. And Reed’s going to have a look at yet another birdie, having wedged his third at 18 pin high to 15 feet.
Sergio’s second into 1 is up there with the best of the day, a short iron clipped pin high to three feet. That should bring him back to level par. But it doesn’t. The putt’s missed, and that’s an awful nonsense. On the long par-five 18th, McIlroy drives into a bunker, which is fine, as he’d probably have laid up anyway. His third is clipped to five feet, but once again his putter fails him, and par will have to do. He remains at level par, which isn’t exactly out of it, halfway through the first round, but the signs aren’t good: if the flat stick doesn’t get a bit hotter, he’ll not be doing anything this week. That’s two shots needlessly left out on the back nine.
Reed’s tee shot into 17 isn’t the greatest, nearly falling off the left-hand side of the green and down into a swale. But the ball just about stays up, and then he rattles in the 30-footer he leaves himself! Another birdie, and he’s the new sole leader of the US Open at -4. Mickelson has a look at a 20-footer of his own on 12, but he’ll be staying at -3. Meanwhile birdie for the 2003 champion, Jim Furyk, on 8. He’s -1, a nice steady start. Mock his baroque swing all you like, but it’s strange how he’s only managed to convert one of a plethora of top-ten finishes into a major win. At 45, time’s running out if he wants a second. But chances are he’ll be sniffing around come Sunday.
An exquisite chip by Patrick Reed on 16, to a couple of feet, and he birdies to move to a share of the lead at -3. Stenson is inches away from rolling in a 20-footer for birdie at 9; he stays at -1. Levy undoes a little of his good work with bogey at 1. He’s only parred three holes today. Some progress for Jamie Donaldson, who had bogeyed 13 but has bounced back rather nicely with birdies at 14 and now 16; he’s -1. And Sergio, who had started dismally with bogeys at 13 and 16, has arrested the trend by laying up, Kuchar style, at 18, then caressing a wedge to four feet. Birdie, and he’s back to +1.
-3: Mickelson (11), Reed (7*)
-2: D Johnoson (7*), Kuchar (9*), Matsuyama (9*), Chappell (10), Warren (7)
Matt Kuchar reaches the turn in 33, laying up on the long par-five 18th, then clipping his third to four feet for a certain birdie. He’s -2. Kevin Chappell joins his compatriot there; he’s currently the hottest player on the course, having followed up bogey at 6 with birdies at 8, 9 and 10. McIlroy’s birdie putt at 8 meanwhile shaves the hole, and he’s forced to settle for par.
Mickelson bounces straight back! His second into the long par-four 11th is straight at the flag, albeit 15 feet short. A lovely approach. He makes up the small shortfall with a putt rolled straight into the cup, a perfect read, the perfect pace, never missing. Birdie, and he’s the sole leader here again at -3. Stenson meanwhile struggles his way up the par-five 8th, and his bogey six drops him back to -1. And Rory is looking to turn things around in fine style, clipping an 8-iron straight at the flag at the par-three 17th. He’ll have an uphill putt from 12 feet for another birdie.
The 16th here is a thing of strange beauty, the railway running down the right, a reminder of Chambers Bay’s industrial past. Is the train chugging past taking Rory McIlroy’s hopes and dreams with it? Nope! The world number one responds to that appalling bogey at 15 by guiding his second to four feet and knocking in the birdie putt. He’s back to level par. Kaymer nearly rakes in a monster from the front of the green for birdie, but a par will have to do. Alexander Levy reaches the turn in 33, -2, having birdied 15, 16 and now 18. And on 15, Kevin Na drops his tee shot onto the hood of the bunker front left, his ball rolling to within inches, so close to a hole in one. He’ll move to -1.
There’s trouble afoot down 10. Bubba takes two to escape from a greenside bunker, his first attempt pinging off the toe of his club. Having hauled himself back to level par, immediately undoes all the good work with a double. He’s +2 again. Mickelson meanwhile is putting from the back of the green, and he’s forced to send his ball miles to the right, up a bank, and back towards the hole at a right angle. He underhits it, which is not surprising given the circuitous route, and that’s a three-putt bogey. He’s back to -2, in a tie for the lead with Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Henrik Stenson and Mark Warren.
McIlroy’s wheels look to be in danger of clanking off. His tee shot at the par-three 15th, a huge drop to the green from 169 yards, slam dunks into a bunker at the front. There’s not a lot of green to work with there, the pin front left. But he splashes out magnificently, his ball gently landing just outside the bunker and rolling to three feet. He had no room for error there whatsoever, but that’s a great par sav... ah no, he yips the tiddler, and that’s back-to-back bogeys. He’s +1 all of a sudden. His playing partner Martin Kaymer birdies, and he’s back to level par. Some admin: Scott, who had visited the sand on the same hole before these two, bogeyed the hole to drop back to -1. Birdie meanwhile for Matsuyama on 16, and he moves quietly to -2. And Stenson’s there too, bouncing back from bogey at 6 with birdie at 7.
Cole Hammer is 15. Which is why, after playing a blind iron into 12, he can sprint off to his right, up a bank, and see his ball land pin high, eight feet from the hole. He’s four years younger than Ol’ Sergio was at Medinah, but that’s the first thing that springs to mind anyway. A dropped shot for McIlroy at Cape Fear, the 14th, after he found the bunker in the middle of the fairway with his drive; he’s back to level par. Par for Mickelson at 9, and he’s out in 32 strokes. The perfect start to yet another US Open bid. Bubba birdies there, sinking a long one from the left-hand edge of the par three, and he’s level again. That’s a fine recovery from a dreadful start. On 6, a birdie for Monty, who’s back to -1. And there’s a bit of a Scottish charge going on, because it’s back to back birdies for Marc Warren, whose second into 5 is arrowed right at the flag.
Neither Dustin Johnson nor Adam Scott can convert their short birdie chances at 14. They remain at -2. Reed rattles in a 12-footer for birdie on the long par-four 13, his second of the day. Stenson lets a short putt drift to the right on 6, and he drops back to -1. Phil stays in sole charge of this US Open.
-3: Mickelson (8)
-2: D Johnson (5*), Scott (5*), Reed (4*)
Birdie for Marc Warren on 4; he’s -1. The last Scot to win a major was Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open at Carnoustie. Just saying. Some other admin: bogey for Sergio at 13; he’s +1. Young Cole Hammer drops one at 11, a wee shame after that exciting start down 10, and getting so close to red figures. Bubba birdied 7 to haul himself back up to +1. The 2012 champion Webb Simpson has started very averagely indeed with bogeys at 10 and 11. And poor Josh Persons continues to struggle; after that opening triple bogey at 10, he’s added to his problems by dropping further shots at 14, 15 and 17. He’s reached the turn in 41 strokes, and props everyone up at +6.
Another birdie for Phil Mickelson, who clips his second pin high, 12 feet to the left of the flag, and rolls in a putt with a gentle left-to-right break. He’s now the sole leader at -3. The dream is on. It’s way too early to get excited ... but it is, isn’t it? Mind you, his sole leadership might not last long. On the long par-four 14th, Scott knocks his second shot to eight feet from sandy bother, while Dustin hits the flagstick with a wedge! He’ll have a look at birdie from close range, six feet or so, too.
Golf doesn’t always give you what you deserve. But here’s the 2010 champ, Graeme McDowell, already +2. He nearly holes his approach at 14 for eagle, but the ball scampers on, 25 feet past. No matter! He rolls in the huge left-to-right breaker, and he’s back to +1. He’ll know as well as anyone that it’s sometimes just a matter of hanging on in at the US Open. His compatriot Rory McIlroy knows that, too, and splashes out from his sandy hell at 13 to a couple of feet. He’ll save par, but his partner Martin Kaymer continues to struggle up the hole, leaving his approach short, then hitting a second poor wedge in a row. He can’t make the 12-footer he leaves himself, and that’s a double bogey to follow his eagle. He’s back to +1.
The 13th fairway is the widest in US Open history at 115 yards. The defending champ Martin Kaymer has still managed to miss it by miles on the right, though. He’s up a hill, his ball nestled in the thick stuff. He can only take his medicine and chip out. McIlroy, meanwhile, is in the centre of the fairway, but his approach is weak, landing in front of the green and rolling away apologetically to the right, where it’s snaffled by a deep bunker. That looks like pure hell in there, and he’s not got much green to play with either. Up ahead, Dustin Johnson and Scott take turns to shave the hole with birdie putts, while Stenson leaves a 12-footer inches short on 5, but nobody’s getting to -3 quite yet.
Kaymer rolls in his eagle putt on 12. He’s up to -1. Meanwhile his playing partner McIlroy plays the hole in very messy fashion, leaving his drive high on the right, failing to chip close, and racing a reckless birdie putt way past the hole. He knocks in the par saver, but that was a lot of unnecessary hard work to remain at -1. Meanwhile Monty slips back to level par, but he’s so unfortunate. He’s a yard short of sticking his second shot dead; instead it drops into the bunker guarding the front of the green, and he can’t get up and down from the trap. Meanwhile early birdies for Francesco Molinari (4) and Keegan Bradley (10), and they join the large group at -1.
Mickelson leaves himself a tough putt up and over a bank to the left of 7. There’s a big right-to-left break over the hump, but he nearly drains it. So close to a stunning birdie. But he’s left with a tricky five footer coming back, and he’s got a history of missing those. Not this time, though, and he stays at -2. He’s going along very nicely. Back to back birdies by Victor Dubuisson, at 14 and 15, and he’s -1. Momentarily; another bogey at 16, and that’s level par again. And what about this from the 15-year-old amateur Cole Hammer, the third-youngest* US Open competitor of all time? His opening drive at 10 finds the thick stuff down the left. No matter, as he caresses an iron into the heart of the green, teasing the hole, and leaving himself a 15-footer for birdie. Which he is a dimple away from making. The crowd gasp, disappointment losing out over wonder. He’s 15! Brilliant.
* Andy Zhang, 14 years and six months in 2012, holds the record, with Tadd Fujikawa, 15 years and five months in 2006, pipping Hammer by five months.
A quiet start for Sergio, but he’s close to turning up the volume on 12. However his birdie putt from 30 feet stops just short. He remains at level par. His playing partner Dustin Johnson sends his very gettable eagle putt past the right of the cup, but that’s a birdie that gives him a share of the lead with Mickelson, Stenson and ... Adam Scott, who also makes birdie at 12. Coming behind them, Martin Kaymer. The defending champ started slowly, with bogey at 11, but he’s just equalled, and perhaps bettered, Dustin’s drive at 12. His tee shot, arrowed into the heart of the green, ends up six feet from the hole; anything but an eagle from there will be very disappointing.
What a shot this is by Dustin Johnson! Taking out the driver on the 317-yard par-four 12th, he creams his tee shot down the right of the hole, his ball bouncing off the bank to the right of the green, holding at the back, before rolling back to six feet! A very good chance to make eagle. Another look at birdie for Monty on 3, this one sliding by the left from 12 feet. This is a very promising start by the veteran, though. And it’s good to see that advanced years haven’t calmed him any: he looks thoroughly affronted at his ball’s failure to drop. And there’s Phil misreading his short birdie putt on 6, leaving it up top on the left. Now who can we blame for that?
Monty’s approach to 2 is pin high, eight feet to the right of the hole. His birdie effort slides by the right. So close. He stays at -1, and he’s joined there by McIlroy, whose second to 11 guides in from the bank on the right and nestles six feet behind the cup. Brilliant birdie. Meanwhile on 6, Mickelson’s drive splits the fairway, and his second is creamed to eight feet. Another look for birdie there. He looks right on top of his game, but then so do a few of these lads. The greens appear a little softer than everyone was expecting, and players are peppering the flags right now. “Good to see that the Law of the Jinx is working well in reverse,” writes Adam Hirst (3.40pm). “I’ll expect my 10% once Mickelson strolls to his grand slam of majors.” Doesn’t the Law of the Jinx feature a rule of silence, else you jinx the jinxed jinx? Oh Adam! And Phil going so well, too.
Henrik Stenson follows up birdie at 2 with another at 3, and joins Phil Mickelson on top of the early leaderboard. Gary Woodland, meantime, has recovered from his shaky start, responding to the bogey at 11 with birdies at 12 and now 14. Already this is wonderful.
-2: Mickelson (5), Stenson (3)
-1: Gribble (5), Barnes (6*), Woodland (5*), Streb (4), McCoy (4), Kawamura (3), Matsuyama (2*), Kuchar (2*), D Johnson (2*), Scott (2*), Monty! (1), Reed (1*)
Early days, of course they are, but Phil Mickelson is now the sole leader of the US Open! His second shot into 5, a crisp wedge, lands six feet to the left of the hole and bites immediately. He rolls in the birdie putt to move to -2! Bubba’s approach is equally impressive, and he’s only five feet away, but he pulls a god-awful putt to the right of the hole, and remains at +2. That’s abysmal. He walks off the green wearing a goofy smile of embarrassment. Meanwhile this is in danger of turning into a birdie-fest (well, y’know): joining the group at -1 with early birdies are Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson, Masahiro Kawamura, Kurt Baines, Robert Streb, the amateur Lee McCoy and Patrick Reed. Eleven players in red numbers.
Mickelson doesn’t hit his birdie effort, which was dead on line, and he has to settle for par. He’d have taken that before hitting that second shot, though. Bubba and Cabrera get up and down for their pars. There’s another birdie effort left short, this time on 10, by Rory McIlroy, who chipped his second pin high to 12 feet. Some big names have joined Gribble and Mickelson in the leading group at -1, though. Hideki Matsuyama, who birdies 11; Matt Kuchar and Adam Scott, with birdie at 10, Morgan Hoffman picks up a shot at 12; and look at this, the oldest man in the field, Colin Montgomerie, who qualified as the 2014 US Senior Open winner, with birdie at 1! I know, I know, but just imagine.
Angles of approach, and all that, means Bubba’s first to play on 4 despite hitting the best drive. He wedges into the heart of the green, and a look of supreme disgust spreads across his coupon as his ball doesn’t break right towards the hole, as it really should. Very unlucky. Cabrera, from down the sandy bank to the right of the fairway, can only pitch up to the front of the green, the best he could do from where he was. And then Mickelson, who has a horrible lie in the rough stuff, further up the bank than Cabrera. An awkward stance, too, but he lashes a short iron to the front of the green, his ball bouncing round the bank to the left and gathering towards the hole, 12 feet away! That’s a sensational shot, and from a position of trouble, he’ll now have a look at another birdie. “The short game will be key and Big Phil, with his touch with the wedge, could be the difference,” suggests John McEnerney. “Not too many will be under the card. There should be a sign on the gate saying ‘abandon hope all ye who enter here.” I think we’ve got one of those somewhere at the Guardian. Let me have a rummage about and we’ll FedEx it over.
Plenty of golfers struggling out there. A big-name group of Gary Woodland, Victor Dubuisson and John Senden, and they’ve all dropped a stroke at 11. They’re +1. Behind them, Bernd Wiesberger, who came so close in the PGA last year, opens with a bogey at 10 and a double at 11; he joins Persons in propping up the early leaderboard at +3. And the 2010 champion Graeme McDowell has double bogeyed 10: +2. Meanwhile on the long par-four 4th, Mickelson has found a little trouble down the right, Cabrera has found a lot of it, and Bubba has blootered one straight down the middle.
Cabrera, from 20 feet, gives his birdie putt a good whack. His line is good - a left-to-right slider - but it’s a bit too strong, and never turning in. He’ll make his par. Mickelson up next - and he sends a perfectly judged putt across the dappled green and into the hole for birdie! He joins Gribble at the top of the tree at -1! Bubba can’t repeat the trick, though, his ball dying off to the right. Par. Bubba remains at +2, Cabrera +1. This is a great start by Mickelson; how vital that par save at 1 looks already.
Phil’s going along nicely. Another par at 2, and then he sticks his tee shot at 3 over the flag, leaving a 12-footer uphill. He’ll get a read off Cabrera, who is six feet outside him. Bubba’s wedge in is the best of the lot, just inside Phil. A chance to grab one of those shots back. He’s not thrown in the towel yet. As he shouldn’t, with 70 holes to play. But, well, you know Bubba sometimes.
A bogey for Cabrera at the 1st, too. And a correction: it would appear the ten-footer Bubba knocked in on the opening hole was for a double. He must have taken two to get up from the side of the green. The television director must be in denial. Bubba won’t be the last player to suffer that fate today, I’ll be bound. There are 24 players out there, and 11 of them are over par already. And we’ve had two double-bogeys and a triple! The early signs suggest Chambers Bay could make 1974 at Winged Foot look like a Sunday stroll around the pitch and putt at Alexandra Palace.
Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding to acknowledge the first birdie of the 2015 US Open. A round of applause for Cody Gribble of Texas, who picks up his shot on 1 and is - by definition, not that it means much - the first leader of this year’s tournament. Good to hear that one left hander is doing nicely, because there’s trouble for Mickelson coming behind. He lands his second onto the left-hand side of the green, and his ball skitters off down a ramp, 50 yards to the side. Bubba lands his ball closer to the pin, but still to the left of the target, and that one takes a similar path, ending up a good 40 yards to the left-hand side! That only just toppled off the green! Man, this is tough. But here’s Phil for you: he whips a 64-degree wedge out of his bag, and flops one up to a couple of feet. That’s an astonishing shot. He’ll save his par. Bubba might be struggling, though, choosing to bump one up with a hybrid, and leaving it well short. He then leaves his par putt ten feet short, and does well to roll the next one in to escape with a bogey. Not an ideal start for a player who can lose the head very quickly.
Here comes Lefty! Is this Phil Mickelson’s last realistic chance to complete that elusive career grand slam? He’s 45 years old, and next year’s US Open is being contested at Oakmont, a hellishly tough track that doesn’t agree with his freewheelin’ style. So Chambers Bay, which is pretty damn hard too but should reward the shotmakers, might be a far better bet. He pearls his opening drive down the middle of 1. As for his playing partners, the two-time Masters champion Bubba follows him down there, while 2007 US Open champion Angel Cabrera hoicks one into the thick nonsense down the left. “I’m looking forward to it, scorched earth or not,” writes Adam Hirst. “Should be a new kind of US Open test, with plenty of tears. I’m going for Justin Rose, not a very imaginative choice. A more interesting bet is which of the big name contenders will be out of contention by the turn on Day 1. I’ll go with Phil Mickelson this year.” Well, he’s got that steely glint in his eye today, and rounds by Purposeful Phil usually go one way or the other, there’s rarely much middle ground. So perhaps we’ll soon find out.
Well, rather deliciously, because this is the US Open after all, the first man out has become the first man to register a bogey. He’s dropped a shot on the opening hole. Poor old Michael Putnam. Although there’s always someone worse off: a mere 30 minutes in, and there’s already a triple bogey recorded, by Josh Persons on 10. Ooyah oof. No birdies yet, but only a dozen players have completed a hole, and there’s plenty of time for that sort of decadent nonsense later.
It’s probably fair to say that Chambers Bay qualifies as Quite A Course. It’s a links-style affair, dug out of a reclaimed gravel pit and designed especially for the US Open. So we’re in uncharted territory here. Some traditionalists have been harping, carping and parping on about the interchangeable 1st and 18th holes, which will alternate between par-fours and par-fives each day, the course remaining a par-70 always. Today the 1st will be playing as a long par-four, with the last a par-five, the longest hole on the course. The par-three 9th will also be the subject of a daily switcheroo: uniquely, there are two different tee boxes, one 100 feet above the green, another 100 feet below. Today it’s the latter. So yes, there are folk who really aren’t into this sort of thing at all. But if it’s good enough for Jordan Spieth - the 9th is “one of the cooler holes we’ll play all year”, according to the Masters champ - it should be good enough for us.
And so the 2015 US Open gets underway! Michael Putnam and Troy Kelly will hit the first shots of the tournament, teeing off at the 1st and 10th holes respectively. The weather forecast is a friendly one for the early starters: no rain all day, and not much wind, though a bit of a breeze is expected later on. All good news for the likes of Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and defending champion Martin Kaymer; perhaps not quite so brilliant for afternoon starters Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and Justin Rose. But nothing too dramatic that it should make a huge difference. Though as always on a seaside course, let’s make no crazy assumptions and see how it all pans out. Excited? A little too excited? Yes, we know how you feel. Major championship golf going on, right now!
The 115th United States Open Championship: a preamble
A new generation has taken over at the top of professional golf. This isn’t exactly breaking news, a super-soaraway Guardian world exclusive, but let’s have a think about it anyway. The world number one, Rory McIlroy, has only recently turned 26 years old. He’s got four majors to his name, and is the current Open and PGA champion. He’s one hell of a competitor, battle-hardened by many successes and the occasional widescreen failure. He’s experienced just about everything in golf already. A force of nature, a prodigy, a genius.
And oh look! Here comes another in Jordan Spieth! The young Texan won’t be 22 for another month, but already he’s got a green jacket hanging in his locker at Augusta National. Meanwhile the defending champion this week, the reigning US Open champion and former PGA and Players winner Martin Kaymer, has only just turned 30. Factor in the new Players champion and links disciple Rickie Fowler (26), perennial major bridesmaid Jason Day (27), glorious hothead Patrick Reed (24), glorious hothead Dustin Johnson (30), rising star Hideki Matsuyama (23) and breakthrough waiting to happen Brooks Koepka (25) ... well, that’s quite a few potential winners of the 2015 US Open right there. It’s a young scene.
Yet it’s a couple of old troopers who will hog most of the attention today. They’ve both seen better days, these chaps, but star quality is star quality, and the brightest stars keep on burning. Taking centre stage, ladies and gentlemen, Phil Mickelson (45) and Tiger Woods (39). Lefty’s in form, having closed the St Jude Classic last weekend with a 65. He’s famously finished second six times at the US Open, the only major he’s never won, and the one he wanted the most. If he can pull it off this week at Chambers Bay, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. Who’d deny the guy? The Chambers Bay course, a notoriously tricky links-style track, is a wee bit parched and has thus been compared to Muirfield in 2013. And we all remember what happened there and then. Mickelson’s in with a shout.
As for Tiger, well, where do you start? Probably not with that career-high 85 at the Memorial a couple of weeks back. Chances are he’ll not be winning a record-equalling fourth US Open and 15th major this week; he’ll be doing well, the form book suggests, just to make the cut. But then everyone was predicting apocalypse at Augusta, and he finished very creditably in the Masters top 20. Tiger’s friend Jason Day says his game would be in tip-top shape if his driver wasn’t currently making Seve look like Calvin Peete. A big if, admittedly. But Chambers Bay has also been compared to Hoylake 2006, and look what happened there when Tiger kept Big Bertha sheathed for most of the week. And wouldn’t it be grand if Tiger was in the mix along with Rory, Jordan, Rickie, Hideki, Phil, Dustin, Sergio and Colin Montgomerie come Sunday? Huh? Hey, dreaming is free.
The 115th US Open, then, promises to be utterly captivating. Not least because plotting a route around Chambers Bay - all crumpled fairways, random bounces, sand, USGA-approved rough, wildly undulating greens, sea breezes and a tree - looks quite the task. No doubt some players will moan about difficulty and unfairness, but the week-in, week-out prettiness of the PGA Tour has some of these lads spoiled. This is the US Open, and its nightmare qualities are the reason we love it so. It’s on!
Today’s tee times, then. Teeing off early at the 1st ...
7am PDT (3pm BST): Michael Putnam, Marcus Fraser, Steve Marino
7.11am PDT (3.11pm BST): Garth Mulroy, Richard Lee, Lucas Bjerregaard
7.22am PDT (3.22pm BST): Jason Allred, Kyle Jones (a), Cody Gribble
7.33am PDT (3.33pm BST): Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Angel Cabrera
7.44am PDT (3.44pm BST): Wen-Chong Liang, David Hearn, Hiroyuki Fujita
7.55am PDT (3.55pm BST): Robert Streb, Lee McCoy (a), Kevin Chappell
8.06am PDT (4.06pm BST): George McNeill, Masahiro Kawamura, Cameron Tringale
8.17am PDT (4.17pm BST): Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari, Brandt Snedeker
8.28am PDT (4.28pm BST): Jim Furyk, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Colin Montgomerie
8.39am PDT (4.39pm BST): Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley, Byeong-Hun An
8.50am PDT (4.50pm BST): Jason Dufner, Marc Warren, Matt Every
9.01am PDT (5.01pm BST): Brandon Hagy, Matthew NeSmith (a), Sebastian Cappelen
9.12am PDT (5.12pm BST): Nick Hardy (a), Alex Kim, Rich Berberian Jr
... and early from 10 ...
7am PDT (3pm BST): Troy Kelly, Seuk Hyun Baek, Cameron Smith
7.11am PDT (3.11pm BST): John Parry, Josh Persons, Jack Maguire (a)
7.22am PDT (3.22pm BST): Timothy O’Neal, Stephan Jaeger, Kurt Barnes
7.33am PDT (3.33pm BST): Gary Woodland, Victor Dubuisson, John Senden
7.44am PDT (3.44pm BST): Andy Sullivan, Morgan Hoffmann, Bernd Wiesberger
7.55am PDT (3.55pm BST): Marcel Siem, Alexander Levy, Brian Harman
8.06am PDT (4.06pm BST): Hideki Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar
8.17am PDT (4.17pm BST): Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia
8.28am PDT (4.28pm BST): Martin Kaymer, Gunn Yang (a), Rory McIlroy
8.39am PDT (4.39pm BST): Patrick Reed, Chris Kirk, Jamie Donaldson
8.50am PDT (4.50pm BST): Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Na
9.01am PDT (5.01pm BST): Sam Horsfield (a), Shunsuke Sonoda, Oliver Farr
9.12am PDT (5.12pm BST): Kevin Lucas, Pat Wilson, Cole Hammer (a)
... then teeing off later at the 1st ...
1pm PDT (9pm BST): Jason Palmer, Roberto Castro, Andres Romero
1.11pm PDT (9.11pm BST): Denny McCarthy (a), DA Points, Shiv Kapur
1.22pm PDT (9.22pm BST): Bryson DeChambeau (a), Blayne Barber, Billy Hurley III
1.33pm PDT (9.33pm BST): Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen
1.44pm PDT (9.44pm BST): Bo Van Pelt, Charlie Beljan, Tony Finau
1.55pm PDT (9.55pm BST): Lee Janzen, Oliver Schniederjans (a), Darren Clarke
2.06pm PDT (10.06pm BST): Daniel Summerhays, Thomas Aiken, Danny Lee
2.17pm PDT (10.17pm BST): Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Justin Rose
2.28pm PDT (10.28pm BST): Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Louis Oosthuizen
2.39pm PDT (10.39pm BST): Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter
2.50pm PDT (10.50pm BST): Ryan Moore, Anirban Lahiri, Erik Compton
3.01pm PDT (11.01pm BST): Jake Knapp (a), Tyler Duncan, Matt Mabrey
3.12pm PDT (11.12pm BST): Michael Davan, Davis Riley (a), Andrew Pope
... and later from 10 ...
1pm PDT (9pm BST): Tom Hoge, Brad Fritsch, Tjaart van der Walt
1.11pm PDT (9.11pm BST): Brad Elder, Beau Hossler (a), Jamie Lovemark
1.22pm PDT (9.22pm BST): Ryo Ishikawa, Luke Donald, J.B. Holmes
1.33pm PDT (9.33pm BST): Lucas Glover, Bradley Neil (a), Marc Leishman
1.44pm PDT (9.44pm BST): Ryan Palmer, Joost Luiten, Danny Willett
1.55pm PDT (9.55pm BST): Kevin Kisner, George Coetzee, Alexander Noren
2.06pm PDT (10.06pm BST): Brendon Todd, Branden Grace, Thongchai Jaidee
2.17pm PDT (10.17pm BST): Billy Horschel, Paul Casey, Lee Westwood
2.28pm PDT (10.28pm BST): Bill Haas, Charl Schwartzel, Hunter Mahan
2.39pm PDT (10.39pm BST): Shane Lowry, Ben Martin, Stephen Gallacher
2.50pm PDT (10.50pm BST): Charley Hoffman, Camilo Villegas, Tommy Fleetwood
3.01pm PDT (11.01pm BST): Mark Silvers, Brian Campbell (a), Cheng-Tsung Pan
3.12pm PDT (11.12pm BST): Jimmy Gunn, Jared Becher, Samuel Saunders
