All that’s left to report at the top of the leader board is a bogey for Brandt Snedeker, who slips back to +2. And that’s your lot on a wonderfully gritty first day at Shinnecock Hills. The USGA will be delighted, as there are only four players under par after the opening round. See you tomorrow at 1pm BST!
-1: Piercy, Poulter, Henley, D Johnson
E: Dufner
+1: Pavon, Rose, Howell, Hoffman, Burns, Stenson, An
Dufner leaves his long birdie putt ten feet wide right of the hole. But he teases in the tricky downhill right-to-left effort he left himself. A fine par saver, and he signs for a level-par 70.
Henrik Stenson signs for a 71. After being +4 at an early stage of his round, that’s a fine performance. Meanwhile on 18, Jason Dufner finds the green in regulation, but he’s left himself with a long two putts for par. His playing partner Brandt Snedeker has been going well, incidentally, popping in birdie putts at 13, 15 and 16 to bring himself up to +1. He’s dribbled his second into the bunker at the back of the green; that cost Henley earlier, but will it cost the 2012 FedEx Cup champion?
Dufner creams a glorious tee shot to 12 feet at the par-three 17th, but the birdie putt is always staying up on the right. He’d be leading if he had a serviceable putting stroke. As it is, he’s one off the lead, with one to play.
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Henley (F), D Johnson (F)
E: Dufner (17)
Updated
Dustin gets up and down from the front of 18 for his par, and a share of the clubhouse lead at -1. Thomas can’t make his birdie, so has to settle for a four-over 74. And Tiger’s signing for a very underwhelming 78. His round included an opening triple bogey, and back to back doubles. Apart from those three holes, he played pretty well. A strange round.
Dustin Johnson’s 8-iron into the 18th (from 200 yards!) isn’t all that. The approach topples off the false front of the green and back onto the fairway. Meanwhile Justin Thomas, having driven the ball 422 yards, eases a wedge pin high to 12 feet. He’ll have a good look at birdie for a 73.
Dufner follows up his bogey at 14 with another dropped shot at 15. He then sends his second at the long par-five 16th into a bunker guarding the front of the green. He flips out to 18 inches, and even the very uncertain Dufner isn’t likely to miss that one. The birdie will take him back to level par.
A round of 75 for Tommy Fleetwood. He looks pleased enough with that, and so he should. See also Francesco Molinari, who seems happy to end the day at +5. And a very impressive 72 from Alex Noren. Back on 17, it’s a three-putt bogey for Justin Thomas, who drops to +4. Dustin and Tiger make fuss-free pars; they remain at -1 and +8 respectively.
Tiger’s misery continues on 16: a straight ten-foot birdie putt slides past the hole. He cocks his head back and laughs in ironic fashion. One cold bellow. He stays at +8. It’s been a strange round for Tiger, who looked to have his game under control after that loose start. But those back-to-back doubles sent him reeling.
Sergio nearly strokes in a 25-foot birdie effort on 18. But it doesn’t drop and he’s signing for a five-over 75. Jon Rahm then misses a short par putt ... and watches in horror as the one coming back horseshoes out. His mouth hangs open in shock. He taps in for a 78. Rafa Cabrera Bello has had the best of the all-Spanish group: he signs for a three-over 73.
Henrik Stenson is on a roll. He’s followed up a birdie at 4 by raking in a monster across 6. Another shot picked up, and suddenly the 2016 Open champ is +1, hovering a couple off the lead.
Jason Dufner misses another tiddler, pushing a three-footer on 14 to the right of the cup. Even from that short distance, it was obvious it was never going in from the moment the ball left the face of the putter. A shame, because he’d bumped a lovely third up from the bottom of the hill at the back of the hole. For a split second, Dufner looks ruffled, but quickly regains his insouciant composure. He’s back to level par.
Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas take turns to miss birdie putts from identical positions on the 15th. From 20 feet, one misses right, the other left. DJ remains in a share of the lead; JT is down the leader board at +3, but far from out of it. Meanwhile Byeong Hun An peppers the flag at 4 to set up a kick-in birdie. He’s not really featured in a major yet, though he does have the 2015 British PGA to his name. Could this be the 26-year-old Korean’s breakthrough major?
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Henley (F), D Johnson (15), Dufner (13)
E: An (13*)
Henley sends his second at 18 into sand at the back of the green. He splashes out to ten feet. He can’t curl in the right-to-left putt, and he joins Scott Piercy and Ian Poulter in the clubhouse lead with a one-under 69.
Tiger’s bogey putt slips by the cup. It’s back-to-back doubles. Some frat-boy clown in the gallery shouts “Get in the hole!” before Tiger makes his stroke. Instead of reacting, Tiger merely ignores him. Dustin then slips up, pulling a short putt to the left, when it looked as though he’d get up and down from the sand after a fine splash. Russell Henley, who has been highly respectable if not spectacular in the majors for the last three years, is now the sole leader of the US Open. These are the only men under par:
-2: Henley (17)
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), D Johnson (14), Dufner (13)
So much for Tiger’s great lie. The shaft of his club is strangled by the fescue anyway, and he hooks his second across the fairway and into further nonsense on the other side. He can only power his ball back out onto the fairway. He knocks a decent chip up to ten feet, but that putt’s for bogey.
Tiger’s lost his equilibrium in the wake of that four-putt. He’s sent a big slice into deep filth down the right of 14. That fescue will test his back. Or will it? Ah, he’s gone so far right that he’s got a reasonable lie. A good break for the great man. As he walks towards his ball he hears what’s going on up the nearby 18th, and waves a congratulatory hand at Dean Burmester of South Africa, who crunches a 411-yard drive down the track, then slam-dunks his wedge from 104 yards straight into the cup! An eagle, and he’s suddenly signing for a 75! That’s the shot of the tournament, Mark Calcavecchia at the 1989 Open multiplied by 100. Not a bad way to mark your major championship debut!
Putting disaster on 13 for Tiger! A four-putt. The par effort from five feet went six feet past, and was accompanied by a crystal clear “Oh ho ho ho!” guffaw from the gallery. He missed the one coming back, and he’ll have the hot heat raging right now. That’s a double-bogey six and he’s +6. Meanwhile his playing partner Justin Thomas can’t get any momentum going: having birdied 12, he’s handing the shot straight back after an approach which toppled back off the front of the green. He’s +3. Dustin’s more than happy with his no-nonsense par.
-2: Henley (16), D Johnson (13)
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Dufner (12)
Some up and down on 11 by Jason Dufner. He’s plugged in sand to the side of the short par-three, but batters it out to four feet, an astonishing outcome given he’d quite a bunker face to get up and over as well. He knocks in a tiddler that’s more than missable - especially for a fairly average putter like Dufner - and stays at -1. This is a fine performance by the 2013 PGA champion. He’d be leading this tournament right now if his flat stick was more dependable; he’s left a couple of shots out there.
The co-leader Russell Henley should be the sole leader. He wedges a tidy second shot on 15 from 110 yards to three feet ... then yips the short birdie putt. That’s a dreadful miss from there. He stays put at -2. Meanwhile no joy for Po’ Sergio, who can’t get up and down from the swale at the back of 14; he slips to +5.
It’s not great news about Sergio. Having hit the turn in 36, he doubled 10 and dropped another at 11. Now at +4 he lands a wonderful second shot pin high at 14, only for it to take one roll too many and topple off the back. So close to setting up a birdie chance, but he’ll be doing very well to save his par now.
What a response to misery on 10 by Justin Thomas. He’s an inch away from holing out from the middle of the 12th fairway: he’ll kick that one in for a birdie that’ll take him back to +2. Dustin sends his second into the thick stuff to the right of the green. He nearly holes the chip, but the ball continues to roll, roll, roll past ... and nearly off the front of the green! He can’t make the 20-footer he leaves himself, and he’s back into a tie for the lead with Russell Henley at -2. Tiger meanwhile is an inch away from draining a 30-footer from the fringe. He stays at +4.
Dustin Johnson went into this tournament as the favourite. And the winner of last week’s St Jude Classic, the new world number one, is living up to expectations. He sends an easy iron into the centre of the 11th green, then strokes in the 20-foot right-to-left curler for a wonderful low-effort birdie. He’s sole leader again. Meanwhile Tiger can’t get up and down from the sand, and seethes accordingly as he drops to +4.
-3: D Johnson (11)
-2: Henley (14)
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Dufner (9)
E: Schauffele (13*), Kim (10)
Things weren’t going well for the 2010 champion Graeme McDowell anyway: he’d played the back nine in 40 strokes, then bogeyed 1. Still, when your luck’s out, your luck’s out. In a bunker to the side of the par-three 2nd, he splashes out strongly - then watches in horror as the ball twangs off the flagstick and back into the bunker, into the very divot he’d just made in the sand! You could try that a million times. G-Mac recovers well to knock his second attempt at an escape to eight feet, but discombobulated, he misses the bogey putt coming back. A double, and he’s +8.
Dustin is in fact 19 feet away from the hole ... and those extra inches do for him. He doesn’t hit the birdie putt, and par will have to do. That’s no bad thing: the average score on the 10th today is 4.56, so he’s not giving anything to the field. Then Tiger dribbles his par saver into the cup, after checking with the rules official when his ball oscillated just before address. Dustin could have given him the heads up there, after the shenanigans of Oakmont, you’d have thought. And finally Thomas tidies up for his double. He’s +3, and there goes that steady start.
Tiger loops an astonishing wedge up the big bank, onto the green and to within three feet of the flag. The brilliance of his touch is emphasised by Thomas flying his similar effort through the green and down the back. He’s making a terrible mess of this hole, having hit a wedge for his second shot from the middle of the fairway. He’s 40 yards past the flag. And he’s still 30 yards from it when he bumps his chip up the bank and watches in horror as it comes back. He changes tack and lobs high into the air, landing his ball softly six feet from the flag. But he’ll have that for double bogey.
So having said all that, Tiger takes an iron from the 10th tee box and sends his ball into the semi-rough down the right. The green’s hard enough to hold without added complications. And he gets under his second shot, the ball landing on the false front of the green and toppling back down the fairway. He’s joined there by Thomas, who totally duffs his approach from the centre of the fairway. Dustin shows them how it’s done, wedging straight at the flag and leaving himself a 12-foot uphill putt for birdie.
Pars all round in the marquee group as Tiger, Justin and Dustin reach the turn. DJ is in best nick at -2, but Thomas will be happy enough with his one-over 36, while Tiger must feel positively ecstatic having completed the back nine in 38 strokes ... given the context of his triple-bogey, bogey start, anyway. That’s steely and determined play by Tiger, who knows better than anyone that stumbling out of the blocks doesn’t rule you out in a major. Goodness knows, he’s done it enough times, only to go on to win the big prizes anyway.
Henrik Stenson started abysmally, with bogeys at 10 and 11, then a double at 14. But the 2016 Open champion has turned things around with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17. He celebrates the second with a firm fist-pump; he’s +2 and feeling it again. Tommy Fleetwood’s been going along quietly, if not spectacularly: he’s +2 as well through 10, having bogeyed 1 and 6. And Ross Fisher is going nicely after a dismal double-bogey start at 10: he’s birdied 15 to rise to +1.
This is heating up nicely. Now Russell Henley joins the lads at the top at -2, having chipped in from tight rough to the side of 12. That’s a fine reaction to dropping a couple of strokes at 10. But Jason Dufner yips a tiddler on 7 to drop back to -1.
-2: D Johnson (8), Henley (12)
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Dufner (7)
Jason Dufner is the new leader of the US Open. He follows up his birdie at 5 with another at 6, caressing his second to six feet and cleaning up to move to -2. But his sole leadership doesn’t last long! He sends his second shot at 8 into sand guarding the front right. No matter: he whips a one-bounce sand wedge into the cup, the ball disappearing into the hole after using all 360 degrees of the lip! Sensational! Tiger then harshes everyone’s buzz by missing an eight footer for his birdie; he stays at +3. And then Thomas misses a six-foot birdie putt, remaining at +1. Thomas and Woods had played wonderful shots into the green, but it’s the one player who made an error that moves on with a birdie on his card ... and joint leadership of the 118th US Open!
-2: D Johnson (8), Dufner (6)
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Henley (11)
Updated
Here’s Ewan Murray’s hot take on a third dismal start to a US Open in a row by Rory McIlroy.
Brian Gay falls out of the leading group with bogey at 12, his second on the spin. Justin Thomas gets up and down from a tight spot at the back of the treacherous 7th for par; he’s going along very steadily at +1. Pars for Tiger and DJ too. And it’s back to back bogeys for Francesco Molinari at 7 and 8; he slips to +1.
You’ll have spotted a couple of new names on that leader board. Sergio hit a gorgeous second shot at 8 to six feet and made his birdie. The 2017 Players champion Si Woo Kim has birdied 4 and 5, doing more than enough to cancel out bogey on 2. Ah, Sergio’s just handed the shot back at 9. He’d have taken a front nine of 36, though. No point getting greedy.
Trouble for the leader Russell Henley, who is through the back of 10 in two. His attempted chip up the bank is short of commitment, and he does very well to knock his fourth to four feet. He should get away with bogey ... but pushes his short putt right and that’s a double. He’s back to -1. With Brian Gay dropping a stroke on the par-three 11th, and Dustin unable to wedge close enough at 6 to scramble his par, that’s tightened things up at the top. Jason Dufner had a chance to snatch the lead himself, but having creamed his second on the par-five 5th to six feet, missed the very makeable eagle putt.
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Gay (11), Henley (10), Schauffele (7*), D Johnson (6), Dufner (5), Kim (5), Stuard (4*)
E: Uihlein (10), Garcia (8), Cabrera Bello (8), Molinari (7), Aphibarnrat (5), Reavie (4*)
Dustin pulls his tee shot at 6, and his ball disappears into the tall fescue. It’ll be interesting to see how the big man deals with that. Tiger and Justin keep their drives on the fairway. Ah, now it looks as though DJ’s ball is lost. His caddy is on all fours, desperately trying to source the awkward dimpled thing in the long grass: that’s great sportsmanship. Woods and Thomas are getting their hands dirty in the frantic, desperate search too. Finally, it’s found ... by Sky roving commentator Rich Beem, who accidentally stepped on the hidden ball! That’s a huge break for DJ, because until the 2002 PGA champ’s intervention, that ball was either lost or unplayable. But because it’s been trampled down by Beem’s boot, Johnson gets a free drop in the same spot. Which means it’s not in such a tangled mess. He’s still forced to take his medicine and chip out, but that’s the sensible decision, having briefly considered going for the green from distance.
The last time we heard from Shane Lowry, he was raking in a 75-foot tramliner on 12. Move on one hole, he’s got a six-foot birdie putt ... and four strokes later, he’s walking off with a triple-bogey 7. Oh my goodness. He’s got his head in his hands, and no wonder. The greens are lightning fast, but even so. Dear me. But that’s the strange beauty of golf, right there, packed into 30 seconds and four nervous yips.
Par for Justin Thomas at the long par-five 5th, the result of a wild drive down the left. He stays at +1. Dustin Johnson knocks in a straight 25-footer; that’s back-to-back birdies, and at -2, he looks the healthiest of all the big guns. Making up the three-ball, Tiger Woods, who plays the hole almost perfectly: an easy drive down the middle, a clever lay-up, a chip to four feet, and a birdie putt into the centre of the cup. He’s +3 and suddenly there’s a spring in his step once again.
The very promising Xander Schauffele has a major in him, surely. The young Californian, who won the prestigious Tour Championship at his first attempt last year, opened with a bogey at 10 today, but he’s bounced back with birdies at 14 and now 15. He’s in the big group tied for third at -1. Not going so well: Jon Rahm, who fails to get up and down from a bunker at the par-three 7th. Having bogeyed 2 and 3, doubled 4, and birdied 5, he’s already in trouble a +4 and looking less than pleased with life. He’ll need to keep his temper in check around this place.
Shane Lowry, who came so close a couple of years ago, has just rattled in a 75-foot putt across 12! The sole Irishman in the field thus cancels out the bogey he’d made at 11. He’s level par. Meanwhile up on 8, Russell Henley becomes the first player to reach -3 today after sending his second shot to four feet. In goes the putt, and he’s a shot ahead of Gay and two clear of the clubhouse leaders Piercy and Poulter.
Tiger sends his second through the back of 4, but chips back up the bank to a couple of feet. He holds on at +4. Meanwhile his playing partner Dustin Johnson makes his first move of the week: the 2016 champion eases his approach to 12 feet and strokes the birdie putt into the centre of the cup. He joins the group at -1, just one off the lead.
Jason ‘The Somnambulist’ Dufner isn’t the sort of chap to get hot under the collar on this course. He’s just made the difficult long par-three 2nd look super simple, guiding in a right-to-left slider for birdie from the front edge of the green. He’d have a share of the lead at -1 ... only the equally cool Brian Gay sends his second at 9 to three feet and tidies up for birdie, while Russell Henley follows up his eagle on 5 by curling in a 25-footer on 7. It’s all change at the top!
-2: Gay (9), Henley (7)
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Uihlein (7), Molinari (4), Dufner (2), Herbert (1*), Stuard (1*)
Uihlein drops a shot at 6 to slip back into a share of the lead at -1. Cabrera Bello gave back the birdie he made at 2 on the very next hole; he’s level again. Tommy Fleetwood is +1 through the first four, steadying the ship after a dropped stroke on the opening hole. And the 2014 champion Martin Kaymer has started with a judder, bogeying 10 and 11 to drop to +2 already. His playing partners Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott are also on that mark. A lot of major champions having a tough time of it today. This is a brute of a course.
Tiger knocks his second into the centre of 3. It threatens to topple off the back but stops on the fringe. He desperately needs something to happen. A birdie from 20 feet would be ideal, but a par to shore things up will probably do. First up, his partners, who are in a spot of trouble: DJ has sent his second through the back and into the deeper stuff, but he clips a perfectly judged one up to a couple of feet. He’ll save par. Thomas however sends a heavy chip, his third, off the back. He’s left with a 25-footer up the hill, and it’s not one he can make. He drops to +1. And finally Tiger, who has a good prowl around his birdie putt, before leaving it four feet short. His flat stick really is causing him problems today. Par represents something of an improvement. He stays at +4.
Brian Gay dropped a stroke at 6 ... and responds by nearly making hole in one at 7. He’s an inch or so away, and taps in for his birdie. The Chinese Taipei amateur Chun An Yu birdied 4, but dropped back to level par at 6. And you’ll notice a lack of Sergio on the leader board below. After his opening-hole birdie, he’s dropped strokes at 2 and 3. He’s +1 but no need to panic yet: compare and contrast to Tiger, who can’t get up and down from the back of 2 with a couple of putts, and drops to +4. This is the mother of all false starts. Another pair of pars for Thomas and Dustin.
-2: Uihelin (5)
-1: Piercy (F), Poulter (F), Gay (7), Henley (5), Molinari (2)
There’s already been some hot action at the 2nd green. Francesco Molinari rolled in a 20-footer for birdie, while Rafa Cabrera Bello chipped in spectacularly to pick up a shot. They’re both -1. Meanwhile on 5, the in-form Peter Uihlein reaches the centre of the green in two, and he nearly drains his eagle putt. Birdie will do, and he’s leading this championship now. His partner Russell Henley makes eagle, though, and he leaps up to -1.
The opening hole is playing as the third easiest today. Tiger has been known to start majors slowly before, but this is up there with his lost ball at Royal St George’s in the 2003 Open. That seven cost him dearly; he ended the week two behind Ben Curtis. But there are 71 holes still to play. Plus a play-off if necessary. Time is on his side. Next up is the 252-yard par-three 2nd, the third hardest hole today. He’s off the back of this one, too, though unluckily so; it was a decent shot into the heart of the green that only just rolled down a small bank. It’s not the worst place to be.
Thanks to Gregg ... and commiserations to Tiger, who has made an awful mess of the opening hole. After seeing his chip come back at him, he decides to take the putter instead, and that one comes tumbling back to his feet as well! This is farcical, though in truth the big mistake was flying the green with his second shot, because it’s not easy down the swale at the back. He sends his second putt up the bank, onto the green, and ten feet past the hole. He can’t knock in the one coming back, and that’s an opening triple-bogey seven. Oh Tiger! Meanwhile both Thomas and DJ get up and down from the sand, the former with a glorious splash to a couple of feet, the latter with a 20-foot par saver. A mixed bag, all in all.
Well, Tiger Woods has got into bother already. Having blasted his 2nd over the 1st green and off the bank at the back, his 3rd briefly saw the putting surface before picking up steam as it rolled back down from whence it came. Oh dear! Mind you, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas haven’t done much better. They both found the bunker off to the right of the green. Right, I’ll hand back to Scott now to fill you in on Tiger’s early pain. Bye.
Updated
“You have to embrace the challenge,” says Ian Poulter, the joint clubhouse leader on -1. He has a little smirk on his face as he says he is going to enjoy sitting back and watching the others this afternoon. If the carnage continues that will be an exercise in schadenfreude for sure. “This week is about patience, hanging tough when you have to and trying to stay with it until Sunday.”
Tiger Woods is given a huge throaty roar as he steps up to the tee. He’s feeling the love all right. He keeps his driver in his bag and opts to play safe with a long iron. It’s a good choice, his tee-shot has a beautiful arc to it and lands smack bang in the middle of the fairway. Tiger has the world No1, Dustin Johnson, and the world No2, Justin Thomas for company this afternoon. They’re both safely under way too.
Sergio has birdied the 1st. Mind you, a few golfers have done that today. Still, he’ll be happy to have got his eye in early, holing an eight-footer, with a slight right-to-left turn. Tiger Woods is up soon. I imagine he has butterflies having seen some of these scores.
Patrick Rodgers has recovered quite brilliantly after taking a triple bogey on the 3rd. The youngster, ranked 128 in the world, has only one blemish on his card since that wobble and has just knocked home his third birdie, on the 15th, to move to +1. He’s keeping Shinnecock Hills in check. Some feat today.
To give you an idea of just how preposterously difficult Shinnecock Hills is the glittering trio of Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, who have 12 majors between them, have finished the first round collectively 25-over. McIlroy has recorded his worst ever round at a major, shooting 80. Eighty! That’s +10. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth has finished at +8 and Lefty has taken 77, to leave him at +7. This course is eating players alive!
There are two clear clubhouse leaders but below them names are coming and going like trains at a station. Below you will see how things stand at the very top but many competitors are teeing off and joining the lead immediately with a birdie at the 1st, or 10th, depending on which direction they are teeing off. Whether they can run with that optimism is the real challenge. García has given himself an immediate chance of a birdie, landing his 2nd at the 1st within about 15 feet with a lovely plonk.
-1: Poulter (F), Piercy (F) Gay (2), Evans (1) Humphrey (1*)
Updated
Sergio’s on the 1st tee. Where’s Dr Golf when you need him? Ping! A leisurely wallop right into the middle of the fairway will do nicely. His US Open is under way. He’s joined by compatriots in Jon Rahm and Rafael Cabrera Bello. I doubt they’ll struggle for small talk, what with the crisis in the Spanish football team. Rahm and Cabrera Bello join him in the middle of the short stuff too.
Ian Poulter glides a beautiful 2nd shot into the 18th to give himself an outside chance of a birdie and the outright lead. He sends his 20-footer uphill from left to right, but it curls wide of the cup. It’s an easy par though. He taps it home for a 69 and joins Scott Piercy as joint clubhouse leader on -1. What a brilliant round. Is this a comeback from Poulter? We’ll see over the next three days. There’s plenty of golf to go though. And tough golf at that.
Justin Rose, who took a 71 today to go in at +1 – two shots off the lead as I type – is describing just how tough the course is. “Normally you walk off and you’re in the black and it’s not a great start. But that was a great start today. I played really well and hit 13 out of 14 fairways. I did enough good stuff to keep my momentum going. Green speeds were quicker than practice. I was surprised to see how much slope they put the pin on at 7 with the wind. You hit a lot of putts – and what you can’t see on TV – is the slopes. You hit a bad putt and you’re off the green.”
Thanks Scott. I join you just in time to write Oh Rory! Having fought back with two birdies, on 5 and 6, McIlroy tickles a five-footer wide of the cup to drop a shot on 7. He seemed spooked by the wind. It’s blowing all right on Long Island. And he isn’t the only big name floundering out there.
The defending champion Brooks Koepka signs for a 75. A disappointing back nine of 39, but he’s fresh back from a wrist injury, so he’ll not be overly upset with that. Meanwhile a fine up and down from sand to save par for Ian Poulter at 16. And he’s joined in the lead by England’s Ryan Evans, who had missed out on qualifying at Walton Heath but made it as an alternate.
And with that, I’ll hand you over to Gregg Bakowski. See you again in a while. I wonder if anybody can make it to -2 again by the time I get back?
Justin Rose signs for a one-over 71. He’ll be delighted with that. He’s been in good form lately, and that’s continued today. He’s two off the lead, now shared by Brian Gay, the 48-year-old journeyman from Texas having just raked in a 50-footer across 1. Some way to announce yourself at your first US Open for seven years.
A bit of late-round salvation for Rory McIlroy. He follows up birdie at 5 with another at 6. He’s still +8, though the way things are going elsewhere, he won’t have given up quite yet. Jordan Spieth, who had also birdied 5, follows up with bogey to slip to +6. Phil Mickelson follows Spieth’s birdie-bogey model. He’s +6 too. This marquee group has been dreadful. But not as bad as the Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Louis Oosthuizen one at Chambers Bay three years ago: they carded 80, 81 and 77. Fowler and Woods really dragged poor Louis down that day; Oosthuizen finished the week 66-66-67, one shot behind Spieth. I wonder if any of McIlroy, Spieth or Mickelson have that in mind? I bet they do. Hang on in there, in other words, you never know how the rest of the tournament will pan out.
You may remember Matt Parziale, the US Mid-Amateur champion, from the Masters in April. He shot 81 on the first day at Augusta ... but the firefighter from near Boston has improved on that today, and how. A stunning 74 in these circumstances. He’s not the only amateur going well today - Luis Gagne of Costa Rica is currently +1 through 11 - but he’s in the clubhouse, out of harm’s way. Incidentally Harry Ellis, of Southampton, England, who won last year’s Amateur Championship, signed for an 80 today.
Matt Kuchar’s fall from grace continues apace. Another dropped shot, this time a bogey at 13, to follow his back-to-back double bogeys. That’s five shots gone in three holes, and the erstwhile leader is back in the pack at +3. A double for Beef at 13; he slips to +3 too. And a triple bogey for another one-time leader, Aaron Baddeley, at 6. He’s +3 too. The clubhouse is the safest place to be.
Scott Gregory’s horrific round has come to a nightmare end. He finished bogey, double bogey, bogey, and ended up signing for a 22-over-par 92. That’s the highest round in a US Open at Shinnecock Hills, beating Billy Mayfair’s 2004 effort by three shots. If it makes Gregory feel any better, John Daly ran up 88 in the first round here in 1986, and five years later he was a major champion.
Louis Oosthuizen has a habit of starting majors dreadfully before powering back later in the week. He stumbled out of the traps again today, with bogeys at 2, 3, 6 and 7. But he’s launched his comeback a little earlier: birdie at 9, bogey at 10, and now birdie at 16. He’s +3. He would have walked it at Chambers Bay in 2015, were it not for that dismal 77 on the opening day.
Justin Rose passes up a good opportunity for birdie at 16. A ten-foot uphill putt pushed to the right. He stays at +1, nicely placed for another tilt at the title he won five years ago in style at Merion. Patrick Reed, chasing the grand slam - well, he is - spurns a similar opportunity on 5; he remains at +1 too. And another dropped shot for young Calum Hill, on his US Open debut, though he reaches the turn in 36 and will be happy enough with that.
Matthieu Pavon, the 25-year-old from Toulouse, doesn’t have much of a major championship record to speak of yet. Just the one appearance, at last year’s Open, and he missed the cut. But he’s opened up with a very respectable one-over 71 today, and he’ll not be far off the top of the leader board come the day’s end. Beef continues to go well, incidentally: three pars since the turn, and he remains +1 after birdie at 1 and bogeys at 2 and 8. His easy-going temperament will hopefully stand him in good stead around a course as frustrating as this.
Scott Piercy is back on the clubhouse with a smile on his face, his feet up, and a cigar on. He’s just signed for a one-under 69, and there’s a fair chance that’ll be enough for the lead at the end of the day. If he’s not in it, he won’t be far off it. He’s got a share of it now, anyway. Par meanwhile for his co-leader Ian Poulter, whose approach to 14 deserved better than the short missed birdie putt that followed it. And more news of Matt Kuchar, who has followed up his double at 11 by wanging one out of bounds at 12 for another double. He’s +2 ... and an illustration of how quickly things can change on a course like this.
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It’s back-to-back bogeys for Lefty. He drops one at 3 to slip to +6, alongside Spieth, four ahead of McIlroy. Other big names are in all sorts of bother. Charl Schwartzel has just run up a triple bogey on 3, his second of the day: it drops him to +9. Jason Day has bogeyed 11, 13 and now 14 to slip to +8. Bubba Watson has just doubled 14; he’s +7. To borrow a quote from Withnail, some of the world’s top major-winning talent reduced to the status of a bum. Naughty USGA! Sadistic USGA! Yet the thing is, this isn’t even the hardest this course has historically played. Right now, the first-round scoring average is 75.80; back in 1986 it was 77.88.
And a dropped shot for Charley Hoffman at 2 means there are only two players under par now.
-1: Piercy (17), Poulter (13)
Luke Donald hasn’t been a feature in the majors for some time now. Sad to see the former world number one struggle, but the sport’s loss is punditry’s gain ... he’s a fine co-commentator. He’s just taken his seat in the Sky box, and when asked if he’d rather be out there playing, declares himself “very comfortable” considering the scoring today. Some nice dry humour. Out on the course, both of the leaders drop shots. Poulter bogeys 13, the result of finding himself waist-deep in fescue after a wild tee shot; Kuchar doubles 11, his tee shot having plugged the bunker and requiring two to come out.
Ian Poulter continues to co-lead this tournament in its infancy ... but he’s the only non-US star under par right now. Plenty of European players just behind the leading quartet, though.
-2: Poulter (12), Kuchar (10)
-1: Piercy (16), Hoffman (9*)
E: Pavon (16), Baddeley (14*), Rose (13), Fitzpatrick (10), Olesen (9), Knox (9*), Hill (7), Meyer (8*), Naegel (8*)
Nope, McIlroy’s got to lob it. And he does very well to put the brakes on his ball, 25 feet past the hole. It’s about the best he could do. It’s still a bogey, though. He’s +10 through 11 and now needs a birdie somewhere coming home if he’s not to card an opening-round 80. Mickelson meanwhile pays for a poor chip: a bogey that follows that disappointing near miss for birdie. He’s +5. And it’s a three-putt bogey for Spieth, who drops to +6. The reigning Open champ walks off smiling, albeit in a style that utilises little lip. These three are dragging each other down.
Scott Gregory continues to suffer. Since the turn, he’s made bogey at 10, 12 and 13, and ran up another triple at 14. He’s +18 through 15 and can only drop one more stroke if he’s to break 90. Ooyah, oof. Anyone who’s ever picked up a club will feel the poor young man’s pain. What doesn’t kill you, etc. Speaking of running up a cricket score, here’s Rory McIlroy: he’s at +9, now missing the green with a pushed tee shot at 2. Admittedly this par-three is playing at 252 yards, but that’s still not much of a shot: he’s got to get over sand, and he’s shortsided. There might be a route between the two bunkers to bump one up. Maybe.
Some bustle at the top of the leader board. Ian Poulter drops one at 10, then picks it back up at 11 to rejoin Matt Kuchar in the lead. Meanwhile young Calum Hill follows up his eagle at 5 with a double bogey at 6. Welcome to US Open golf, sir. He drops back to level par, where he’s in good company alongside the likes of Justin Rose, Patrick reed, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Thorbjorn Olesen.
From the thick rough, McIlroy can only chop his ball into the bunker at the front of the 1st. He faces a 45-yard bunker shot, needing to get up and down for bogey. He splashes to ten feet, misses the putt, and that’s his third double bogey of the round. He’s +9 and this is getting embarrassing for the 2011 champ. Spieth meanwhile dunks his approach into the bunker to the right of the green. He’s plugged, and does extremely well just to hold his ball on the putting surface. But that’s a 40-footer left for his par. He can’t make it, and he hands back the shot he picked up on the previous hole. He’s +5 again. Finally Mickelson, who clipped a lovely second to six feet. The birdie putt’s got a little right-to-left curl ... and he hits it too hard, putting through the break. He stays at +4 and looks genuinely distraught at passing up the opportunity.
McIlroy takes an iron off the 1st tee for safety, and misses a 60-yard fairway on the right. This is becoming hard to watch. He’s only hit three of seven fairways, and missed seven of nine greens in regulation. Now he’s knee-deep in the thick stuff again. He punches out ... and into only slightly shorter fescue on the other side of the hole. Up on the green, Patrick Reed tidies up for par, his fifth in a row: he’s level and looking steady after a rollercoaster start of two birdies and two bogeys in the first five holes.
Rory McIlroy reaches the turn in 42, after sending his second into thick nonsense by the side of the green at 18. Having failed to get up and down, he’s +7. But his playing partner Jordan Spieth is going the right way at last, curling in a big right-to-left breaker for his first birdie of the day. He turns in 39, +4. Like Mickelson, who pars, he’s only six off the lead, despite it all.
Scottish golf could do with a new superstar: it’s been a long time since Sandy Lyle was in his major-winning pomp. How about Calum Hill, then? The 23-year-old from Kinross is playing in his first major, and he hasn’t taken long to make his mark. After bogey at 3, he’s birdied 4 and eagled 5, and that’s earned him a share of the lead! He leapfrogs his compatriot Russell Knox, and is one of four Brits in the top seven! Early days and all, but we might as well enjoy it while we can.
-2: Poulter (9), Kuchar (8), Hill (5)
-1: Piercy (14), Fitzpatrick (8), Hoffman (7*), Knox (6*)
Mickelson comes within the width of a dimple of birdie at 17. A lovely rake across the green, so unlucky. He stays at +4. Spieth doesn’t really hit his effort from similar range, and leaves himself a missable six-footer. But in it goes: he’s +5 still. And finally Rory, who flops a Mickelsonesque wedge over the bunker to eight feet, and knocks in a brilliant par saver. That’s only his second par of the round so far. He’s +6. Three pars there, all made in very different style.
“Aw Rory! Jesus!” McIlroy’s mechanism has gone. At the par-three 17th, he sends his tee shot so far right it misses the big bunker guarding that side of the green. Spieth and Mickelson’s efforts aren’t all that either, but both just about manage to hold the very left edge of the putting surface. Meanwhile another of the pre-tournament favourites, the in-form Jason Day, continues to stutter. After bogeys at 2, 3 and 4, he looked to have steadied the ship with a run of three pars, but more dropped shots at 8 and 9 mean he’s reached the turn in 40. He’s +5. In normal circumstances, you’d say a lot of these guys were playing their way out of this tournament already. But the lead’s only -2, and there are only seven players under par right now.
-2: Poulter (8), Kuchar (6)
-1: Piercy (13), Baddeley (10*), Rose (10), Hoffman (6*), Knox (6*)
McIlroy hasn’t taken long to shed the momentum of that birdie at 15. He smacks his third on 16 into the face of the bunker he’s trying to escape, the ball squirting apologetically onto the fairway, a few yards ahead. He possibly got a bit too greedy there, he was up close to that lip. He caresses his fourth to 15 feet but can’t save his par. He’s +6 again. Spieth meanwhile sends his third to 20 feet, and is inches away from curling in a birdie putt. He squats on his haunches in disbelief: how did that not drop? But then again, birdie would have been outrageous after that miserable hooked drive, and the huge break he got with his free drop. Par will suffice. He’s +5. And there’s misery for Mickelson, who sends a strange wedge clean through the green, and can’t get up and down to save his par. He’s +4. It’s quite a struggle for this group.
Matthew Fitzpatrick will be a major champion one day, I’ll be bound. The 23-year-old from Sheffield already has a top-ten finish at the Masters on his CV, plus a low-amateur finish at the US Open. He’s going well today, wiping off a bogey at 3 with eagle at 5. He’s -1. Meanwhile some even better news for fans of British golf: birdie for Ian Poulter at 7, to add to the one he made at 3, and a third birdie in the first five holes for Russell Knox, at 14, to offset bogey at 11. They both have a share of the early lead!
-2: Poulter (7), Kuchar (5), Knox (5*)
-1: Piercy (13), Fitzpatrick (5), Hoffman (6*)
Spieth has just flayed a drive so far left down 16 that he’s flown the deepest rough and nestled up against a fence. He’ll get a drop near a trodden-down path, so that qualifies as a huge break for the 2015 champ. McIlroy nearly sends his into the long stuff, too, but his ball stops just short, in some semi-rough. Neither makes a particularly good fist of their second, laying up on this long par five, but finding rough and sand respectively. They can’t keep carrying on like this. “Isn’t it great to see rough being proper rough?” asks Adam Hirst. “That unforgiving long grass really sorts the wheat from the chaff, and keeps the long drivers honest.” Yes, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Dustin and Tiger around here later today. It could go either way, couldn’t it.
A birdie in this morning’s marquee group! Rory McIlroy is the first to put a red number on his card, knocking his second at 15 to 15 feet, then rolling in one of the straighter putts he’ll have today. He moves back to +5. Spieth and Mickelson par, making that this group’s first bogey-free hole of the day. Onwards and upwards! And at the top of the leader board, joining Charley Hoffman at -2, is Matt Kuchar, who follows his opening hole birdie with a second at 5. Three top ten finishes in the majors last year for the popular Floridian, including that runner-up slot at Birkdale. Could this be the time, and the set-up, for the steady, dependable, level-headed Kuch?
It’s not as though Gregory is alone in his pain. The USGA wanted tough, after the low scoring at Erin Hills last year ... and they’ve got it! We already know about the travails of Phil, Jordan and Rory, so here are some other big names out there struggling: Rickie Fowler (+2 after 5*), Bubba Watson (+3, 6), Jason Day (+3, 6), Danny Willett (+3, 6), Charl Schwartzel (+3, 6*), Marc Leishman (+3, 5*), Louis Oosthuizen (+4, 7). It’s not quite carnage yet, but it’s in danger of getting very messy.
Poor old Scott Gregory. People from Portsmouth are usually no fans of Southampton, and that’s certainly going to be the case for the 23-year-old qualifier, playing in his first major as a pro. He’s reached the turn in 47 strokes, having carded just one par, and that on the opening hole. He’s +12, after five bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey. But whatever happens on the back nine, he can rest assured that he won’t have as bad a day as JD Tucker did in 1898 at Myopia Hunt Club. Tucker shot 157 in the opening round that year, a US Open record which is sure to stand awhile yet.
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Charley Hoffman would be a popular champion. The 41-year-old from San Diego has flowered late in his career: he’s hovered around the leader boards in the majors for a few years now, with high placings at the Masters and the US Open. And he’s currently leading this tournament in its infant stages, having birdied 10 and 13. He’s the only player at -2, ahead of a group that has welcomed Scott Piercy and Matthieu Pavon, but said goodbye to Justin Rose, Brendan Steele, Patrick Reed, Thorbjorn Olesen and Beef.
McIlroy looks dazed and confused. His long bogey putt doesn’t go anywhere near the hole. He’s got the thousand-yard stare on. Back-to-back double bogeys for the 2011 champion. He’s +6 through five holes. That birdie opportunity on 10 seems a world away now. Spieth meanwhile could only smash his second from the long stuff halfway up the hole. His chip in stops a good 40 feet short. His attempt to save par flies ten feet past, though he knocks in the return to limit the damage to bogey. He’s +5. Mickelson meanwhile makes a no-fuss par: the advantages of staying in the fairway here, right there.
An illustration of how deep the rough is at Shinnecock Hills ... for a second there, it looked as though McIlroy had lost his ball, a mere ten yards into it. Stewards eventually find it, but it takes McIlroy two lashes to get it back out, the long grass throttling the shaft of his club and turning it over. He finds the middle of the green with his fourth. This is a disastrous start for the 2011 champ. Some place, though, this. The only lost ball in Jack Nicklaus’s entire career came at Shinnecock, in 1986. He’d just won the Masters, his 18th major. McIlroy might cut a highly frustrated figure, but he’s in good company.
McIlroy ran up a double bogey there, after hitting a sand wedge into the green. His putting - this isn’t breaking news - is a shambles. Spieth’s is uncharacteristically shaky, too. Phil is Phil. But these three need something to happen. Mickelson crashes his drive at 14 down the middle, but Spieth and McIlroy send theirs whistling into the extremely punitive rough down the right. That’s not going to be good. Better news for the 2013 champion Justin Rose, who is in good nick coming into this week. He’s birdied 5 to move to -1, and now has a share of the lead, because Aaron Baddeley has bogeyed 15 to drop back into the pack.
The wind is really picking up. The tall fescue whips up and down violently. These are testing conditions all right. Mickelson comes up short at 13, then leaves his chip 12 feet short. Bogey. McIlroy dumps his second, a sand wedge, in the bunker to the right and shortsides himself. His ball’s plugged, too, and he can only blast his ball 50 feet past the hole. He runs his long par saver seven feet past, then misses the one coming back. Double bogey. Spieth however lands his second pin high to eight feet, a glorious approach. Or was it slightly pushed, a stroke of luck? You’ve got to take it when it comes. But his birdie putt stays out on the high side. Par. Nobody’s happy here. All three storm off in hot funks. Mickelson is +3, while McIlroy and Spieth are both +4.
A fair bit of movement at the top, as a few players register early birdies ... while Patrick Reed drops one at 12, leaving Aaron Baddeley alone at the top. There are only ten players under par right now, but some big names amongst them, now including Ian Poulter, the in-form Thorbjorn Olesen, and serial nearly-man Matt Kuchar.
-2: Baddeley (5*)
-1: Steele (6), Koepka (4), Grace (4*), Poulter (3), Reed (3*), Kuchar (2), Olesen (1), Hoffman (2*), Knox (1*)
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At 12, Mickelson hoicks his second into the thick fescue to the right of the green. He can’t see his ball as he swings at it, and despite thrashing a lob to 12 feet, isn’t able to save his par. He’s +2. A two-putt par for Spieth steadies that ship a little: he stays at +4. And finally McIlroy misses another short putt, failing to commit to a downhill tiddler. That’s dismal, when it looked as though he was going to scramble par, having lashed an iron from the tee into the thick rough, only to escape well. He’s +2, and this marquee group is struggling.
And the weather isn’t going to help much. We’ve already seen perhaps the most mentally tough competitor in the golfing world, Jordan Spieth, come a cropper on these hard, fast, difficult-to-hold greens. Thing is, the course is probably going to be at its most receptive today, after some showers yesterday. Winds today will dry it out, and then it’s mainly sunny for the rest of the week. On Sky’s coverage last night, Butch Harmon aired concerns that, come Sunday, the farcical scenes on the 7th green in 2004 might play out again, despite the USGA insisting the course is playing softer. Let’s see how this pans out, then.
It’s probably fair to say that nobody is going to be winning at -16 this year. Pars, never mind low scores, will come at a premium this week. You can’t take liberties around these greens, as Scott Stallings has just discovered: having failed to extricate himself from a swale at 14, he’s run up a quintuple-bogey 9. Meanwhile spare a thought for poor Scott Gregory; having come through qualifying at Walton Heath to reach his first major championship as a pro, the 2016 Amateur Championship winner has just played his last five holes thus: bogey-triple-double-double-bogey. The man from Portsmouth, Hampshire undone in Southampton, NY. Both of the Scotts prop up the leader board at +8.
“Are you kidding me, dude?” Disaster for Jordan Spieth at 11. His bunker shot is way too aggressive: he cries in anguish as it flies past the pin, tucked near the back, and topples down the bank. Then his chip up comes back to his feet. His second attempt, a lob this time, very nearly topples back too - Spieth waits for it to come to him - but it somehow stops. Spieth runs up, quickly grabs his putter, and runs his double-bogey putt six feet past. He does very well to knock that one in for a triple-bogey six. Meanwhile Mickelson gets up and down to save his par, but McIlroy’s putt from eight feet lips out. Not sure how that didn’t drop, but that’s a bogey. So, then, this morning’s marquee group after two holes: Mickelson +1, McIlroy +1, Spieth +4.
And now all three find sand with their tee shots at the par-three 11th. It’s not the worst miss - that would be going over the back - but they’re faced with testing up and downs nonetheless. In the group ahead, Patrick Reed’s hot major-championship form continues apace, the Masters champion having knocked his tee shot at 11 to 20 feet and rolled in the birdie putt. He’s now got a share of the early lead with Aaron Baddeley at -2. And joining the group at -1: Beef! Andrew Johnson creams his second at 1 from 140 yards to 12 feet, and tidies up for birdie.
Mickelson can only bump his chip up onto the fringe. He fails to make the 15-footer he leaves himself, and that’s a far from ideal start in the quest for that elusive major. Also carding an opening-hole bogey: Spieth, who knocks his long birdie putt to six feet, then pushes his short par effort right. His putter has been cold for a while, so that doesn’t bode well either. McIlroy fails to take advantage of his birdie chance, so that’s a far from stellar start by this marquee group.
Mickelson’s approach lands near the flag, but rolls with purpose off the back of the green and down a swale. He’s a long way down, and there’s not much green to work with once he’s back up on top; the pin’s towards the rear of the green. Spieth, perhaps a little spooked, leaves his second well short of the flag, the ball only just staying on the green. A long putt awaits. Finally McIlroy proves it’s not impossible to hold these greens, landing his ball softly 12 feet from the flag to set up a birdie chance. Elsewhere, Aaron Baddeley’s quick start continues with birdie at 12; he’s the very early sole leader at -2. And the Masters champion Patrick Reed, ahead of the McIlroy-Spieth-Mickelson group, birdied 10 to join Grace and Koepka at -1. This’d be a fine leader board on Sunday afternoon, never mind Tuesday morning!
-2: Baddeley (3*)
-1: Koepka (2), Grace (2*), Reed (1*)
So we’ll be concentrating this morning - no apologies - on a stellar group. It stars the 2011 champion Rory McIlroy, the 2015 winner Jordan Spieth, and the six-time runner-up Phil Mickelson. One of Lefty’s many near misses came here in 2004, when Retief Goosen kept rolling them in on treacherous greens, and Mickelson three putted from close range on 17. Could this be a fairytale end to his long quest for the career slam? He was chomping at the bit, waiting for Spieth to get on with his opening tee shot at 10, springing forward the nanosecond the Open champion’s iron met with the ball. He wants this all right. Anyway, all three of them have cracked irons down the hill and have found the fairway. All good so far.
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Here we go, then, folks ... it’s the biggest event in world sport that’s kicking off today! That’s right, isn’t it? So let’s start, appropriately, with the reigning champion Brooks Koepka, who has drained a 40-footer on the 1st to start the defence of his title in perfect fashion! He’s one of three men under par in these extremely early stages, the others being Aaron Baddeley and Branden ‘62’ Grace, who both picked up a shot at 10. It’s on!
-1: Baddeley (2*), Koepka (1), Grace (1*)
Preamble
We’re due a good US Open. Brooks Koepka was a worthy champion last year at Erin Hills – he tied the championship scoring record, for goodness sake - but there wasn’t much in the way of drama as he turned the back nine on Sunday into a procession. Dustin Johnson’s victory at Oakmont in 2016 was another stroll, one mainly remembered these days for rulebook farce. Jordan Spieth’s win the year before was super exciting over the closing stretch, as he seized the day while Johnson and Branden Grace stumbled, but the quirky set-up of Chambers Bay means that tournament won’t be recalled fondly by the purists. And at Pinehurst in 2014, Martin Kaymer wasted the field pretty much from the get-go. You have to go back to Merion in 2013, when Justin Rose eased his way past Phil Mickelson and made his way down 18 like Ben Hogan, for a no-quibble classic.
(Actually, on reflection, it’s daft to write off 2015 just because the course was a bit psychedelic. Spieth’s birdie on 18 was astonishing in the circumstances, bouncing back from a double on 17, while Johnson and Grace capitulated in extremely memorable fashion. Also, Louis Oosthuizen came back in 29! But I’ve written the opening paragraph of this preamble now, and there’s no going back. You get the general point.)
Will the links of Shinnecock Hills deliver? Retief Goosen won his second US Open the last time the tournament was played here, with a hot putter in 2004, though that’s not one for the memory banks either. A dry course was playing ludicrously hard, the par-three 7th particularly troublesome, with players unable to keep their tee shots on the parched Redan green (one which slopes down from front to back). No player finished under par on the final day: the average round was 78.7.
The place is in better nick this week, and the fairways have been widened since then. But for goodness sake keep those tee shots down the middle ... because the rough is gloriously punitive in the time-honoured US Open style. That could be good news for Henrik Stenson, leading the driving accuracy charts right now ... but not so good for Lefty, whose hopes of finally completing the career slam aren’t helped by his off-the-tee ranking of 201 out of 205. Or Tiger, whose big stick has him down in 185th place.
On the flip side, all three winners of the US Open during modern times have been older, more experienced players. Goosen was 35. So was Corey Pavin in 1995. And the legendary Ray Floyd was 43 when he won here in 1986. A good omen for Phil, Sergio Garcia, Tiger and Justin Rose, then!
Or perhaps the links course will benefit players who really like an Open Championship-style challenge? That might benefit the aforementioned Grace, who shot 62 at Birkdale last year, or Oosthuizen, Sergio, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy.
And hey, we’ve got this far without mentioning the reigning Open champion Spieth, the current PGA champ Justin Thomas, the new Masters champion Patrick Reed ... and the defending Koepka, of course. There are many other obvious contenders, too, but look, we’ll be here all day. This promises to be quite a week in Southampton, NY. Do you feel a bit flushed? Yes, us too. That’ll be the golf fever running high. Emergency! Emergency! Won’t someone please call Dr Golf?
Today’s tee times, starting at hole 1 ...
6.45am EDT (11.45am BST): Harold Varner III, Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Scott Piercy
6.56am (11.56am): Michael Putnam, Scott Gregory (Eng), Will Zalatoris
7.07am (12.07pm): Brendan Steele, Chesson Hadley, Harry Ellis (a) (Eng)
7.18am (12.18pm): Jhonattan Vegas (Ven), Doug Ghim (a), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa)
7.29am (12.45pm): Jimmy Walker, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Justin Rose (Eng)
7.40am (12.40pm): Bubba Watson, Jason Day (Aus), Brooks Koepka
7.51am (12.51pm): Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Ian Poulter (Eng), Danny Willett (Eng)
8.02am (1.02pm): Andrew Johnston (Eng), Kevin Chappell, Daniel Berger
8.13am (1.13pm): Bryson DeChambeau, Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Matt Kuchar
8.24am (1.24pm): Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Patrick Rodgers
8.35am (1.35pm): Tom Lewis (Eng), Lanto Griffin, (a) Jacob Bergeron
8.46am (1.46pm): (a) Kristoffer Reitan (Nor), (a) Luis Gagne (Crc), Cole Miller
8.57am (1.57pm): Mickey DeMorat, (a) Tyler Strafaci, Calum Hill (Sco)
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12.30pm (5.30pm): Brian Gay, Sam Burns, Dean Burmester (Rsa)
12.41pm (5.41pm): (a) Chun An Yu (Tpe), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Ryan Evans (Eng)
12.52pm (5.52pm): Russell Henley, Aaron Wise, Peter Uihlein
1.03pm (6.03pm): Luke List, Tony Finau, Gary Woodland
1.14pm (6.14pm): Sergio Garcia (Spa), Jon Rahm (Spa), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa)
1.25pm (6.25pm): Francesco Molinari (Ita), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Alex Noren (Swe)
1.36pm (6.36pm): Kyle Stanley, Cameron Smith (Aus), Pat Perez
1.47pm (6.47pm): Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods
1.58pm (6.58pm): Si Woo Kim (Kor), Haotong Li (Chn), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha)
2.09pm (7.09pm): Jason Dufner, (a) Braden Thornberry, Brandt Snedeker
2.20pm (7.20pm): (a) Ryan Lumsden (Sco), James Morrison (Eng), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn)
2.31pm (7.31pm): Cameron Wilson, (a) Will Grimmer, (a) Philip Barbaree
2.42pm (7.42pm): Michael Hebert, (a) Rhett Rasmussen, Michael Block
Starting at hole 10 ...
6.45am (11.45am): Sebastian Munoz (Col), Scott Stallings, Matthew Southgate (Eng)
6.56am (11.56am): Trey Mullinax, Matt Parziale (a), Jason Scrivener (Aus)
7.07am (12.07pm): David Bransdon (Aus), Eric Axley, Tyler Duncan
7.18am (12.18pm): Mackenzie Hughes (Can), (a) Garrett Rank (Can), Aaron Baddeley (Aus)
7.29am (12.45pm): Alexander Levy (Fra), Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay
7.40am (12.40pm): Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), Paul Casey (Eng), Branden Grace (Rsa)
7.51am (12.51pm): Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed
8.02am (1.02pm): Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson
8.13am (1.13pm): Marc Leishman (Aus), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Rickie Fowler
8.24am (1.24pm): Charles Howell III, Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman
8.35am (1.35pm): Sungjae Im (Kor), Russell Knox (Sco), Matt Wallace (Eng)
8.46am (1.46pm): (a) Shintaro Ban, Sung-joon Park (Kor), Tim Wilkinson (Nzl)
8.57am (1.57pm): Dylan Meyer, Chris Naegel, Sulman Raza
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12.30pm (5.30pm): Ryan Fox (Nzl), Matthew Jones (Aus), Shota Akiyoshi (Jpn)
12.41pm (5.41pm): Paul Waring (Eng), (a) Theo Humphrey, Ted Potter, Jr
12.52pm (5.52pm): Roberto Castro, Richy Werenski, Ollie Schniederjans
1.03pm (6.03pm): (a) Noah Goodwin, Richie Ramsay (Sco), Kenny Perry
1.14pm (6.14pm): Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele, Emiliano Grillo (Arg)
1.25pm (6.25pm): Lucas Glover, Webb Simpson, Graeme McDowell (NIrl)
1.36pm (6.36pm): Ernie Els (Rsa), Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk
1.47pm (6.47pm): Henrik Stenson (Swe), Adam Scott (Aus), Martin Kaymer (Ger)
1.58pm (6.58pm):Kevin Kisner, Adam Hadwin (Can), Ross Fisher (Eng)
2.09pm (7.09pm): Shane Lowry (Irl), Chez Reavie, Byeong-Hun An (Kor)
2.20pm (7.20pm): Lucas Herbert (Aus), Stewart Hagestad (a), Brian Stuard
2.31pm (7.31pm): Sebastian Vazquez (Mex), (a) Franklin Huang, Michael Miller
2.42pm (7.42pm): Christopher Babcock, (a) Timothy Wiseman, David Gazzolo
Updated
