And that’s it for day one. All nicely poised and lots of big names jockeying for position on a strong leaderboard. Thanks for reading and we’ll be back tomorrow.
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Final R1 leaderboard
-5 Justin Thomas
-4 Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters, Matthew Wolff
-3 Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen
-2 Jason Kokrak, Brendon Todd, Harris English, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Joaquin Niemann, Xander Schauffele
-1 Davis Thompson (a), Shaun Norris, Rory Sabbatini, John Pak (a), Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler
Solid two-putt par from Matthew Wolff at the last and he signs for a 4-under 66 to tie Patrick Reed and Thomas Pieters for T2. Just a single shot back from the lead and he’s poised to attack from his early Friday tee-time.
The final knockings of day one now, with Wolff the only man who can cause amended copy. He’ll need to birdie the last to tie Justin Thomas although technically he could hole his second to trigger a complete re-write.
His second to 18 catches the green and runs back towards the hole but par is the hot favourite from there so the ‘Thomas leads US Open’ headlines look set to stand.
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Matthew Wolff goes through his pre-shot routine at 18: Jack Douglas twitch, backswing, ballerina toe, strike. It works wonderfully well but not quite this time as he finds rough.
Jon Rahm looks as if he could throttle his golf ball when it won’t drop for birdie at 18. Hardly an easy chance from 25 feet after a towering approach. A slightly frustrating day for the Spaniard in that he had a plethora of chances but 1-under 69 puts him right in the hunt.
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Here’s our very own Ewan Murray’s take...
I hope they don't mess about with Winged Foot. Has looked perfect today: good play rewarded, mistakes punished.
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) September 17, 2020
What of Phil Mickelson you ask? After starting with two birdies, he’s now +8 and tied 137th of the 144-man field.
Dustin Johnson, meanwhile, can’t convert his birdie chance at 18 and that’s a 3-over 73 for the world number one. One to forget and he’s left himself an awful lot to do.
No birdie for Rahm at 17 although his effort is near enough to produce an eye roll.
On the other side of the course, Louis Oosthuizen finds the green in two at the par-5 9th and two-putts for birdie. That’s an impressive 67 and he joins McIlroy and Westwood at 3-under. Four major winners in the top seven now.
Dustin Johnson at the last and he finds just his 11th Green In Regulation of the day. It’s one of his better approaches and he’ll have around 15 feet for a walk-off birdie to post 2-over.
Jon Rahm (-1) muscles an approach to 17 and it’s right over the flag. However, Winged Foot’s sloping greens can be unforgiving and his ball falls away some 25 feet from the hole.
Back on the tee, Wolff’s tee-shot leaks right into some thick stuff. He’ll take a par from there right now.
Matt Wolff has an outside chance to tie the lead via a big breaker from 30 feet at 16. It starts to turn towards the hole but just glides in front of it. For a moment he looks disappointed before breaking out into a smile as it kicks in that a two-putt from there was just fine.
Back to Dustin Johnson and after failing to get up and down at 16 he pars 17. A par at the last will give him a 73. Too far back (eight behind Thomas)? The TV experts will say absolutely not; the statisticians may suggest otherwise.
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DeChambeau again showcases his masterplan at 17: a massive drive which doesn’t leave much left followed by a controlled blast out of the rough that sets up a short birdie effort.
Great chance to get to -3 but from seven feet he misses left. Frustrating.
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11pm BST leaderboard
-5 Thomas (F)
-4 Reed (F), Pieters (F), Wolff (15)
-3 McIlroy (F), Westwood (F), Schauffele (16)
Lee Westwood now talking to Golf Channel man Steve Sands after his excellent 3-under 67. “I don’t think they’ll have to toughen it up much. I think it’s gettable if you play well and hit the fairways. It becomes a beast of a golf course if you start missing a few fairways and missing greens in the wrong places and I’m sure they can go a little bit harder with the flags as well. But US Open courses are never pushovers and I’m sure it’s not going to get any easier.”
Westwood fills the screen after a cutaway from the course showing a limp flag. The lack of wind has helped scoring today too.
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DeChambeau bashes the bottom of his putter and does a strange wobbly head move as his 25-foot birdie attempt at 16 stays above ground. Still 2-under. Fair to say that his masterplan has worked pretty well today though.
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The big threat to Justin Thomas’ lead is coming from fellow American Matthew Wolff. A trio of red numbers at 11, 12 and 13 take the youngster to -4 and a par at 14 keeps him just one back. Now he’s pacing a 27-foot putt at 15. A red caption in the corner of the TV screen says ‘For Birdie & Co-Lead’.
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Johnson wonders if his ball has oscillated slightly as he tries to remove something from the divot it lies in on the 16th fairway. He calls over a referee but there’s nothing to see here and he’s free to continue. However, it’s a poor lie and DJ rather duffs his approach short of the green. It’s been that sort of day.
To get some sort of handle on how far back a wannabe champion can afford to be, no-one has won the US Open from more than six shots off the pace after 18 holes since Lee Janzen in 1998. Brooks Koepka (2018) and Webb Simpson (2012) were both six in arrears after the opening lap so, with Justin Thomas at 5-under, history is against anyone who finishes the day at +2 or worse. Did you hear that Dustin Johnson (+2 after 15)?
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The feeling among the players is that today was the day to score as it’s only going to get harder as the course firms up. Bad news then for the likes of Tiger (+3), Justin Rose (+3), Tyrrell Hatton (+4), Tommy Fleetwood (+4 after 16), Collin Morikawa (+6) and Open champ Shane Lowry (+6 after 16).
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Fist-pump putt from Jon Rahm at 14. From the edge of the green, he leaves his treacherous first putt some 10 feet short but then makes a gritty par save with his second effort to stay at -2.
From a little further out at 15, Dustin Johnson finally gets a putt to drop and the birdie edges him up to +2.
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Will Zalatoris scored a hole-in-one at the 7th earlier today and incredibly he comes within a whisker of a second as his tee-shot at 13 plonks down eight feet away, tracks towards the hole and somehow stays out after striking the middle of the pin.
According to the National Hole-In-One Registry, the odds of a player making two holes-in-one in the same round are 67 million-to-1. And yet some high-school kid did it in America earlier this year.
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Dustin Johnson is still sleepwalking through his opening round. He’s playing the 15th at 3-over and in a tie for 74th. It’s a decent approach though so possibly a chance for the world number one to register just his second birdie of the day.
We’re told via the medium of Golf Channel anchor Steve Sands that Nick Faldo has described Winged Foot as “about as soft and as easy as it could ever play at a US Open.”
“I must agree,” says Thomas Pieters, speaking after his 66.
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“How did that go right.... my god,” laments Bryson DeChambeau as his birdie try at 14 doesn’t grab enough of the hole. Perhaps he can get it out of his system by driving the 422-yard par-4 15th.
Superb approach by Thomas Pieters to the last and the top scorer at the 2016 Ryder Cup rolls in his 12-foot putt to join Reed in the clubhouse on -4. That’s tied second and just one off the pace. As well as his exploits at Hazeltine, Pieters has had a couple of good knocks in the majors with tied fourth at the 2017 Masters and T6 at the 2018 PGA. He leads the European bid here, a shot ahead of Rory.
Bryson DeChambeau appears to be hitting a knock-down wedge for his second shot to the par-4 14th which measures 449 yards. Just bonkers. it’s a good one too and he’ll have another promising birdie chance after giving one back at 13 to fall back to -2.
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Some big names gathering at 2-under. Here’s a list:
Bryson DeChambeau (13)
Tony Finau (13)
Jon Rahm (12)
Xander Schauffele (12)
Rickie Fowler (11)
So, here are the 2020 Driving Distance rankings of the current top five. Reed isn’t a huge hitter but the others clearly are. Not exactly earth-shattering news I know but, hey, nothing is happening so far that goes against the idea that, even on a US Open track with deep rough, blasting it miles is a big help.
Justin Thomas 35th
Patrick Reed 108th
Rory McIlroy 4th
Thomas Pieters 8th
Bryson DeChambeau 1st
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Give me a minute and I’m going to check out where the current top five are on the Driving Distance charts. I think my theory is fairly obvious...
-5: Justin Thomas
-4: Patrick Reed
-3: Rory McIlroy, Thomas Pieters, Bryson DeChambeau
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Tony Finau made a sluggish, DJ-style start, but has worked his way through the field nicely. Birdies at 6, 9, 11 and 12 have moved him to -2 and into the top six. Plenty of birdies still out there for the afternoon wave.
Dustin Johnson bends the knees and looks to the skies as his birdie putt drifts by the hole at the par-5 12th. He remains in ‘not happening’ mode. Still +2 and seven off the pace.
We’ve seen plenty of hole-outs today and Louis Oosthuizen joins the party at 2 (his 11th). The South African sinks his approach for eagle to follow up a birdie at the previous hole and, in the metaphorical blink of an eye, goes from +2 to -1 and up to tied 16th.
Leader Justin Thomas hadn’t played Winged Foot until last month when he made a recce ahead of The Northern Trust. His assessment after that practice round? “I absolutely loved it. It’s one of my favourite, if not my favourite courses I’ve ever played.” We can’t say he didn’t warn us.
Going wire-to-wire in a US Open would seem a rather herculean feat but actually it’s not uncommon. Five times in the last 20 years at this event, a player had led after every round so, if Justin Thomas remains out in front by close of play the omens are good.
Those five wire-to-wirers:
2000 Tiger Woods (Pebble Beach)
2001 Retief Goosen (Southern Hills)
2002 Tiger Woods (Bethpage)
2011 Rory McIlroy (Congressional)
2014 Martin Kaymer (Pinehurst No.2)
Phil Mickelson now +5 for his last eight holes. I feel bad for him. Let’s have another niche tribute song to make us feel better.
Ever since I started watching golf as a kid I've been obsessed with @PhilMickelson – just such an incredible player to watch, a true entertainer and a legend of the game. He deserved an ode.
— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) September 14, 2020
Credit to Ed Sheeran.
RTs & YouTube subscribes (https://t.co/xdFaxMIROH) appreciated 😊 pic.twitter.com/v5O5QTST63
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Some Tiger Woods comments after his 3-over 73 which ended bogey-double bogey.
“I thought the golf course was set up fantastic. I thought that what they did with the hole locations were very fair today. It gave us an opportunity to make some birdies, and you look at most of the scores, and the guys took advantage of it. This is a long marathon of a tournament. There’s a lot of different things that can go on. I just wish I would have finished off my round better.”
Tiger putted well but hit just 9 out of 18 Greens In Regulation and got up and down just twice in nine attempts.
I can’t help but think of Maurice Flitcroft when spotting the name Andy Ogletree on the leaderboard. This surely isn’t a real person, rather an impostor making a cheeky nod to 2006 Winged Foot winner Geoff Ogilvy. Maurice, of course, gained notoriety by entering Opens using daft pseudonyms such as Gene Pacecki and Arnold Palmtree.
The full story is in our very own Scott Murray’s book (written with Simon Farnaby) The Phantom of the Open. Don’t fear, Scott will be back on this blog for The Masters.
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Bryson DeChambeau drains a 33-foot putt for birdie at 10 to hit 3-under. A fist pump and tip of the cap from the US muscle man, who climbs to tied third.
Also at -3 is veteran Lee Westwood after a birdie at 2, his 11th hole of the day. Westwood is 47 now but don’t be writing him off for that first elusive major title. In the last one he contested, the Englishman was tied fourth at Royal Portrush and he’s bowling along nicely again here.
Before being too hard on Mickelson, let’s remind ourselves than he’s actually on the same score as world number one and pre-tournament favourite Dustin Johnson. DJ’s subdued front nine of 2-over 37 featured a double bogey, a bogey and one birdie. Time to hit the gas on the second nine.
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Mickelson quips “it’s all about the angles baby” as he plays a round of golf which seems to be some sort of bizarre tribute to Pythagoras.
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“Oh man, I’m sick of this,” mutters Phil Mickelson after another shot leaks a mile left. This is truly dreadful stuff from the six-time US Open runner-up. It’s amazing that he’s not worse than +2 after 8.
Hole-in-one alert! Pt 2
Will Zalatoris records the 47th hole-in-one in US Open history and second of the day after sinking his tee-shot at 7. That’s the same hole where Patrick Reed made his ace. All hole-in-ones are good - apart from the one made by my mate Alex Perry when it took a sideways bounce off a big mound - but this isn’t as spectacular as Reed’s slam dunk effort from earlier. Nevertheless, any writer now compiling an A to Z of Winged Foot history has another option to go with Fuzzy Zoeller’s US Open win here in 1984.
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It’s quite the international leaderboard right now. Two Americans on top, then a Northern Irishman, a Slovakian, a Belgian and a Chilean.
-5: Justin Thomas (F)
-4: Patrick Reed (F)
-3: Rory McIlroy (F), Rory Sabbatini (13), Thomas Pieters (13*), Joaquin Niemann (10).
A popular parlour game for golf enthusiasts this time last year was to try and predict who would have the best career out of Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland.
Those who sided with Morikawa are clearly feeling smug after the American’s PGA Championship win but Wolff and Hovland have won PGA Tour titles and and are going well here. Wolff, as mentioned, is -2 while Norwegian star Hovland is -1 after two birdies against a bogey. Morikawa slumped to a 6-over 76 earlier today so faces a battle to make the cut.
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Matthew Wolff has one of the most unusual swings in the game: a quirky action that combines twitching Carry On actor Jack Douglas and 2003 US Open champ Jim Furyk. But like Furyk’s ‘octopus falling out of a tree’ motion, it works brilliantly. Wolff, who finished tied fourth in the PGA Championship, is -1 after 6 and all set to go to -2 after almost draining his tee-shot at the short 7th.
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A scroll to bottom end of the leaderboard shows Vermeer at +8. Back to the day job of painting Milkmaids.
Reed now has company at -4 - one back from leader Justin Thomas - after Chilean youngster Joaquin Niemann taps in after a sumptuous approach at 9. That’s an outward half of 31. Gulp!
Some quotes from Patrick Reed, who sits solo second after a 66 that featured a hole-in-one.
“I love hard golf courses. I think it separates the top golfers compared to the rest of the field. Also I think it separates the guys that can use creativity and can handle adversity. Out there you’re going to hit some quality golf shots that are either going to have a bad bounce, end bad up in a bad spot, or going to land on the green, catch a ridge, go down. How do you react to that?
“And I feel I’ve always been very good forgetting what happened in the past, forgetting what happened on that one shot and move on and focus and what’s coming up.”
Rory McIlroy (67) takes umbrage when asked if he’s surprised by the scorability of Winged Foot today.
“I wouldn’t call it scorable by any stretch of the imagination. There’s a couple of guys that have went a little lower than maybe was expected, but it’s not as if the rest of the field are finding it that easy.” So there.
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Bryson DeChambeau’s strategy of smash it as far as you can, find it, hit it again is working so far. Golf’s longest hitter is 2-under after 7 and currently in a tie for 8th.
Now, is anyone else finding the scoring just a little too easy? To highlight the point, here’s the current leaderboard vs two previous US Opens played at Winged Foot:
Players under par in round one
2020 - 24 (7 in the clubhouse)
2006 - 1
1974 - 0
Colin Montgomerie was the only player to shoot in the 60s on day one in 2006. No-one managed it in the ‘Massacre of Winged Foot’ in 1974.
Thanks Niall. You join me with Phil Mickelson trying to rescue the damage at 5 after another wild tee shot. He gets a decent lie and finds the green.
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Fowler gets stuck in the rough off his tee shot on the fifth, and his approach finds the green but drifts some distance from the flag. Mickelson goes for the driver on the sixth, and sends it careening into trees. On that note, time to hand back to David Tindall, who will guide you through the rest of the day’s play.
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8pm BST leaderboard
-5 Thomas (F)
-4 Reed (F)
-3 McIlroy (F), Norris (11), Sabatini (11), Niemann (7)
Mickelson’s fast start couldn’t last, and an errant chip up to the green at the fifth leaves him too much to do to save par. Two birdies, three bogeys and he’s into the red.
Finau finds himself in a similar spot on the fifth, but gets out of trouble with a fine clipped shot onto the green. Playing partner Dustin Johnson picks up a birdie; he improves to one over par.
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DeChambeau tees off at the 329-yard sixth with the three-wood, and pummels it to the edge of the green, tucked up against a bunker. Elsewhere, Rickie Fowler has the chance to claim a third birdie in four, but sees a superb long-distance effort trickle this far wide of the cup. Oh, Rickie, what a pity, etc.
Eek, Dustin Johnson gets in a mess on the fourth green, sending his par putt skidding six feet long, and then missing the bogey effort. He fares little better at the fifth, missing a birdie chance. That putter will need to warm up, pronto.
Sabbatini drops back a shot at the 10th; he’s replaced by Joaquin Niemann in a tie for third. The Chilean is a former world No 1 as an amateur, but has struggled to convert decent PGA Tour form into results at majors. He’s off to a great start here.
It’s taken a while, but the late starters are finally troubling the top of the leaderboard. Rory Sabatini is first, sporting a snakeskin-effect shirt and playing with electric yellow golf balls. He birdies the ninth, and is quickly followed by playing partner Shaun Norris. The two South Africa-born men join McIlroy on three under.
-5 Thomas (F)
-4 Reed (F)
-3 McIlroy (F), Norris (9), Sabatini (9)
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Travis Giblin (a golfer’s name if ever I heard one), has two questions for me. Firstly, he’s wondering where Scott Murray is. Rest assured - Scott’s on holiday but will be back once he’s stocked up on Hamburger Helper.
Second: “Why is Nick Faldo in the commentary tower? It’s being covered by NBC and he’s their competitor, CBS’s lead analyst. Is this related to the pandemic at all?”
As far as I can tell, Nick works for the Golf Channel, who are providing coverage with NBC - but he’ll switch over to CBS for the weekend. It’s happened before and is not Covid-related. I may be wrong, though - where’s Scott when you need him?!
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Spain’s Jon Rahm is another man out to break his major duck this week. The world No 2 has a delicate downhill putt at the third for birdie. He gives it a nudge and lets gravity do the rest ... and it works! Rahm moves to two under. The defending champ, Gary Woodland, is also out on course in patriotic garb, and one under early on.
Xander Schauffele is hotly-tipped to claim his first major here this week - but he’ll need better luck than he just had at the 11th, his birdie putt dancing round the hole but refusing to drop.
Mickelson birdies the second to go two under. It’s his year! Elsewhere the bookies’ favourite, Dustin Johnson, is tackling the third green with DeChambeau and Tony Finau - that’s a high pedigree trio right there. Finau has six top-10 major finishes in the last three years - although he drops a shot here, his par putt tailing off. DJ gets a third straight par - he’s struggling to hit the greens early on, but doing enough.
Here’s the current leader, Justin Thomas, on how he’s finding things at Winged Foot. “It’s a beautiful course ... I just think it’s a really cool golf course. It’s my country’s championship, you could argue it’s one of the hardest to win. We got off to a great start.”
Lee Westwood is cooking on gas! Starting from the 10th, he’s birdied the 11th and 12th. On the par-three 13th, his tee shot is a thing of beauty, descending on the pin like a missile and stopping dead, six feet out. An excellent chance to join McIlroy on three under.
Shane Lowry, who has the unusual distinction of still being the defending Open champion, has got off to a flyer with two birdies in his first two holes. Also getting off the first in three are Phil Mickelson and big, beefy Bryson DeChambeau.
Here’s how they stand with almost all of the early rounds completed. The standout performer from the late starters so far? World No 84 Shaun Norris, who has picked up two birdies. The South African has only ever made the cut at one major - the 2018 Open.
-5 Thomas (F)
-4 Reed (F)
-3 McIlroy (F*)
-2 Kokrak (F*), Todd (F), English (F), Norris (5)
*started on 10th hole
Justin Thomas takes the outright lead! Left with a long and winding putt to snatch a final birdie, he gets the pace just right to sign off with a 65, five under par and a live contender to win the trophy.
It’s not gone so well for his playing partners. Tiger slumps to a double-bogey six to finish three over, with Collin Morikawa carding a six-over 76.
It’s been a strange old round for Tiger Woods with moments of brilliance and some careless errors. On the 18th, he fluffs his chip uphill to the green and watches the ball roll back to pretty much where it started ...
McIlroy went out three under, but he’s found it tougher on the way back home. An uphill putt at the last sets him up to end the back nine level. He’ll feel a bit frustrated not to have picked up a couple more shots, but he’s still very well placed, just one off the lead.
Patrick Reed gives a quick interview after finishing his round. “I was just trying to hit a solid shot, set myself up for a birdie,” he says of his earlier hole-in-one. “My caddy suggested taking a little off it, I did, one hop and in it went. My short game has saved me today, it’s a bit of a scramble out there.”
6pm BST leaderboard
Patrick Reed pars the 18th to take the clubhouse lead. Of the early starters, only Thomas and (perhaps) McIlroy can hope to take it off him outright.
-4 Reed (F), Thomas (17)
-3 McIlroy (17*)
-2 Kokrak (F*), Todd (F), English (F), Norris (4), Rousaud [a] (2)
*started on 10th hole
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Thomas gets into a conflab with a PGA official on the 16th, asking if he can move a small pebble from behind his ball. He’s told no, which I think he knew, deep down. He plays out of a bunker, into another bunker. Thomas takes it all his stride, chipping out beautifully to rescue par.
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Here are some of the key tee-off times coming up:
From 1st hole:
6.05pm (BST) Gary Woodland, Andy Ogletree, Shane Lowry
6.16pm Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau
6.27pm Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Jon Rahm
6.38pm Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, Viktor Hovland
From 10th hole:
5.54pm (BST) Lee Westwood, James Sugrue, Bubba Watson
6.05pm Daniel Berger, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Branden Grace
6.16pm Kevin Kisner, Tommy Fleetwood, Abraham Ancer
6.27pm Louis Oosthuizen, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley
6.38pm Xander Schauffele, Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker
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Harris English just misjudges a delicate downhill par putt at the 18th - he joins Kokrak and Brendan Todd as clubhouse leaders on 68. Patrick Reed drills an uphill birdie putt on the 16th, with a little too much juice. He’s left with a six-footer for par, which he takes with minimum fuss.
-4 Thomas (16), Reed (17)
-3 McIlroy (16*)
-2 Kokrak (F), Todd (F), English (F), Sabbatini (2), Rousaud [a] (1)
*started on 10th hole
Davis Thompson has drifted off the lead in his back nine, and can’t make a birdie at the last. He’ll sign off on a one-under-par 69. Meanwhile, a bit of the old magic from Tiger, chipping in for a birdie at the 16th to get back to level par.
The latter half of the field are getting under way, with Spanish amateur Eduard Rousaud landing an eagle on the first. His approach shot was laced with backspin, and reversed all the way into the hole to launch him up the leaderboard. Also starting strongly is Rory Sabbatini, once of South Africa but now playing for his adopted home country, Slovakia.
At the sixth, McIlroy hits a dreamy tee shot plum onto the green, giving himself a chance at eagle - and then undoes his good work by three-putting for just a par. He looks crestfallen, and understandably so.
Jason Kokrak is the clubhouse leader, finishing up with a two-under-par 68. He’s never won a PGA Tour event, but has been in impressive form since golf got back under way Stateside this summer.
Back on the course, Patrick Reed had been bossing things, but at the 15th he sends his tee shot skittering into the trees! No matter: he gets out of trouble with two immaculate recovery shots, giving himself a chance at par.
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Thomas with a birdie chance... it’s a tricky 10-footer, breaking right-to-left and he gets very close, but comes up a few inches short. Tiger, meanwhile, undercooks his par putt and drops further back.
Patrick Reed has been blasting his way around Winged Foot today, and he holes his birdie chance at the 15th, to join Thomas at the top of the leaderboard! Moments later, a rare error from Davis Thompson as he misses a gettable par putt. He drops back to two under.
-4 Thomas (14), Reed (15)
-3 McIlroy (14*), English (16)
-2 Thompson [a] (16), Kokrak (F)
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Tyrell Hatton began with two birdies on the 9th and 10th, but hasn’t found another one since. A delicate approach shot gives him a chance at the sixth, but he rolls it inches wide right. He doesn’t look thrilled.
The afternoon groups are warming up, with a host of big names teeing off in an hour or so - including Dustin Johnson, the current world No 1 and tournament favourite. Keep an eye out for Tommy Fleetwood, too, who is in an eye-catching, Where’s Wally-esque red and white striped top.
No dropped shots for Harris English yet today - and after two birdies on his front nine, he picks up another at the 15th to join the group on three under. Very much dropping shots is Jordan Spieth - he’s double-bogeyed the 12th to go three over. The 2015 champion has hit one fairway so far today. One!
Tiger gets onto the green, but leaves himself too much to do with his par putt. Thomas rolls up to within six feet and cleans up to stay four-under. That shows the fine margins at play here - Tiger’s tee shot only drifted a fraction and it’s cost him.
Thomas and Woods tee off at the par-three 13th, with differing results - Thomas safely onto the green, Woods drifting left into a bunker. How is Davis Thompson coping now the sharks are circling? He’s holding on, skidding from rough to bunker but chipping out neatly on the 14th.
Will it be four birdies in a row for Tiger? It looks a certainty as he rolls his six-footer right on line - but it jags a fraction left and lips out. Oof, that’s unlucky - it was as if it hit an invisible divot. Still, he’s one under and in great nick - as is Patrick Reed, who tidies up another par three in two. He joins McIlroy and Thompson on three under, a shot behind Thomas.
Patrick Reed birdies the par-five 12th, conquering an awkward, undulating green that has caught plenty of his rivals out. He’s two behind Thomas now - and absolutely bulldozes his tee shot at the 13th.
Meanwhile, after scrapping to save par on the second, Rory cleans up the par-three third in two. He’s back up to -3, and Tiger now has three birdies in a row at the 9th, 10th and 11th. Some big names hitting form here...
-4 Thomas (11)
-3 Thompson [a] (14), McIlroy (12*)
-2 English (14), Todd (14), Reed (12)
-1 Kokrak (15*), Woods (11), Conners (10*)
Can Thompson get a share of the lead back? At the 14th, he plays it safe with a downhill birdie chance, rolling up to preserve par. Another amateur going well is Nairn’s own Sandy Scott, in the mix at even par.
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Justin Thomas is the new outright leader! After a so-so start, the world No 3 has birdied his last three holes to move clear of Davis Thompson. Thomas has been in form since the restart, winning the WGC St Jude in August.
But what about Sergio, I hear you ask? Well, it’s not going great. He’s 5 over, despite hitting eight of 11 greens in regulation. That’s one ice-cold putter, but at the second he mixes it up with a dreadful drive that clanks into a TV tower before plopping into a bunker. Oh, Sergio!
4pm BST leaderboard
-3 Thompson [a] (13), Thomas (10)
-2 English (12), McIlroy (10*), Todd (13)
-1 Kokrak (14*), Reed (11), Ishikawa (8)
*began at 10th hole
McIlroy can’t two-putt his way to par, missing a presentable effort to drop back to -2 ... and he’s leapfrogged by Justin Thomas, who grabs birdies at the 9th and 10th. The latter is set up by a spectacular tee shot, taking him to within a foot of the pin. He’s now out on his own in second.
Also moving up the leaderboard is Brendon Todd, who arrows in a long-range putt at the 13th to go two-under. Leader Davis Thompson, meanwhile, has a tester to save par on the same green - and pulls it to the left! He’s now joint leader with Thomas.
Rory’s tee shot at the first takes him to within 120 yards of the pin - but faced with a delicate chip onto the green, he overcooks it. At the 10th, Morrikawa is right in the filth behind a bunker - and can only hack the ball straight into the sand trap!
He’s in a spot of bother, but he rescues it with a terrific escape shot, rolling up to within a foot of the pin. Tiger will see and raise that, stroking in a 10-foot birdie to get back to level par.
Tiger Woods ends his front nine with a welcome birdie, judged perfectly down a steep slope to rescue a rough start. He makes the turn at one over, and PGA champ Collin Morikawa follows suit.
Patrick Reed hit a hole-in-one earlier, but his putter isn’t running hot. Another birdie chance is underhit, but he’s still getting in the right spots.
McIlroy moves to three under! At the 18th, he gets to the green in two, but is left with a downhill, right-to-left birdie effort. It never looks like missing. What a front nine for Rory McIlroy. His approach play is creating chances, and he’s taking them.
Updated
Davis Thompson leads by two! A supremely confident birdie putt on the 11th gives the amateur a two-shot cushion over McIlroy and co. Early, early days but he’ll be loving every minute of this.
Leaderboard:
-4 Thompson (a) -4 (11)
-2 English (11), McIlroy (8*), Conners (7*)
*began at 10th hole
Hideki Matsuyama and Webb Simpson both at risk of dropping back to even par; Matsuyama nails a tricky one for par, while Simpson has too much to do with a 20-footer on the 18th. Patrick Reed has a chance to climb the leaderboard, but misses a presentable birdie putt - he ends the front nine one under. Perhaps this famously tough course is beginning to bite?
Updated
Brandon Wu has dropped to one over par after a bogey and double bogey in quick succession. Tiger Woods also can’t rescue par at the eighth, and drops to +2. Still plenty of players in credit out there, including Jason Kokrak, whose exceptional approach shot at the second helps him into the group sitting one under, two off the lead.
@niallmcveigh This should be a great tournament. No “in the hole” nonsense and a seriously challenging course.
— Roy Allen (@Roy_Allen) September 17, 2020
I’ll be honest, I’m struggling to think of a sport that suffers less from a lack of fans at the venue. From my armchair perspective, that is - I’m sure the players would prefer a bit of noise behind their tee shots.
On the eighth, Tiger gets an awful lie in the rough, inches from the fairway. He hacks out into a bunker - and takes a swing at the turf in frustration. Come on Tiger, it’s a bit early for that. Especially as he digs out expertly to give himself a chance of saving par.
How’s Rory McIlroy getting on? Well, he has a long-range downhill putt for a share of the lead ... and gets very close indeed. No birdie, but he’s looking in great nick early on.
Thanks, David. Afternoon, everyone! Fun fact about our current leader, Davis Thompson: his dad is caddying him this week, due to restrictions on team numbers. As a tournament director back in Georgia, Todd Thompson thought this would also be a useful trip to learn more about running a golf event amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
Out on the course, Canada’s Corey Conners has a chance to join Thompson at the top, but sends an unconvincing birdie effort wide right on the 15th green.
And with the unlikely news that an amateur leads the US Open, I’m going to hand you over to Niall McVeigh to tell the next part of the day one story...
Updated
Webb Simpson won the 2012 US Open at Olympic Club with 1-over and his steady game is working well again today. The world number six has reeled off seven straight pars and is tucked in nicely.
England’s Matt Wallace has also turned his day around with three birdies in six holes to get into red figures. Time for a leaderboard:
-3 Davis Thompson (8)
-2 Brandon Wu (11)
-2 Rory McIlroy (6)
-2 Corey Conners (5)
-1 (nine of them including Reed, Hatton, Wallace, Matsuyama, Thomas, Detry.)
Some witchcraft going on in the Reed-Spieth-Matsuyama group. As well as Reed’s hole-in-one, Spieth has risen from the dead to make three straight birdies and return to even par.
Updated
Hole-in-one alert!
Patrick Reed had slipped to +2 after a double at 5. But he birdies 6 and at 7 his beautiful little draw off the tee takes one bounce and dives into the hole for an ace! All hole-in-ones are great but there’s something extra special about the one-hop-and-in. It creates a split-second sense of shock which the land-and-roll ace doesn’t. Reed to -1.
Updated
Whisper it... it’s hard out there but with 13 players under par is it really, y’know, brutal? I think I may have a Patrick Reed update coming in....
A new landmark is reached as amateur Davis Thompson gets to -3 aftter holing a fast putt down the hill from 15 feet at 8. The ex-Liverpool midfielder Georgia Tech man leads by one from Rory McIlroy and Brandon Wu.
Updated
Hideki Matsuyama carries the weight on his back of trying to become the first male Japanese golfer to win a major. He’s had seven top tens and was runner-up in this event at Erin Hills in 2017 although four back from winner Brooks Koepka. He arrived at Winged Foot in confident mood after a top three in tough conditions at the BMW Championship and he’s made a solid start today: five pars and a birdie and that’s good enough for tied fourth.
Lovely approach from Collin Morikawa at 5 and the PGA champ balances the books with a 10-footer for birdie. Back to even par and two off the lead.
Doffed cap to Jordan Spieth. After his miserable start, he’s got back to +1 with back-to-back birdies, his gain on the 5th coming after a ludicrous lengthy curling putt: the type he seems to hole more than anyone else.
Rory was as big as 18/1 at the start of the week to win his second US Open - a reflection of his somewhat lacklustre displays since the PGA Tour resumed in June. But his impressive start today has seen those odds cut in half. He’s now 9/1 alongside Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm, who tee off in the afternoon wave.
Rory McIlroy has a 20-footer for birdie at 14 and threatens the hole before it slides past. He means business today and remains tied for the lead, although now it’s with amateur Davis Thompson (7) after Brandon Wu starts his back nine with a bogey that could have been worse.
Four straight pars for Patrick Reed, who is a popular pick this week. The 2018 Masters champion has won two FedEx Cup Playoff events in New York/New Jersey so loves playing golf in this part of the world. However, he has none of the rowdy New York crowds to feed off this week. Then again, that means no shouts of ‘mashed potato’ so swings and roundabouts.
Updated
After lots of adding up on fingers and toes I reckon the 72 players out on the course are a combined 55-over par. Winged Foot living up to its reputation.
Movement at the top of the leaderboard as Rory McIlroy puts another ‘2’ on his card after a magnificent tee-shot at the 13th (his fourth). It’s a virtual tap-in and he’s now tied at the top with local hero Brandon Wu, who birdies the 9th to turn in 2-under 33. Now for the tougher back nine.
Updated
2pm BST leaderboard
Rory almost proves the point at 12 as he has to scramble a par from nine feet for his 5. But that’s a momentum saver and with Hatton dropping a shot he’s now tied for the lead:
-1: Brandon Wu (8)
-1: Brian Harman (7)
-1: Tyrrell Hatton (5)
-1: Rory McIlroy (3)
-1: Justin Rose (3)
-1: Lucas Glover (2)
-1: Corey Conners (2)
-1: Charles Howell III (2)
-1: Robert MacIntyre (1)
Updated
Two Justins under par as England’s Rose birdies the 12th. It’s one of just two par 5s on the course and hardly a gimme birdie at a whopping 643 yards. In fact, a missed fairway could easily lead to a bogey on a hole that doglegs both ways.
In surely the finest gathering of three Canadians since Kirk Stevens, Cliff Thorburn and Bill Werbeniuk used to battle it out at snooker’s World Team Cup, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners all start with pars at No.10.
Updated
All a bit of a struggle for a couple of recent European winners at Augusta National. Danny Willett is +3 after 4 and Sergio Garcia +2 after 3.
Back to those world rankings and American golfer Tony Finau is currently at 16 despite having never won an event on US soil. He does have a PGA Tour win but that came in Puerto Rico over four years ago. Finau’s failure to get over the line still dogs him and has even been recognised in song. Fair play to big Tony for giving Sam’s well-intentioned ditty a thumbs up.
Many of you will know by now that music is my first love (though golf's pretty high to be fair)
— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) February 6, 2020
So...I decided to pen an ode to Tony Finau, set to the tune of an REO Speedwagon classic. As you do.
First time I've done something like this, so go easy on me 😊
RTs appreciated! pic.twitter.com/9FpX6cB2aw
Jordan Spieth at least makes par with his second ball but it’s a double bogey at 2 and he slips to +3. PGA champ Collin Morikawa has to settle for a bogey start after failing to save par from 12 feet but Tyrrell Hatton continues on his merry way by getting up and down from sand at his third hole (12) to keep one clear of the field (-2).
Rory McIlroy almost follows the example of Hatton with a birdie-birdie start. His lengthy putt at 11 (his second) looks to be breaking into the hole but just stays out. Some confident signs though for the 2011 US Open winner.
Oh dear. There was footage this week of Jordan Spieth on the driving range looking somewhat lost. It wasn’t helped by him being slotted next to Dustin Johnson, who was crushing drives into the ether. Now we see live coverage of Spieth taking the dreaded cart ride back to the tee after losing his ball following a crooked drive at 11. That’ll be three off the tee. And it comes after a bogey at 1. All rather sad for the three-time major champ, who has slumped to 63rd in the current world rankings.
Tiger’s birdie putt at 1 slides by but there’s a red circle for world number three Justin Thomas. Talking of rankings, Tiger was the last world number one to win the US Open (2008). Dustin Johnson will try to end that drought this week.
Let’s have a leaderboard update...
-2: Tyrrell Hatton (2)
-1: Brian Harman (5), Rory McIlroy (1)
No-one else under par! It’s a baptism of fire for Rasmus Hojgaard, who is propping up the field on +4.
Updated
New Dad Rory McIlroy starts with a birdie! ‘Nappy Factor’ fans looking smug as he drains his breaking 15-footer at 10.
Geoff Ogilvy made just nine (nine!) birdies on the way to victory in the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot. Well, Tyrrell Hatton already has two in the bag after he follows up his gain at 10 with another at 11 after rolling in a 10-footer. The first man to get to -2.
With no Open Championship this year, the fabled Grand Slam isn’t possible. There is one man, though, who could still win all the majors of 2020 and that’s Collin Morikawa. The American youngster scored a brilliant win at the PGA Championship and now he starts his bid here. Not a great start however as he larrups his opening drive into rough. Playing partner Tiger smashes a confident one down the middle.
Footage now of Hatton’s birdie at 10 - a trickling 20 footer that dribbled in the side door.
Updated
Tiger making his way to the 1st tee. He certainly won’t recall the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot with any fondness. It came shortly after the passing of his father and Woods suffered a then shock missed cut with +12. In his two rounds he actually had as many double bogeys as birdies (three). Woods went on to win the Open at Hoylake a month later and, remarkably, he’s still the current Masters champion. That incredible 2019 victory seems a world ago and he’ll finally get to defend the green jacket in November following the postponement in April.
And it’s a birdie for Tyrrell Hatton at his opening hole, the 10th. The Englishman already has a victory to his name on American soil this season having captured the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He won that Florida event with -4 so clearly can thrive in tough conditions.
Updated
We’re coming into that part of the draw when some of the marquee groups are heading out. Remember to add five hours for UK times.
No.1
07:56 Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth
08:07 Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
No.10
07:45 Tyrrell Hatton, Henrik Stenson, Danny Willett
07:56 Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, Jason Day
08:07 Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Justin Rose
J.C. Ritchie, who sounds like one of Elvis’ guitarists, is tied for the lead at -1. The South African took advantage of the short par-4 11th and has added pars at 12 and 13. Suddenly there are four in red figures - Brian Harman (3), Andy Sullivan (3) and amateur John Augenstein (2).
Lovely shot by new Dane sensation Rasmus Hojgaard at the tough 231-yard par-3 3rd as he draws his iron onto the green. That’s a birdie chance. Unfortunately, the teenager who already has two European Tour wins, dropped shots at his first two holes.
Brian Harman now the only player under par. Why? He holed his bunker shot at the 10th. That’s what it might take, folks. Some TV coverage now and already some footage of players hacking out of dense rough and looking bemused.
No live TV coverage yet so let’s continue our musical journey. We’re in New York so how about this. Daniel Balin may feel blaring this out after his double bogey-bogey start.
Breaking news: yep, it’s hard. The 18 players currently out on the course are a combined 8-over.
Go to Discogs for Tony’s full album ‘Swings Into’. Back to current matters, Curtis Strange won back-to-back US Opens in 1988/1989 and we have another Curtis tied for the lead. It’s Curtis Luck, who has somehow picked up a shot on the beastly 477-yard par-4 2nd. He’s at -1 with Brian Harman (2).
Talking of Englishmen... 50 years ago, in the 1970 edition at Hazeltine, Tony Jacklin became the first European to win the US Open since 1927. 1970 was also the year Joni Mitchell released Big Yellow Taxi. What could possibly link the two?
My favourite track from that LP. pic.twitter.com/7yra05GbhO
— Matt Cooper (@MattCooperGolf) December 19, 2019
Andy Sullivan is the first European to start his day and it’s a par for the Englishman at 10. Sullivan doesn’t mind a tough test and was T23 at Oakmont (Dustin Johnson won with -4) in the 2016 US Open.
First birdie of the day klaxon. And it comes at No. 10 where left-hander Brian Harman goes into red figures with a ‘2’ on the tough par 3.
Over on the 214-yard par-3 10th, they’ve completed their first hole. Pars for Greyson Sigg and J.C. Ritchie but, ouch, a double bogey for Daniel Balin. Little story here: Balin’s caddie is Michael O’Keefe, the 65-year-old actor who played Danny Noonan in Caddyshack.
Updated
So, the first tee shot in the 120th US Open has been hit by Brandon Wu. It’s a lovely touch from the USGA (if you call making someone get up at a ludicrous early time a lovely touch) as Wu grew up just 10 minutes from Winged foot Golf Club. He booked his place in the field with a win at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He has luck on his side today, literally. His playing partners are Aussie Curtis Luck and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (son of rugby legend Grant).
Preamble
US Opens in September are played with tennis rackets not golf clubs but both sets of sporting equipment will be on show this month. The shake-up in the calendar means the 120th edition of golf’s US Open has been switched from its traditional June date although keen history buffs will know this is not unprecedented. The 1913 tournament was also held in September for the first and, until now, only time? Why? That June, five-time Open champ Harry Vardon was busy elsewhere on a tour of the US (presumably golfing rather than doing stand-up) with fellow star swinger Ted Ray. Instead of telling Vardon to get a grip (b’dum tschhh), the USGA decided to postpone the tournament until September so they’d get the big-name duo in the field. It proved justified when Vardon and Ray both reached a play-off but the perfect outcome was kyboshed as the Jersey duo were beaten by American amateur Francis Ouimet. The trio had all shot closing 79s at Brookline to finish at +12 after 72 holes. And you thought this week’s course, Winged Foot, was hard. Well, actually, it is. And seriously so. This is the sixth time the New York track has staged the event and previous winning scores read: +6, +2, +7, -4 and +5. Contrast that with two of the last three US Opens which were won with -16 by Brooks Koepka in 2017 and -13 by Gary Woodland last year. Koepka is absent (knee injury) this time - as is Scottie Scheffler, who had a piece of the lead on day four of last month’s PGA Championship won by Collin Morikawa. Scheffler has tested positive for COVID-19, the reason why we’re here at Winged Foot in September with no spectators allowed.
First-round tee-times …
(times all local, add five hours for UK)
Hole No. 1
06:50 Brandon Wu, Curtis Luck, Ryan Fox
07:01 Joel Dahmen, Rasmus Hojgaard, J.T. Poston
07:12 Chez Reavie, Sung Kang, Kevin Streelman
07:23 Jazz Janewattananond, Kevin Na, Matt Wallace
07:34 Brendon Todd, Harris English, Davis Thompson
07:45 Paul Waring, Victor Perez, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
07:56 Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth
08:07 Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
08:18 Matt Kuchar, Lucas Glover, Graeme McDowell
08:29 Charles Howell III, Ryo Ishikawa, Max Homa
08:40 Kurt Kitayama, Robert MacIntyre, Sandy Scott
08:51 Eddie Pepperell, Troy Merritt, Sami Valimaki
12:10 Shaun Norris, Rory Sabbatini, Chan Kim
12:21 Adam Long, Eduard Rousaud, Mike Lorenzo-Vera
12:32 Lukas Michel, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones
12:43 Ryan Palmer, Si Woo Kim, Rafa Cabrera Bello
12:54 Joaquin Niemann, Sungjae Im, Cameron Champ
13:05 Gary Woodland, Andy Ogletree, Shane Lowry
13:16 Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau
13:27 Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Jon Rahm
13:38 Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, Viktor Hovland
13:49 Romain Langasque, Davis Riley, Will Zalatoris
14:00 Matthias Schwab, Cole Hammer, Alex Noren
14:11 Connor Syme, Paul Barjon, Marty Jertson
Hole No. 10
06:50 Danny Balin, Greyson Sigg, J.C. Ritchie
07:01 Ricky Castillo, Brian Harman, Andy Sullivan
07:12 Tom Lewis, Preston Summerhays, Jason Kokrak
07:23 Martin Kaymer, Jimmy Walker, John Augenstein
07:34 Tyler Duncan, Thomas Detry, Erik van Rooyen
07:45 Tyrrell Hatton, Henrik Stenson, Danny Willett
07:56 Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, Jason Day
08:07 Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Justin Rose
08:18 Ian Poulter, Patrick Cantlay, Steve Stricker
08:29 Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners
08:40 Sebastian Munoz, Chun An Yu, Justin Harding
08:51 Scott Hend, Dan McCarthy, Ryan Vermeer
12:10 Richy Werenski, Taylor Pendrith, Renato Paratore
12:21 Jim Herman, John Pak, Thomas Pieters
12:32 Michael Thompson, Andrew Putnam, Chesson Hadley
12:43 Bernd Wiesberger, Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith
12:54 Lee Westwood, James Sugrue, Bubba Watson
13:05 Matt Fitzpatrick, Daniel Berger, Branden Grace
13:16 Tommy Fleetwood, Kevin Kisner, Abraham Ancer
13:27 Louis Oosthuizen, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley
13:38 Billy Horschel, Xander Schauffele, Brandt Snedeker
13:49 Shugo Imahira, Ben An, Takumi Kanaya
14:00 Danny Lee, Mark Hubbard, Lanto Griffin
14:11 Stephen Jaeger, Lee Hodges, Adrian Otaegui
