A few players - most notably Louis Oosthuizen - will have to come back in the morning to complete their first rounds. Hopefully there won’t be more fog, else the second round will slip into Saturday for sure. But here’s where we are after the first day’s play. Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow.
-4: Henley (F), Oosthuizen (16*)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Buckley (F), Matsuyama (F), Rahm (F), Munoz (14*)
McIlroy rolls in his birdie putt, and that’s a really positive end to a round that looked to be heading south. That par saver from the fringe on 17 could prove a real momentum shifter. He bounces off with a huge smile on his face, whipping up the few spectators that remain. A very acceptable 70. Meanwhile a 71 for DJ, and a miserable 78 for Rose.
Par to finish at 9 for Jon Rahm. A 69, and the pre-tournament favourite is in good nick. Up on 18, McIlroy, having been forced to lay up in front of the water after driving into filth, wedges to 12 feet then jogs up in order to see what’s what before complete darkness descends.
What a finish by Adam Scott, who birdies 17 and now 18 to sign for a 70. Sergio meanwhile calms down enough to make his birdie, walking off smiling after his level-par 71. Once they clear the green, Dustin Johnson pulls a long iron into the sand at the back.
Before the klaxon went off, Justin Rose quickly hammered his drive down 18, to ensure his group could complete the final hole tonight. The group ahead were still in range, causing Sergio Garcia to gesticulate back towards the tee when Rose’s ball scampers past him. You can understand everyone’s point of view here. Meanwhile there’s no such rush on 8, where co-leader Louis Oosthuizen, facing a long two-putt for par, is happy to mark his ball and head to the clubhouse.
The klaxon goes. Players are allowed to finish the holes they’re on, but can’t play another. DeChambeau makes his birdie putt, and a 73 isn’t the end of the world considering his travails today. Par meanwhile for Matsuyama, who signs for a 69.
DeChambeau is left with a 50-foot eagle effort. He leaves it six feet short. Lee Wesrwood ends with a bogey six at 9, but level par is no disaster. Paul Casey pars too, and finishes with 71 as well. And a big putt from the fringe at the back of 17 by McIlroy, who suddenly walks off the green still level par, and with a bounce in his step. A birdie at the last, and suddenly things will begin to look chipper again.
DeChambeau’s second into 18 only just gets over the water. But he’s on in two. Huge relief. McIlroy whips out from the bunker at 17, but he only finds the fringe at the back of the green. Unless he drains one from 20 feet, it’ll be another bogey. A very tatty end to his round.
Oosthuizen comes up short at 7. He opts to putt up the false front and down towards the flag. A beautifully judged effort from 40 feet nearly drops, but he’ll be more than happy to have escaped with a par. He remains at -4. On 17, McIlroy dumps his second from the rough into greenside sand. And up on 18, a birdie at the last for Bob MacIntyre has him signing for a level-par 71.
A two-putt par for Bryson at 17, and he’s looking for something special down the last. A big drive at the par-five sets him up nicely. Back on 17, McIlroy sends his tee shot into the thick stuff down the right.
McIlroy’s tee shot at 16 plugs in a greenside bunker. He can’t hack out close, and it’s another bogey. A promising opening round is beginning to fray around the edges. He’s back to level. At least he’s not played himself out of contention on day one, as has been his recent major-championship habit. Birdies meanwhile for Sebastian Munoz at 18 and 2 bring the 28-year-old Colombian to -2.
As the darkness closes in, it’s a par for Richard Bland on 18, and that’s a fine 70 for the 48-year-old Englishman. There’s darkness enveloping Bryson DeChambeau, too, as he overhits a wedge from 90 yards into 17, the ball only just holding the back of the green. That’ll be a look at birdie from 20 feet, but it should have been so much better as he looks to buff a dull round into shiny respectability.
Sergio chips in from the front of 16 for a birdie that brings him to level par. He’s right in this, but doesn’t bother celebrating. He has the air of a man who can’t be bothered. Very strange.
It was all downhill for Christiaan Bezuidenhout after his eagle on 18. Those aforementioned bogeys at 2 and 4 were followed by further dropped shots at 7 and 9. He played his second nine today in 39 after a dalliance with the leaders; he signs for a one-over 72.
Hayden Buckley pars 18 and signs for a fine 69. Also on debut, his playing partner Taylor Montgomery, who cards 70. Meanwhile McIlroy does indeed make his par at 15.
It’s not been DeChambeau’s day. His tee shot at 16 is straight at the flag. One foot further, and it’s working its way to kick-in distance. But it snags in the fringe. He gets up and down for par, but at +3 he could have done with another look at birdie. Back on 15, McIlroy hits a hot one over the back, but from the bottom of a thickly covered bank, he whips up to three feet with delicate hands. He should save his par from there and remain at -1.
Russell Henley has been on his own at the top of the leader board for most of the day, but now he’s got company! The 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen sends his second at 5 to ten feet, then knocks in the birdie putt.
-4: Henley (F), Oosthuizen (14*)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Buckley (17), Matsuyama (15), Rahm (14*), Detry (12)
A reminder of where we are right now.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F), Oosthuizen (13*)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Buckley (17), Matsuyama (15), Rahm (14*), Detry (12)
Rose misses a birdie effort from ten feet on 14. He remains at +6, and begins to eff and jeff in the expansive style. “Can you read lips?” jokes Sky commentator Brad Faxon. “If you can, we’re sorry,” responds his colleague Nick Dougherty, broadcasters long browbeaten by the manners police into this sort of craven nonsense. It’s 3am in the morning in Blighty. No need to apologise, we’re well past the watershed and all adults here.
Updated
Word of the 2013 champ Justin Rose, who is having a bit of a shocker today. Three consecutive birdies on the front nine, 4 to 6, have been followed by another three in a row on the back nine, 10 to 12. He’s +6.
Lee Westwood, who missed a putt to make the play-off here in 2008, is quietly putting something together again. He’s birdied 3 and now 6 to join his compatriots Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Richard Bland at -1.
We’re not going to finish tonight, so these tee times will doubtless change tomorrow. But they will give you a rough idea of how things will pan out once the first-round stragglers complete their rounds in the morning ... fog willing.
(USA unless stated, all times UK)
Starting at hole 1
14.45 Taylor Pendrith (Can), Wade Ormsby (Aus), David Coupland (Eng)
14.56 Tom Hoge, Bo Hoag, Joe Highsmith
15.07 Erik van Rooyen (Rsa), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa)
15.18 Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Garrick Higgo (Rsa), Cole Hammer
15.29 Lee Westwood (Eng), Stewart Cink, Paul Casey (Eng)
15.40 Will Zalatoris, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler
15.51 Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm (Spa), Marc Leishman (Aus)
16.02 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Sung Jae Im (Kor), Patrick Cantlay
16.13 Kevin Streelman, Charley Hoffman, Branden Grace (Rsa)
16.24 Brendon Todd, Sebastian Munoz (Col), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn)
16.35 Matthew Southgate (Eng), Matthias Schmid (Ger), Wyndham Clark
16.46 Dylan Wu, Justin Suh, Spencer Ralston
16.57 Kyle Westmoreland, Luis Gagne (Crc), Christopher Crawford
20.30 Andy Pope, Brad Kennedy (Aus), Thomas Aiken (Rsa)
20.41 Jhonattan Vegas (Ven), Yosuke Asaji (Jpn), Marcus Armitage (Eng)
20.52 Cameron Young, Wilco Nienaber (Rsa), Guido Migliozzi (Ita)
21.03 Matthew Wolff, Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)
21.14 Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka
21.25 Matt Kuchar, Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel
21.36 Xander Schauffele, Phil Mickelson, Max Homa
21.47 Jason Kokrak, Corey Conners (Can), Cameron Champ
21.58 Sam Ryder, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Paul Barjon (Fra)
22.09 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Martin Laird (Sco), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa)
22.20 Adrian Meronk (Pol), Sung-Hoon Kang (Kor), Rafael Cabrera (Spa)
22.31 Alvaro Ortiz (Mex), Andrew Kozan, Akshay Bhatia
22.42 Hayden Springer, Jimmy Hervol, Roy Cootes
Starting at hole 10
14.45 Zachary Zaback, Eric Cole, Steve Allan (Aus)
14.56 Jordan Smith (Eng), Taylor Montgomery, Hayden Buckley
15.07 Chez Reavie, Troy Merritt, Richard Bland (Eng)
15.18 Matt Wallace (Eng), Victor Perez (Fra), Robert MacIntyre (Sco)
15.29 Tyler Strafaci, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Bryson DeChambeau
15.40 Bubba Watson, Adam Scott (Aus), Sergio Garcia (Spa)
15.51 Justin Rose (Eng), Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Dustin Johnson
16.02 Brendan Steele, Cameron Smith (Aus), Matt Jones (Aus)
16.13 Carlos Ortiz (Mex), Zach Johnson, Lanto Griffin
16.24 Chan Kim, Thomas Detry (Bel), Sam Burns
16.35 Brian Stuard, Ollie Osborne, Peter Malnati
16.46 Johannes Veerman, Zack Sucher, John Huh
16.57 Carson Schaake, Rick Lamb, Michael Johnson
20.30 Sahith Theegala, Greyson Sigg, Edoardo Molinari (Ita)
20.41 J. J. Spaun, Fabian Gomez (Arg), Chris Baker
20.52 Robby Shelton, Patrick Rodgers, Pierceson Coody
21.03 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Russell Henley, Harris English
21.14 Henrik Stenson (Swe), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Shane Lowry (Irl)
21.25 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng)
21.36 Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson, Martin Kaymer (Ger)
21.47 Tony Finau, Daniel Berger, Abraham Ancer (Mex)
21.58 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim (Kor)
22.09 Jimmy Walker, Ian Poulter (Eng), Ryan Palmer
22.20 J. T. Poston, Joe Long (Eng), Adam Hadwin (Can)
22.31 Matt Sharpstene, Dylan Meyer, Luis Fernando Barco (Per)
22.42 Davis Shore, Wilson Furr, Mario Carmona
McIlroy can’t make his par saver, and he looks thoroughly miserable at taking six on the par-five. It was the par-fives that cost him at the PGA last month. Is this going to be the same old story? The first putt was poor, but the root cause of that bogey was his missing the fairway with his lay-up. Not the sort of amateur mistake you can get away with at a penal US Open. He’s -1.
A lip-out for Detry at the par-three 11th from six feet, and he drops back to -2. Meanwhile up on 13, McIlroy leaves his first putt woefully short, a complete misjudgement. He’ll need to make his par from 12 feet. He has the good grace to look utterly disgusted with himself.
DeChambeau responds to that three-bogey whammy with a no-nonsense birdie at 14. Blooter, wedge, kick-in. He made that look as easy as he made the 13th seem painfully hard. He’s +3. Back on 13, McIlroy does very well to muscle his third up onto the dancefloor. He’ll have two putts from distance to salvage hispar.
McIlroy gets greedy with his lay-up, trying to snaffle those extra yards, and misses the fairway, leaving his second in the thick rough. That’s highly poor. Meanwhile birdie for Jordan Spieth at 4, rattled in at speed. It brings him back to +2.
McIlroy’s right foot slips dramatically as he belts his drive down 13. He pulls it miles left as a result, but looks to have enjoyed something of a break, his ball sitting up in the deep rough. He’ll probably have to lay up from there, but it could have been so much worse.
Having missed two shorter putts in succession, Rory McIlroy nails an 11-footer on the long par-four 12th for birdie. He’s -2 again, as is Hayden Buckley who picks up a stroke at 15. Here are the top 11 players right now ...
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F), Oosthuizen (11*), Detry (10)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Buckley (15), Matsuyama (13), McIlroy (12), Rahm (12*)
DeChambeau duffs his chip into a bunker, then sends his sand shot over the back of the green. Two putts from the fringe, and that’s three bogeys in a row. He flings his ball away in a fit of pique. His head has gone, momentarily at least. He’s started to play uncharacteristically quickly, which might help him build bridges with Brooks Koepka if nothing else. Anyway, he’s now +4, and this is threatening to spiral out of control.
Rahm makes his birdie putt on 2 to move to -2. It’s beginning to happen for the big Spaniard after his up-and-down start. Bland finds trouble near a cart path down the right of 14. His second bounds through the green and nearly disappears into the jungle, but stops in mere thick filth. That’s a great stroke of luck, but he lobs up weakly, the ball finding more rough. Having made three bad strokes in a row, he does very well to scramble up and down to limit the damage to bogey. He’s -1.
Awful luck for DeChambeau on the monster 613-yard par-five 13th. Having split the fairway with a monster drive, he nearly finds the dancefloor with a fairway wood ... but he’s a couple of yards short, and the ball topples back off the false front. That’s cost him the best part of 50 yards, and to add insult to injury, his ball rests in a divot. That’ll seriously compromise his chances of salvaging this situation by wedging close. The pain in DeChambeau’s eyes is clear. His defence has not started well at all.
Jon Rahm, back into red figures after birdie at 18, looks to move to -2 for the first time today. He hoicks a high wedge over the flag at 2, spinning the ball back to seven feet. He’ll have a good look at a second birdie in three holes from there. Meanwhile Christiaan Bezuidenhout sheds another shot, this time at 4, and he slips to -1.
Bland’s par putt at 13 is always missing on the low side. The ball breaks off to the left and he’s dropped his first stroke of the day. He’s back to -2. Meanwhile on 11, McIlroy draws a gorgeous tee shot to eight feet, but again misses his putt on the right. Just a par this time, but all of a sudden his flat stick, his Achilles heel, has gone a little cold. He remains at -1.
Bryson, always out of position on 12 after that errant drive, sheds another shot. He’s +3 and this is beginning to become a concern for the defending champion. He’s got the tools to go on a birdie tear, but doesn’t look in total control of his game today. Meanwhile on 13, Richard Bland comes a cropper on the false front, his approach toppling back down the fairway. He tries again, chipping to 15 feet, but he’s got a job on now to save par.
Oosthuizen is the third member of that particular group, and he’s not fazed by the quacking intruder on 18. Two careful putts, having found the dancefloor in two, and he joins the group at -3. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy comes up short at 10. He chips up to five feet, but his par effort is an uncertain prod that turns apologetically to the right, well before the cup. He slips back to -1, his first mistake of the day.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F), Bland (12), Oosthuizen (9*), Detry (8)
This could be a crucial period of play for DeChambeau, who needs to hang on in there. He sends his tee shot at 12, the hardest hole on the course, into deep trouble down the right. Meanwhile some high-jinks on 18, where a duck invades the green. Patrick Cantlay is forced to wait a couple of minutes, while his playing partner Im Sung-jae chases the cute little feathered fellow away with his putter. This is where we need Peter Alliss. I miss Peter Alliss.
It’d been quiet for a while, but things are beginning to heat up now. Thomas Detry makes it three birdies in a row by clipping his tee shot at 8 to three feet, straight at the flag. In goes the putt, and he joins the group tied for second.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F), Bland (12), Detry (8)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Bezuidenhout (12*), Matsuyama (11), McIlroy (9), Oosthuizen (8*)
Another monster putt drops! This time it’s the Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who rolls a 40-footer across the par-three 11th for a birdie that brings him to -2. But it’s another bogey for his partner Bryson DeChambeau, who sends his tee shot into the sand to the right of the green, splashes out to 12 feet, then fails altogether to hit the par-saving attempt. He drops to +2 again.
Another fine putt from the 2015 runner-up Louis Oosthuizen. A forensic roll from 20 feet on 17 brings him up to -2. It’s back-to-back birdies for Thomas Detry, too, the 28-year-old Belgian making them at 6 and 7. But never mind that! Because here’s 48-year-old Richard Bland, who won his first European Tour title only one month ago! He’s made birdie at the long par-four 12th, sending a tramliner into the cup from 30 feet to grab a share of second!
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F), Bland (12)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Bezuidenhout (12*), McIlroy (9), Oosthuizen (8*), Detry (7)
Bogey for Hayden Buckley at 12. The 25-year-old debutant had hung in there at -2 for a good while, but he slips back to -1. Par meanwhile for Rory McIlroy at 9, though he’s one dimple away from draining a 20-footer for birdie; he turns in 33.
Pars today finally for Jon Rahm, at 16 and 17. The latter required a 12-foot saver; he punches the air gently with relief as the ball drops. He remains at level par. Back on 2, Bezuidenhout - who had saved his par on 1 with a fine 20-footer - drops one after coming up short with his second. He’s back in the pack tied for fourth at -2.
Bubba’s left with a 55-footer for eagle. He very nearly drains it. Birdie will do. He’s level par. Another magnificent putt, on the par-three 16th by Louis Oosthuizen, who guides in a 20-foot left-to-right slider for a birdie that brings him up to -1.
One of the shots of the day by Bubba Watson. Driver off the deck at the monster par-five 9th. He sets it out miles right, then cuts it back into the heart of the green. He spins in delight as someone, with classic cowboy yeehaw intonation, yells Bub-buh! from the gallery. Even in the DeChambeau era, there’s nobody quite like Bubba.
McIlroy sends his tee shot at 8 over the flag and leaves himself the Bryson Putt. Unlike the reigning champion, he totally misreads it, the ball breaking right to an embarrassing degree. He leaves himself a tricky four footer for his par, but makes it. Meanwhile his partner DJ races a long birdie effort six feet past the flag, but holes the one coming back. That avoids back-to-back bogeys, the big man having dropped one on 7 while McIlroy was chipping in for his birdie.
Still no par today for Jon Rahm. He bogeys 15, and the pre-tournament favourite is back to level, after three birdies, three bogeys. All very entertaining, if doubtless frustrating for the big man, who is still hunting down that maiden major.
The biggest move of the afternoon is made by Christian Bezuidenhout at 18. From 93 yards, he clips a three-bounce wedge just past the cup, the ball then gripping and spinning back gently into the cup. Eagle! That’s his second chip-in of the day, after bundling one in from the back of the par-five 13th, and he grabs a share of second! Meanwhile there are more sensational scenes on 7, where an out-of-position Rory McIlroy, atop a grassy knoll to the left of the green, lobs onto the putting surface, the ball curving left to right and into the cup! He raises a fist that’s half-triumph, half-disbelief. He flashes a smile of high amusement. It’s suddenly all happening at the top of the leader board!
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F), Bezuidenhout (9*)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Buckley (10), Bland (9), McIlroy (7)
Paul Casey moves into red figures after tickling in a seven-footer with a massive right-to-left curl on 16. This is his 68th start in a major. No wins yet. Lucky 69? He’s going round with his equally long-in-the-tooth compatriot Lee Westwood, 86 barren starts and counting. Westwood is level par through his first seven holes, and both of the English veterans are in good nick as they pursue that elusive dream.
DeChambeau turns it around with a gorgeous putt on 8! Having sent his tee shot over the flag to 15 feet, he dribbles his birdie putt back towards the cup, the ball gently oscillating this way and that, finally picking up some speed and toppling into the cup from the left. That’s a lovely delicate touch, and the crowd respond with one of the biggest roars on the course for a while.
The 2016 champion Dustin Johnson has been going along nicely. Six holes, six pars. As for his playing partners: Rory makes it five pars in a row to remain at -1, but it’s three bogeys in a row for Justin Rose, at 4, 5 and now 6. He’s +3 and already a repeat of his Merion heroics looks unlikely.
The golfing gods owe Jon Rahm, after that Covid-related blow at the Memorial. He rattles in a 30-footer for birdie at 14, and he’s yet to make a par through his first five holes. He’s started his US Open bid thus: birdie, bogey, bogey, birdie, birdie. He’s -1.
DeChambeau does pretty well to splash out to ten feet, having shortsided himself. But the par putt breaks off to the right, just as it looked like dropping, and the defending champion is heading in the wrong direction at +2. Meanwhile his playing partner Matsuyama nearly chips in, only to lip out, then miss the par putt. He slips back to level par.
DeChambeau is wearing some fetching stars-and-stripes shoes, though his game isn’t quite so ship-shape today. He yanks his drive at 7 towards a concessions stand, the ball caroming off a fence and back towards a cart path. He lucks out with a good lie, only to dunk his wedge into the bunker guarding the front right of the green. He could do with a sandy save here, because this round is threatening to get a little bit out of control.
Rory McIlroy has been trundling along nicely since that opening birdie at 1. He’s had a few looks at another birdie since. None of his putts have seriously threatened to drop, but he’s never looked like missing out on par either. He remains -1 through 5. Stewart Cink meanwhile hands back the shot he’d picked up at 13 with bogey at 14, slipping back to level par.
San Diego buses dept. Having waited all this time for one of the second wavers to reach -2, here comes Hayden Buckley in short order. The 25-year-old from Chattanooga has choo-chooed his way into the top four with birdies at 4 and 8. Currently a regular on the Korn Ferry Tour, this is his US Open debut, having made it through qualifying. A good job of seizing the day, right here.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Buckley (8), Bland (7)
Here’s another 48-year-old making hay while the sun still shines. The British Masters champion Richard Bland strokes his approach at 7 from 150 yards to 12 inches. That birdie will take him into a share of fourth spot at -2, alongside Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele. He’s the first of the second wave to reach this mark.
The 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink, 48, is enjoying something of an Indian summer. He’s won twice on Tour this season, and has started briskly at his first US Open since 2017. He rakes in a 25-footer from the back of 13 to join a 15-strong group at -1.
Updated
Four hours to sunset in San Diego, then, give or take the odd minute. Chances are the first round won’t get finished tonight.
Spectacular back-to-back birdies by Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The 27-year-old South African, who hovered around during the Masters and the PGA without quite sustaining any sort of bid, chips in from the back of 13, then screws a wedge from 130 yards to 18 inches on 14. He’s -1. None of the late starters have yet to get as high as -2.
Rahm can’t get up and down from a bunker at the side of the par-three 11th, and he hands his opening birdie back to the field. Meanwhile DeChambeau responds to those back-to-back bogeys by obliterating a drive down the middle of 5. A huge smile spreads across his face; he enjoyed that, as did the gallery. Bogey for Jordan Spieth meanwhile at 12, and he’s +1.
From off the front of 4, Bryson rolls a perfectly weighted long putt pin high. Problem is, it veers seven feet to the left, and he can’t make the par saver. The lip-out drops him to +1.
DeChambeau flays his drive at 4 into the thick rough down the right. He expects his wedge to come out hot, and is surprised when his bump out stops short of the green. He’ll have some work to do if he’s to scramble his par. Back on 3, Sergio creams his iron into the heart of the green, using the camber to bring his ball back to the cup. He’s left with a 12-footer for birdie ... but leaves it an inch wide left. He stays at level par.
Cabrera Bello pars 9 to sign for a lovely opening 68. Adam Hadwin pars 18 for a 70. That’s the end of the morning wave, as far as the top end of the leader board goes, anyway.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (F)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F)
Some bother for the defending champion at 3. DeChambeau’s ball didn’t make it all the way down the bank to the penalty area, but a tight lie foxes him and he slam-dunks his second into the thickly covered bank. He clips a fine third to a couple of feet, limiting the damage to bogey. His partner Matsuyama, having fired his tee shot straight at the flag to six feet, strokes in for birdie. He’s now -1; Bryson slips back to level par. As does Sergio, who immediately hands back the birdie with bogey at 2.
McIlroy makes his birdie putt on 1! A gimlet-eyed roll into the cup from 15 feet. What a start! Seeing he’s recently had a habit of playing his way out of the majors on Thursday, that’s surely going to settle a few nerves. Pars for DJ and Rose. Rahm tidies up for his birdie at 10.
Jon Rahm is the favourite going into this week. Not only is he the form horse - he’d have walked the Memorial had he not tested positive for Covid-19 when six ahead after 54 holes - he’s also got one hell of a record here at Torrey Pines. Since 2017, he’s -51. The next cab on the rank is Tony Finau at -46, then Patrick Reed at -38. He opens up his bid by sending his second at 10 to eight feet.
Birdie for DeChambeau at 2. He’d crashed a drive down the left of the fairway, then wedged close for a sure-fire birdie. But he’s in trouble at 3, sending his tee shot way out to the left of the 192-yard par-three. There’s a penalty area down there. Bryson’s old pal Brooks found it earlier this afternoon. Strange old game, eh. Back on 1, McIlroy muscles a fine wedge from the thick stuff into the heart of the green. It’s all beginning to happen.
Here comes a glamour group consisting of three former winners: the 2016 champion Dustin Johnson, 2011 victor Rory McIlroy, and 2013’s Justin Rose. The latter is the only one who finds the fairway at 1; DJ is in the semi-rough to the left, while McIlroy has disappeared his ball into the deep filth down the right. In the group up ahead, Sergio birdies, holing out from the bunker guarding the front left of the green! And on 11, the young left-handed South African Garrick Higgo, who won his first Tour title four days ago at the Palmetto, continues his hot streak with an early birdie. A few of the late starters beginning to make waves.
No birdies for DeChambeau or Matsuyama at 1. Both went close with their birdie efforts, but no cigar. Meanwhile some admin: Collin Morikawa ended up with a very disappointing 75, while Gary Woodland, Tony Finau and Viktor Hovland have had to settle for bang-average 74s. None of them are out of it yet, but they need to pull something out of the bag tomorrow if they’re to seriously compete.
No left-hander has ever won the US Open. Scotland hasn’t had a winner since Willie Macfarlane in 1925. Could Bob MacIntyre end these long waits? Well, he’s just caressed his second at 2 straight at the flag, from 90 yards to a couple of feet. A birdie will take the 24-year-old from Oban - who already has a tie for sixth at the Open and a tie for 12th at the Masters on his CV - up to -1. He’s alongside Adam Hadwin on the leaderboard, the Canadian having just bogeyed 17.
With the afternoon wave now taking to the course, there’s a bit of fresh meat on the leaderboard. Matt Wallace birdies 1, as does his compatriot Richard Bland, who at 48 won his first European Tour title after a quarter of a century of trying last month at the British Masters. He holes out from sand on 1 to start only his second appearance at the US Open - he missed the cut at Bethpage Black in 2009 - in style.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (15*)
-2: Koepka (F), Schauffele (F), Hadwin (F)
-1: E Molinari (F), Gomez (F), Rodgers (F), Wolff (F), Fitzpatrick (F), Hatton (F), Bland (2), Wallace (1)
DeChambeau swishes a gentle wedge out of the fairway bunker at 1 and sets up a 12-foot birdie chance. Easy as that. He’s going round this afternoon with the Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who having found thick rough down the right with his tee shot, bumps a marvellous second into the front of the green, using the camber on the left to bring his ball back to 20 feet. From where he was, finding the green was good going; setting up a birdie chance is simply magnificent.
Daniel Berger hasn’t really transferred his talents to the majors, apart from that one 54-hole lead at this tournament in 2018. The 28-year-old Floridian has started well this week, though, recovering from bogeys at 2 and 5 with birdies at 6, 13 and 15. He signs for a fine 70. Tyrrell Hatton is also back in the hutch with a 70.
Here comes the defending champion Bryson DeChambeau! He bomb-and-gouged his way to a six-shot victory last September at Winged Foot, and he’s promised to take the same approach at Torrey Pines. Hey, if you can saunter to victory at a US Open after hitting just 41 percent of the fairways, a tournament low for a winner, there must be something in the plan. He’s warmly greeted by the gallery, and flashes a smile to match. Then he lashes his driver into a bunker down the left of 1. Entertainment ahoy, one way or another!
A six-foot par effort by Matt Fitzpatrick slips by the hole at 18. A disappointing end to an otherwise impressive 70. Xander Schauffele pars 9 to end the day with a two-under 69, while his playing partner Phil Mickelson misses a ten-foot birdie effort by a mile, pulling it wide right. The record-breaking PGA champion ends up with a fairytale-compromising 75. He’s +4.
Kevin Na has had a day to forget - he’s currently +7 - but he’s just played what could be the shot of the week. Left of the green at the par-three 16th, behind a bunker and shortsided, he viciously whipped his wedge through the thick rough, sending his ball about six miles into the air before landing it softly three feet from the flag. That is a breathtaking piece of skill, from a player who may have decided just to go for everything, and to hell with the consequences. That was great fun.
Updated
Birdie for Francesco Molinari at 18. That’s a great finish, not least because he’d found himself in a greenside bunker, shortsided, and splashed gorgeously to five feet. That’s a 68, and it’s great to see the 2018 Open champ back after such a long barren spell. Given his brother Edoardo, a couple of shots further back, hasn’t played in a major since the 2015 Open, this is quite the renaissance event for the Molinaris.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: F Molinari (F), Cabrera Bello (14*)
Russell Henley sends his second at the par-five 18th to the back of the green, takes two putts for his birdie, and signs his name to a 67. He has sole ownership of the lead at -4. A couple of groups behind, Matt Fitzpatrick birdies 17 to move to -2. And back on 9, it’s a par for Brooks Koepka who will be happy enough with a 69, despite running out of gas a little on the way home.
-4: Henley (F)
-3: Cabrera Bello (13*)
-2: Koepka (F), F Molinari (17), Fitzpatrick (17), Schauffele (17*), Hadwin (14)
Matthew Wolff ends his round par-par. Very strange, given he’d only made three over his first 16 holes. An absurd rollercoaster of a round that finishes with a perfectly respectable 70.
Phil Mickelson’s chances of repeating his jaw-dropping victory at last month’s PGA Championship, and completing the career slam by winning the one major that’s eluded him, look pretty slim already. Back to back bogeys at 6 and 7 have seen yesterday’s birthday boy, 51, slip to +4. His putter is stone cold, and the rest of his game has been pretty wayward as well, something you simply can’t get away with on a US Open track. Hey, he’ll always have Kiawah, and in any case six runners-up finishes on the CV is a much more romantic story than one win, right? Perfection is overrated.
Patrick Rodgers is denied a closing birdie when his straight 15-footer for birdie on 18 somehow lips out. So unfortunate. He signs for a 70, and while he’ll surely be a little irritated, having reached -4 at one point, a player ranked 236 in the world should be pretty happy with his day’s work once he takes a step back.
Fabian Gomez of Argentina is making his US Open debut at the tender age of 42. In golf, all is never lost. He’s played the other three majors in the past, missing the cut every time, but this is shaping up to be different: he finishes strongly with birdies at 15 and 18, and he joins Edoardo Molinari in the very, very, very, very early clubhouse lead at -1. Elsewhere, Marcus Armitage, who effectively qualified by winning the European Open a couple of weeks ago, signs on his debut at a mere 33 for a level-par 71.
Seve’s Special Book is full of great advice. Cabrera Bello whips high into the air from the thick rough, over the bunker to three feet, and tidies up for a wonderfully scrambled par. He stays in a share of the lead with Henley at -3. Koepka meanwhile makes his par putt on 8, no more than that cleverly improvised chip deserved. He stays at -2, and that might be a momentum shifter having recently made a couple of bogeys, and with a par-five to finish.
Back-to-back bogeys for Patrick Rodgers at 16 and 17. That follows the dropped stroke at 14. Three shots shipped in four holes, and from the top of the leaderboard at -4, he’s slipped back into the pack at -1. Meanwhile Francesco’s older brother Edoardo is back in the clubhouse having shot a very fine 70, something that didn’t look on the cards when he’d doubled 6 to drop to +3. But he nearly aced 8, his tee shot stopping 11 inches shy of the cup, and kept it going in the right direction from there. A great day for the Molinaris so far!
Birdie for Francesco Molinari at 16! He’s not had much of a season, having struggled with a back injury, so it’s good to see the 2018 Open champion back to something near his best. He’s one off the lead at -2, alongside Brooks Koepka, though for how much longer is a moot point. Koepka dumps his tee shot at the par-three 8th into deep rough beside a bunker at the front of the green. He’s forced to stand in the trap, three feet below the ball, and grip down on the shaft. He manufactures a sensational chip to six feet, quite the result from there, but that’s still a tester to scramble his par.
This par-three 3rd is one hell of a hole, the wind getting up to all sorts of mischief, grabbing the ball and throwing it this way and that. It holds Cabrera Bello’s tee shot up so much that it lands shy of the bunker guarding the front of the green. Chipping from thick rough and with not much green to play with, that’ll be quite the up and down from there. Time to dip into Seve’s Big Book of Escapes, issued to all Spanish golfers the minute they show an interest as kids.
Koepka doesn’t get hold of his second from the gallery down the left of 7. Short of the green, he duffs his chip, and ends up with a second bogey in five holes. He’s -2. Heading in the other direction, Rafa Cabrera Bello, who follows that lovely chip-in for eagle on 18 with birdie at 2. He grabs a share of the ever-changing lead. Just a dozen players are currently under par, which is only right at a US Open.
-3: Henley (16), Cabrera Bello (11*)
-2: Rodgers (16), Koepka (16*), Fitzpatrick (14), Schauffele (14*)
-1: E Molinari (17), Wolff (16*), F Molinari (15), Hatton (14), Kokrak (14*), Hadwin (12)
Thanks Will. I’m back just in time to see Matthew Wolff run up a double from that awful position down the right of 7. His round is nothing short of absurd: 16 holes played, eight birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys. Just three pars. The vicissitudes of the US Open, ladies and gentlemen. He’s still -1, mind, just a couple off the lead.
Koepka pings his tee shot into the fans, landing next to a man eating a burrito or something similar. He might not be in the lead by the end of this hole. Anyway, Scott is back and knows stuff about golf.
It is a three way tie at the top.
-3: Koepka, (15) Henley (15), Wolff (15*)
Wolff at the seventh finds a tree, which is ill-advised. On the upside it bounces in the right direction for him, rather than end up in the penalty area. Fleetwood plays a stunner from the fairway within a few inches of the hole. He is looking in decent nick when not on the tee.
Schauffele goes back to -3 with a lovely putt from the edge of the green on five. Four sit in joint lead now.
Justin Thomas is a perfect shot just to the left of the fairway to a few yard from the hole at the sixth. Koepka’s shot from the other side of the fairway goes just beyond the hole, which is a decent result for him. He cannot drain his putt for a birdie, however, to take an outright lead. Thomas does birdie the hole.
From Wiki: “The basic (and most popular) version of Hamburger Helper is a box of dried pasta with seasoning that is designed to be cooked with ground beef. Hamburger Helper offers a variety of flavours, including Lasagne, Cheeseburger Macaroni, Bacon Cheeseburger, Philly Cheesesteak, and others.” Sounds awful.
The joint leaders
-3: Koepka, (14*) Rodgers (15), Wolff (15*)
Wolff gets a par 4 on the on his 15th hole of the day to stay in joint lead. He looks in pretty confidence mood, too.
Koepka on six sends the ball to the right of the fairway but he’s not in a bad position as that rough is reasonable.
Updated
Paul McGinley arrives eating his lunch. I hope it’s Hamburger Helper.
Koepka goes out of the fairway bunker on five. He ends up with an extremely long putt which goes closer than many expect but drifts wide of the hole.
Wolff is getting better by the hole, as he whacks a perfect drive down the middle on six. Fleetwood follows in his footsteps to find the fairway for only the fourth time in 12 holes today, which is frankly underwhelming. Fleetwood then hits it into the rough just off the green, he seems to enjoy making things hard for himself.
Cabrera Bello plays a stunning chip out of the rough and into the hole on the 18th for -2.
Up close and personal.
The leaders: -3: Koepka, (13) Rodgers (14), Wolff (14*)
Schauffele gets himself out of the bunker with a fine shot. Mickelson is also in the sand, but he has no issue extricating himself either. Someone with issues is Fleetwood who chips from one bit of rough to another, much to his chagrin. Schauffele fails to get par as his putt kisses the rim on 11 to remove him from the top section of the leaderboard. Wolff becomes joint leader in Schauffele’s place.
Ancer nails a decent put from distance on 11 to secure a par. You’ve got to make sure you’re in fine putting form when the wind is playing havoc with drives.
I have watched that Hamburger Helper advert and I still have no idea what the product is. How much help can you really need making a burger? It’s just mince meat. Some lovely aerial shots are being shown on Sly, the drone really has improved coverage. It is looking very windy out there, as Schauffele finds out to his cost sending his tee shot into a bunker or thereabouts.
Rodgers misses a putt on the 14th to perk up his rivals.
Matthew Wolff still has only two pars to his name today! Bogey at 3, birdie at 4, and he’s just a couple off at -2. He might only be one off soon, as well, because Rodgers sends his tee shot at 13 into the rough down the right. He’s got a decent lie by US Open standards, but still can’t get any spin on his second, which bounds past the flag and disappears into deep greenside oomska. There’s not much green to work with, and he’ll have to get that clubhead moving if he’s to get his ball out of that filth. A tricky one, in other words ... and the next words will come from Will Unwin, as I’m off to shovel down some Hamburger Helper, the tastiest treat marketed by a talking golf glove. See you again soon!
Koepka rattles in his bogey putt at 3, and has to battle the smile that threatens to spread across his face. He knows that was a sensational up and down, turning a potentially miserable situation into something much less damaging. He’s -3. Meanwhile Morikawa, who had found the thick fringe, swishes a delightful chip to four feet, then yanks the putt. He drops back to +1, a real sickener after turning everything around so well. And it’s bogeys all round in this marquee group, as Thomas is unable to scramble from his position wide right, and that’s ruined that perfect run of pars. Nick Faldo’s final round at Muirfield in 1987 wasn’t half as easy as he made it look. JT, like Morikawa, is +1.
-4: Rodgers (13)
-3: Koepka (12*), Schauffele (10*)
-2: Fleetwood (13*), Wolff (13*), Henley (12), Hadwin (8)
Patrick Rodgers joins Koepka in the lead at -4. He’d sent his second at the par-five 13th into a bunker at the back, but nearly holes out for eagle with a delicate splash. Birdie, and he’ll have the lead to himself soon, because Koepka’s tee shot at 3 ballooned into a penalty area. He drops, then chips to eight feet, and will have to knock that in to limit the damage to bogey.
Having hit the front, Koepka makes his first mistake of the day, pulling his tee shot at the 192-yard par-three 3rd miles left. The ball takes an unwelcome angular bounce further left, and disappears behind a spiky bush. He’ll be needing some luck there ... as will Thomas, who sends an equally dismal tee shot way right! Meanwhile news of erstwhile co-leader Sahith Theegala, who tumbled out of the equation after a disastrous triple-bogey at 12, the result of a wayward drive. He’s stuck his approach at 14 to 18 inches, and will be tidying up for a birdie that’ll take him back to level par. That’s an impressive response by the 23-year-old Tour newcomer.
Collin Morikawa is this close to picking up a fourth shot in three holes. His 15-foot birdie putt at 2 shaves the hole, but he smiles happily nevertheless, having fought his way back into the reckoning after that horror start. JT rattles in a par putt, his 11th in a row, but the third man of the group, Brooks Koepka, teases in a tricky downhill eight footer, set up by a lovely wedge, and the 2017 and 2018 champ hits the front! Bogey for Russell Henley at 12, however, and he drops out of second spot.
-4: Koepka (11*)
-3: Rodgers (12), Schauffele (9*)
-2: Henley (12), Fleetwood (11*), Kim (9), Hadwin (8)
Xander Schauffele joins the group leading at -3. He birdies 18 after arrowing a 5-iron to 20 feet and narrowly missing the eagle putt. Meanwhile his playing partner and fellow Californian, Phil Mickelson, three putts for a disappointing par. He’s played the back nine in 38 and could do with a run on the outward section to keep those career-slam dreams alive. He’s +2, but put another way, only five off the lead. Glass half full of Lefty’s special coffee.
-3: Rodgers (12), Henley (11), Koepka (10*), Schauffele (9*)
Par for the third member of that group, Brooks Koepka. He remains in a share of the lead at -3, though he’s now been joined by Patrick Rodgers, who drains a 25-footer on 12. At 28, Rodgers has only played in two previous US Opens, finishing no higher than 41st in 2018, so these are heady heights for the world number 236. Meanwhile look at Matthew Wolff! Having crashed from -3 to +1 in three holes, he’s responded with a three-birdie salvo at 18, 1 and 2! He’s right back in the mix, absurdly so, having made only two pars in his first 11 holes.
-3: Rodgers (12), Henley (11), Koepka (10*)
-2: Wolff (11*), Fleetwood (10*), Schauffele (8*), Kim (8), Hadwin (7)
A tie for eighth last September at Winged Foot was Justin Thomas’s best result at a US Open. His bid this year has started in Faldoesque fashion: ten pars in a row. He’s going round with another former PGA champ, Collin Morikawa, whose round has been nowhere near as steady. Morikawa follows up that eagle at 18 with birdie at 1, and in the blink of an eye, all the damage of those three early bogeys is repaired. Two players at level par, going about their business in very different ways.
Mickelson steers in his gentle right-to-left birdie slider, and the gallery erupts! That’s one of the three bogeys negated, and yesterday’s birthday boy, 51 years young, will be feeling a whole lot better with the par-five 18th coming up. Back-to-back birdies for Adam Hadwin, meanwhile; the 32-year-old Canadian has no record to speak of at the US Open ... other than the one he jointly holds for consecutive birdies. He made six in a row at Erin Hills in 2017, matching the feat of George Burns (not that one) and Gracie Allen Andy Dillard, who both managed it at Pebble Beack in 1982 and 1992 respectively.
Brooks Koepka grabs the share of the lead with a glorious birdie at 18, having knocked a wedge to kick-in distance. Suddenly the top of the leaderboard is taking a little shape.
-3: Henley (10), Koepka (9*)
-2: Rodgers (11), Fleetwood (9*), Schauffele (7*)
Eagle for Collin Morikawa at 18! That’s reward for a towering second into the green and a laser-guided 25-foot putt. It’s repaired a hell of a lot of damage, and suddenly the 2020 PGA champion is turning in 37 and only +1. Meanwhile some belated news of his PGA successor Phil Mickelson, who is now +3 having bogeyed 15, the result of sending his drive into deep rubbish down the left, then preposterously attacking his ball with a fairway wood. It barely made it into the semi-rough, and that was that. He’s now going up 17, where he was inches away from spinning his second into the cup from 130 yards. He’ll have a look at a momentum-shifting birdie putt from eight feet.
Thought that might tease someone out! Russell Henley has done very little at the US Open - or any of the majors, really - since tying for 16th at Pebble Beach as low amateur in 2010. Now 32, is the Georgian finally ready to deliver on all that early promise? After opening with bogey this morning, he’s birdied 5, 7, 8 and now 11, grabbing the lead all for himself.
-3: Henley (10)
-2: Theegala (11), Rodgers (10), Fleetwood (9*), Koepka (8*), Schauffele (7*)
Schauffele bounces straight back with birdie at 16, creaming his tee shot to five feet and tidying up. He’s -2 again. Tommy Fleetwood loves this tournament as well, having finished second at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 thanks to that sensational final-day 63. He started slowly with bogey at 11, but has since birdied 14, 16 and now 18, turning in 34 and joining the crowd leading at -2. Nobody’s made a break for -3 since Matthew Wolff briefly got there earlier in the day. Anyone?
Sahith Theegala played the 2017 US Open as a 17-year-old amateur, missing the cut after rounds of 77 and 75 and Erin Hills. Now in his first season as a PGA Tour pro, the 23-year-old Californian is joint leader of the tournament after responding to bogey at 6 with birdies at 7, 9 and now 11, where he drains a 35-footer. Also joining the leading pack: Cameron Young, who turns in 34 after birdies at 14 and 18, and Brooks Koepka, who rolls a 15-footer in for his second birdie of the day at 17. Xander Schauffele drops out, though, after a poor three-putt bogey at 15, having hit perfect drive as well. Kim bogeys 6, meanwhile, to slip to -1 as well.
-2: Theegala (11), Rodgers (10), Young (9*), Henley (9), Koepka (8)
When things start unravelling at US Opens, they do so at speed. It’s now four shots gone in three holes for the early leader Matthew Wolff. The bogey at 17 reduces him to +1, and in the blink of an eye he’s gone from first to a tie for 35th. Meanwhile another of the great young American hopes, Collin Morikawa, misses the green at the par-three 16th, can’t get close from a godawful lie, and it’s his third bogey of the day. He’s +3.
The two-time winner Brooks Koepka is pootling along very nicely this morning. He’s currently -1 through 16, his first seven holes. A string of pars plus birdie at 12. Double bogey for Matt Fitzpatrick at 7 - he’s back to level par - while his compatriot Tyrrell Hatton ships one at 7 to slip to -1. Just the four leading now.
-2: Rodgers (9), Henley (8), Schauffele (5*), Kim (5)
Three former champions are going round together this morning. The 2012 winner Webb Simpson has bogeyed 1, 2, 4 and 5; Martin Kaymer, No1 at Pinehurst No2 in 2014, has dropped shots at 1, 3 and 4. They’re +4 and +3 respectively. The 2019 champ Gary Woodland is keeping the side up, though; a run of pars through 6 interrupted by birdie at 3. He’s -1.
Xander Schauffele is one of this week’s hot tips. Not only is he a local lad who knows the course, his record at the US Open is astonishingly good: in four appearances, he’s finished T5-T6-T3-5. He’s also coming off the back of a close call at the Masters. He’s entered 16 major tournaments, and finished in the top ten in exactly half of them. It’s an absurd record, and the 27-year-old from nearby San Diego is surely a major champion in waiting. This could be his week if his serenely confident start - birdies at 12 and now 14 - are anything to go by. He joins the pack at -2, as does his compatriot Russell Henley after back-to-back birdies at 7 and 8.
Shane Lowry appears to have cleared his head after that mini-meltdown at 4. He knocks his second at the long par-four 6th from 200 yards to four feet. Birdie, and he’s back to +1. Meanwhile it’s all falling apart at supersonic speed for Matthew Wolff, who follows birdie by missing the green at the par-three 16th, getting nowhere near with his chip, then three-putting from 25 feet. Double bogey, and clatters all the way back into the pack: he’s level par.
Another Englishman joins Hatton in the lead! It’s been an eventful start for Matt Fitzpatrick, who has the grinding capabilities required for a US Open, and a couple of ties for 12 already on his CV at Shinnecock in 2018 and Pebble Beach the year after. Birdie at 1, bogey at 2, then more birdies at 4 and now 6, and he’s one of six players at the top of the leaderboard.
-2: Rodgers (8), F Molinari (6), Wolff (6*), Fitzpatrick (6), Hatton (6), Kim (4)
Bogey for the early leader Matthew Wolff at 15. His second at 15 finds the heart of the green but spins back down onto the bottom tier, and three putts later he’s joining a cosmopolitan pack that co-leads at -2, also featuring Patrick Rodgers from Indiana, Italy’s only major winner Francesco Molinari, Seoul’s Kim Si-woo, and Tyrrell Hatton of High Wycombe.
Mickelson flips out gracefully from the thick rough to the side of 13, and knocks in the six-footer he leaves himself for bogey. He drops to +2; I guess it could have been worse. This isn’t the first time the 13th at Torrey Pines has done for Lefty at the US Open, incidentally; during the third round in 2008, he needed four chips to get his ball over the false front of the green, eventually running up a quadruple-bogey 9. “I’ve had a nine on that hole before,” he told reporters afterwards. “I was eight years old.”
Mickelson winning the US Open at long last, at the storied age of 51, would be one hell of a story. A fairytale for the ages. It’s not looking likely right now, though, the way he’s stumbled out of the traps. Already +1, he sends a fairway wood at the long par-five 13th into a bush on the left. Having taken a penalty drop, he lobs high onto the putting surface, but the ball clatters the flag and rebounds into thick greenside rough. The ball disappears. That’s awful luck - you suspect had the ball not hit the flagstick, the spin would have left a decent chance to scramble par - but the golfing gods are punishing him for that dreadful second shot. He’s got to make a hellishly difficult up and down for bogey.
A brisk start by 2017 Players champion Kim Si-woo. The 25-year-old from Seoul, who won the Desert Classic back in January, is enjoying his return to the Golden State. Birdies at 1 and 2, and he joins Rodgers and Hatton in second spot at -2. Kim is coming off the back of a very decent showing at the Masters, finishing 12th at Augusta despite knackering his putter during one round in a glorious fit of pique. He tidied up on each of the four holes he’d still to play with his 3-wood. Calm in a crisis, if you exclude the rush of blood that caused the problem in the first place. Anyway, a good attribute to have when playing the toughest tournament of the year.
The still-reigning Open champion Shane Lowry had started promisingly, with birdie at 2. But he’s suffered a complete meltdown on 4, sending his tee shot into unplayable nonsense, then three putting from close range, running up an extremely ugly triple bogey. He crashes down to +2 in double-quick time. It won’t hurt as much as that final-round 76 at Oakmont in 2016, but it’s certainly going to sting some.
It’s been a poor start by the man Lefty deposed last month. The 2020 PGA champion Collin Morikawa, another Californian playing on home turf, has bogeyed 11 and 12, and now misses a ten-foot birdie putt on the par-five 13th that would have repaired some of that early damage. He’s +2.
Phil Mickelson is looking to complete the career grand slam this week at the age of 51. Given what just happened at Kiawah Island, nothing’s impossible, but he’s not started his bid for that elusive US Open - six second places on his CV - particularly well. A bogey at his opening hole, 10, was the result of pulling his second into a bunker and leaving himself shortsided. He’s since had to make two very missable par putts to hang on in there at +1. A reminder that you can’t win a major on Thursday, but you can sure play your way out of it. Giddy up, Phil!
We had to wait a little longer than planned this morning, but the players aren’t hanging about now we’re up and running. Thirteen players are already under par on a course yet to bare its teeth - oh but it will - and the big news involves last year’s runner-up Matthew Wolff. The big-hitting 22-year-old Californian is on home ground, sort of, and he’s started with three birdies in his first four holes, 10, 12 and 13. He’s taken five putts so far. He’s our very early leader.
-3: Wolff (4*)
-2: Rodgers (5), F Molinari (4), Hatton (3)
Preamble
Good morning you crazy west-coast kids. It’s late afternoon over here in Blighty; it’s going to be a long night. So let’s not stand on too much ceremony.
Bryson DeChambeau defends his title at Torrey Pines, scene of Tiger’s famous win on one leg in 2008. Jordan Spieth is the man channeling that injury-defying energy this week, having recently turned his right ankle, which is heavily strapped. Two-time winner Brooks Koepka is also not firing at 100 percent, post knee surgery, but you can write him off at your peril. See also: Phil Mickelson, 51 years old yesterday, the oldest major-winning swinger in town, hoping to complete his career grand slam on one of the courses of his youth. Other players - Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy and most notably Jon Rahm, who gets on extremely well with with this place - are available. We’ll get to them all in due course.
There was a delay of about 90 minutes this morning due to fog, though some of the big names are out there already, and we’ll get to that in a minute. But in the meantime, for the sake of completion and for what it’s now worth, here are today’s scheduled tee-times (USA unless stated, all times UK). The first round of the 121st US Open is on!
Starting at hole 1.
14.45 Sahith Theegala, Greyson Sigg, Edoardo Molinari (Ita)
14.56 J. J. Spaun, Fabian Gomez (Arg), Chris Baker
15.07 Robby Shelton, Patrick Rodgers, Pierceson Coody
15.18 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Russell Henley, Harris English
15.29 Henrik Stenson (Swe), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Shane Lowry (Irl)
15.40 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng)
15.51 Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson, Martin Kaymer (Ger)
16.02 Tony Finau, Daniel Berger, Abraham Ancer (Mex)
16.13 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim (Kor)
16.24 Jimmy Walker, Ian Poulter (Eng), Ryan Palmer
16.35 J. T. Poston, Joe Long (Eng), Adam Hadwin (Can)
16.46 Matt Sharpstene, Dylan Meyer, Luis Fernando Barco (Per)
16.57 Davis Shore, Wilson Furr, Mario Carmona
20.30 Zachary Zaback, Eric Cole, Steve Allan (Aus)
20.41 Jordan Smith (Eng), Taylor Montgomery, Hayden Buckley
20.52 Chez Reavie, Troy Merritt, Richard Bland (Eng)
21.03 Matt Wallace (Eng), Victor Perez (Fra), Robert MacIntyre (Sco)
21.14 Tyler Strafaci, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Bryson DeChambeau
21.25 Bubba Watson, Adam Scott (Aus), Sergio Garcia (Spa)
21.36 Justin Rose (Eng), Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Dustin Johnson
21.47 Brendan Steele, Cameron Smith (Aus), Matt Jones (Aus)
21.58 Carlos Ortiz (Mex), Zach Johnson, Lanto Griffin
22.09 Chan Kim, Thomas Detry (Bel), Sam Burns
22.20 Brian Stuard, Ollie Osborne, Peter Malnati
22.31 Johannes Veerman, Zack Sucher, John Huh
22.42 Carson Schaake, Rick Lamb, Michael Johnson
Starting at 10
14.45 Andy Pope, Brad Kennedy (Aus), Thomas Aiken (Rsa)
14.56 Jhonattan Vegas (Ven), Yosuke Asaji (Jpn), Marcus Armitage (Eng)
15.07 Cameron Young, Wilco Nienaber (Rsa), Guido Migliozzi (Ita)
15.18 Matthew Wolff, Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)
15.29 Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka
15.40 Matt Kuchar, Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel
15.51 Xander Schauffele, Phil Mickelson, Max Homa
16.02 Jason Kokrak, Corey Conners (Can), Cameron Champ
16.13 Sam Ryder, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Paul Barjon (Fra)
16.24 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Martin Laird (Sco), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa)
16.35 Adrian Meronk (Pol), Sung-Hoon Kang (Kor), Rafael Cabrera (Spa)
16.46 Alvaro Ortiz (Mex), Andrew Kozan, Akshay Bhatia
16.57 Hayden Springer, Jimmy Hervol, Roy Cootes
20.30 Taylor Pendrith (Can), Wade Ormsby (Aus), David Coupland (Eng)
20.41 Tom Hoge, Bo Hoag, Joe Highsmith
20.52 Erik van Rooyen (Rsa), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa)
21.03 Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Garrick Higgo (Rsa), Cole Hammer
21.14 Lee Westwood (Eng), Stewart Cink, Paul Casey (Eng)
21.25 Will Zalatoris, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler
21.36 Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm (Spa), Marc Leishman (Aus)
21.47 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Sung Jae Im (Kor), Patrick Cantlay
21.58 Kevin Streelman, Charley Hoffman, Branden Grace (Rsa)
22.09 Brendon Todd, Sebastian Munoz (Col), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn)
22.20 Matthew Southgate (Eng), Matthias Schmid (Ger), Wyndham Clark
22.31 Dylan Wu, Justin Suh, Spencer Ralston
22.42 Kyle Westmoreland, Luis Gagne (Crc), Christopher Crawford
Updated
