The 124th U.S. Open is underway at Pinehurst No. 2 in, well, Pinehurst, North Carolina.
From the jump, the field is chasing top-ranked Scottie Scheffler — who is on a heater not seen since Tiger Woods’ heyday. Scheffler teed off in the afternoon wave along with Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. Scheffler opened with two bogeys through six holes, but he birdied the seventh to get back to 1-over. Instead, it was McIlroy who pushed ahead early in that group. He made back-to-back birdies early to jump to 2-under.
Brooks Koepka, who has won this tournament twice, looked like he was making an early run for a third initially. After briefly holding a share of the lead, Koepka made three bogeys down the stretch to drop back to even par for the day.
Instead, it was Patrick Cantlay who grabbed the lead in the early wave. He made three birdies in his final five holes of the day to card his 5-under 65. That gave him a brief two-shot lead over the field entering the clubhouse. Ludvig Åberg closed the gap slightly with his 4-under 66 in what was his first ever U.S. Open round.
Woods, on the other hand, struggled. After a birdie to open his day, he made five birdies in seven holes around the turn before finishing with a 4-over 74. He’ll need a big outing on Friday in order to make the cut, something he failed to do last month at the PGA Championship.
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Afternoon reset: Cantlay’s lead appears safe
With the second wave approaching the turn, here’s where we’re at:
– Patrick Cantlay’s 5-under 65 still paces the field.
– Rory McIlroy hasn’t played himself out of it in Round 1. He’s 2-under through eight. If anyone is going to challenge Cantlay’s 65, Rory is the most likely candidate.
– Scottie Scheffler is spraying shots everywhere, but has managed to keep himself at 1-over.
– Just 19 of 156 players are under par.
– Brooks Koepka left without talking to media, which is understandable. He had it to 3-under only to bogey three of his final six holes to finish at even.
– And, looking ahead, tomorrow’s cutline could prove very interesting. The rule is top 60 and ties. Right now, that would be +1, which would include a 80 players. That’s how tight things are right now.
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Scheffler birdies
It took seven holes, but Scottie Scheffler finally looks like Scottie Scheffler. He drained a curling 12-footer for birdie at No. 7, his first birdie of the day, to get back to 1-over.
Also, can we talk about his whitewalls …
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) -
Another bogey for Scheffler
Scheffler missed a 62-foot putt by 18 FEET! That led to a bogey, pushing the world No. 1 to 2-over through six. This has been his rockiest round in … over a year maybe.
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Scheffler out of sorts early on
We’ve gotten so used to seeing near perfection from Scottie Scheffler as of late that it’s glaring when he’s anything but. But … that’s what we’re seeing thus far through four holes. He’s missed fairways both left and right, having to scramble a bit just to make par.
At the third, he put his tee shot into a leftside bunker, then found a greenside bunker, had a lengthy putt for par and came up short. It’s a bogey for the World No. 1.
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Xander gets in red numbers
Xander Schauffele takes the early lead … in the battle of the big dogs. He birdies the second to get to 1-under. Scheffler and McIlroy are still at even.
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The featured group is underway
The three top-ranked players in the world just happen to be paired together. Go figure.
Anyway, Scottie Scheffler (1), Xander Schauffele (2) and Rory McIlroy are off and running. All three carded pars on the first.
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Tiger Woods finishes at 4-over
Tiger Woods’ day is done. He posted a 4-over 74 to kick off the U.S. Open, but he pulled off several huge par saves to limit the damage.
Still, Woods is nine shots back of the leaders entering the clubhouse. He’ll need a good outing tomorrow if he’s going to make the cut.
Click the photo to read more about Woods’ start from Jay Busbee on the ground at Pinehurst:
Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods’ opening round at the U.S. Open. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) -
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