OAKMONT, Pa. — Typically it helps not figuring out what may go incorrect.
Having by no means performed a aggressive spherical at Oakmont Nation Membership earlier than, J.J. Spaun proceeded Thursday to chart his method round one of many hardest U.S. Open exams in simply 66 strokes and completed the opening spherical with a one-shot lead at 4 below over Thriston Lawrence of South Africa.
Spaun was the one participant and not using a bogey or worse on Day 1.
“I sort of got here out right here with no prior historical past at Oakmont, not likely figuring out what to anticipate, even U.S. Open-wise. That is solely my second one,” Spaun mentioned. “I do not know if that freed me up in any side, however I simply tried to sort of take what the course gave me.”
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Spaun grew to become the primary participant with a bogey-free spherical at Oakmont since Dustin Johnson’s first spherical in 2016. Johnson went on to win his first main championship and completed the event at 5 below.
Over his 18 holes Thursday, Spaun hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation. However the place most of his scoring got here on his first 9 (he teed off on the tenth gap) with 4 birdies in his first eight holes for a report rating of 31, what he did on his second 9 was maybe extra spectacular, as he scrambled for par and by no means had a three-putt on Oakmont’s treacherous greens.
“It is difficult in each type of side or variable in golf,” Spaun mentioned of Oakmont. “You are clearly going to need to grind if you’re out of place, and I did that actually properly at this time.”
Spaun’s putter was incandescent in the course of the first spherical. The 34-year-old made 90 ft of putts and gained almost 4 strokes on the sector together with his putter alone.
“As we speak was one among my greatest placing days I’ve had possibly all 12 months, particularly inside just like the makeable-range putts, inside 12 ft or so,” he mentioned. “I like changing these putts as a result of that is big for momentum and maintaining a spherical going, and that is sort of what occurs right here at U.S. Opens.”
Others weren’t as lucky.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made extra bogeys in a single spherical (5) than he often makes in a event and had his worst begin (73) at a U.S. Open.
Rory McIlroy needed to hack out 3 times on the fourth gap to get it again to the green, after which he holed a 30-foot putt for a impossible bogey. He shot 74, then selected to not converse for the fifth straight aggressive spherical at a serious since his Masters victory.
After greater than 13 hours of golf, solely 10 gamers managed to interrupt par. That is one fewer than the opening spherical in 2016.
Amongst them was Brooks Koepka, the five-time main champion who has not contended in a serious since successful the PGA Championship in 2023. However he appeared just like the Koepka of outdated Thursday, muscling his method round Oakmont, limiting errors and shutting with two birdies for a 68 that left him in a bunch with the South Korean duo of Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im.
The final time Spaun, who’s ranked twenty fifth on this planet, was within the highlight was three months in the past on the Gamers Championship, the place he went toe-to-toe with McIlroy in a three-hole Monday playoff however couldn’t take down the five-time main winner.
With 5 top-15 finishes this season, Spaun has been enjoying properly total, however he’s coming off a missed minimize on the Memorial. It is secure to say nobody anticipated him to sew collectively a spherical such because the one he did Thursday.
“I used to be really fairly nervous. However I really tried to harness that — the nerves, the nervousness — as a result of it sort of heightens my focus, makes me swing higher,” Spaun mentioned. “I like feeling uncomfortable. I ended up feeling fairly snug in the direction of the tip of the day, however there is a lengthy technique to go.”
Even being in competition at a Gamers is nothing like what Spaun will expertise now that he has put himself in prime place at a serious championship on a golf course that can get solely more durable, and the place the stress will solely develop.
Each he and his rivals understand it.
“It is Thursday,” mentioned Xander Schauffele, who birdied the final two holes to shoot 2 over. “I simply informed J.J., ‘Unimaginable spherical, good enjoying. Good luck the remainder of the way in which.'”
Info from The Related Press was used on this report.
