Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts to his putt on the 18th hole during the rain delayed first round of the U.S. Open golf championship at Oakmont Country Club on Friday, June 17, 2016, in Oakmont, Pa.
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Among other golfing heavyweights in the field, defending champion Jordan Spieth opened with a 72, world number one Jason Day spluttered his way to a 76 and 2011 victor Rory McIlroy struggled to a 77 that included eight bogeys.
The PGA Tour rookie, making his first appearance in one of golf’s four biggest tournaments, claimed the early lead at the weather-affected U.S. Open on Friday.
Dustin Johnson needed only one round to get right back in the mix.
Like he even had to ask. “I’ve got four tough holes coming up, it will be hard to make a couple of birdies but you never know”. I did a bit [Friday] and [caddie] Michael [Greller] was sure to knock me back into shape.
More than the long ball, Johnson has a short memory. After parring the first nine holes, she holed out from 71 yards with a lob wedge for eagle on the par-5 first and birdied Nos.
The previous opening round record belonged to legendary players Ben Hogan and Gary Player who both signed for rounds of 67.
Play has been suspended for a third time in the first round of the US Open at Oakmont, with thunderstorms again sweeping in from the west.
Scott Piercy, who tied Landry at 4 under at one point before two late bogeys, joined Garcia and Lowry at 2 under.
Three storm delays Thursday left a disjointed schedule and no clear picture of who’s in control. 3-5 and 8 – playing the three front-nine par 5s in 4 under. And he finished his round with a 50-foot par putt for a 70.
“I didn’t shoot myself out of it”.
Amateur Chris Crawford, who starred for Drexel, seemingly waited forever to get started in his first U.S. Open. Lee Westwood finished his first round at 3-under.
American Daniel Summerhays notched a remarkable seven birdies in a five-under 65 that put him in the clubhouse on 139, leading a group of seven on one-under.
But the other major talking point on day one was why players were not allowed a customary warm-up period after the first 79-minute weather delay. “If I miss a putt, then I can blame myself, not the greens, which I like”.
Far more impressive was his accuracy. Fowler had missed the cut in three of his last five events. U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun was at 66 along with So Yeon Ryu, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Jaclyn Jansen, Alena Sharp, Amelia Lewis and Q Baek. Despite playing out of an inordinate number of bunkers, Spieth was able to make two birdies and a number of clutch par saves.
“Whenever you’ve been preparing, especially even last Monday and Tuesday when I came here and you’re thinking of hitting shots a certain way, and then all of a sudden, the golf course is completely different”. “I drove it really well”.
On the course, other stars were struggling.
He was two under after birdies at holes two and six, but by the 10th had dropped to one over.
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“Gosh, that would be pretty awesome”, he said. I mean, we were out in cover beside the seventh tee and there weren’t many seats available.
