The flag – Old Glory – lay against the flagpole close to the regal Oakmont Country Club clubhouse, barely moving, with just the occasional fluttering to indicate the sort of pet day faced by those 156 players who set out in search of their own glory in this 125th US Open.
Yet, true to form, even with only a light breeze, the majority of players struggled to combat a course that asked one tough question after another from start-to-finish so that many players looked drained, physically and mentally, when their day’s work was done.
JJ Spaun was one of the exceptions.
[ Flawless JJ Spaun navigates rare territory at Oakmont to take US Open leadOpens in new window ]
Playing in just his second US Open, having missed the cut at Torrey Pines in 2021, Spaun – whose only PGA Tour win came in the Valero Texas Open three years ago – was immune from many of the vagaries of others as he posted a bogey-free 66, four-under-par, to claim the outright first round lead, a shot clear of South African Thriston Lawrence.
Brooks Koepka showed some of his old self with a 68 to be in tied-third, alongside South Korean’s Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im, while world number one Scottie Scheffler laboured – like many – and posted an opening 73 as he was forced into a role of pursuer with much ground to make up.
“Five and a half (hours round)? That’s a long time to be out there on the golf course, especially on a day where there was almost no conditions. But the golf course is just challenging. Overall I just feel like after today, I’ve probably got to give myself a few more looks, a few sloppy bogeys today, and would have been a little bit of a different story,” said Scheffler.
[ US Open: Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry left battered and bruised from Oakmont slogOpens in new window ]
As a long day finally drew to a close, one in which Patrick Reed’s exploits summed up the give and take of the course’s difficulty, holing out from 285 yards for an albatross two on the Par 5 fourth and then finishing with a triple bogey seven on the 18th, the number of players with under-par rounds barely crept into double digits: 10!
Spaun’s navigating of the course without dropping a shot put him into rare territory, just the eighth player ever – in this 10th staging of the US Open at Oakmont – to accomplish the feat. Back in 2016, only one player, Dustin Johnson, managed to do so . . . and he went on to win!
The 34-year-old Californian’s form headed into this Major had been consistent – four top-10s, including two runners-up finishes in The Players and the Cognizant Classic – and, it seemed, the tone for his day was set when he chipped-in for birdie on his first hole, the 10th.
For the most part, a round of four birdies and 14 pars was as steady as anyone could have hoped for: “I kind of came out here with no prior history at Oakmont, not really knowing what to expect even US. Open-wise. This is only my second one. I don’t know if that freed me up in any aspect, but I just tried to kind of take what the course gave me,” he explained.
Where many players departed their closing greens as if they’d been put through a wringer, Spaun stayed very much within himself. When in trouble, he managed to extricate himself. When birdies presented, he closed the deal.
“It’s challenging in every sort of aspect or variable in golf. Off the tee, you’ve got to get it in the fairway, otherwise you’re pretty much chipping out or trying to hack something out, unless you get a lucky lie. It’s just tough, and then you’re obviously going to have to grind when you’re out of position, and I did that really well,” said Spaun.
For his part, Thriston Lawrence’s recent return to the DP World Tour would appear to have brought new life to his game.
One of those who’d earned PGA Tour cards off the Race to Dubai rankings last year, Thriston’s time stateside had proven difficult with 10 missed cuts in 12 appearances before a recent move back to play the Soudal Open (tied-fourth) reinvigorated him, even if that schedule change was unplanned as he had failed to get a visa in time to play in last week’s Canadian Open so added the tournaments back in Europe instead.
“South Africans have to apply 400 days in advance, I had to apply before I got my card. Bit odd, that, because I don’t like missing events when I get opportunities, but that’s the unfortunate thing of having a South African passport,” he explained. Clearly, the disruption didn’t linger as he produced a strong first round 67 to move into early contention.
Koepka, for his part, recounted how a stern talking-to from his coach Pete Cowen was partly responsible for a change of attitude.
“It was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It’s not the first time he’s done it. I don’t like having yes people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what’s going on, what they see. If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it, and he did a helluva job on it,” said Koepka of the talking-to earlier in the week from coach Cowen.
