Key events
We have a winner of the imaginary US Open cap (see 22.35). Dave Bowers identified a young Alan Rickman. That’s the actor, not the Canadian golf instructor of the same name (thank you Google).
Movement at the top. JJ Spaun completes a second bogey in as many holes. He’s back to -2. Meanwhile, Thriston Lawrence leaves himself only 22 inches for birdie at the 1st. Lawrence rejoins Burns at -3 for the tournament and in a share of the lead. Spaun is now one behind.
Miles back in the scoring Shane Lowry picks his ball up without marking it and calls a penalty on himself with a resigned sigh/laugh. He’s +15 for the week, thinking of Royal Portrush.
Michael Meagher likes his theme emailing: “Update! Rory’s opening thirteen holes: 10 drives in the fairway/green: 9 pars and a birdie. Longest par putt 6ft 3in. 3 drives not in the fairway: 2 double bogeys & a bogey. I do think the 14th is going to mess with this though! Prediction: drive to the rough resulting in par.” Update to the update: McIlroy has found sand at the par-4 14th.
A little bit of pressure for JJ Spaun. He knocks a 25 foot birdie putt at the 15th fully 7 feet past and misses on the way back. That was sloppy. It must be very easy to become mentally tired with the relentlessly tough nature of Oakmont.
Talking of quizzes, I was at a pub quiz this week and was gifted an easy point in the ‘Guess the famous person when they were young’ round. Nice to see Rory with a smile on his face given today’s general sense of despondency. An imaginary prize (US Open cap) to anyone who knows bottom right.
Bogey for Thriston Lawrence at his 9th (18). He’s still in red but there are only four other men with him. JJ Spaun continues to impress and has found the green at 15.
-4 Spaun (14)
-3 Burns (F*)
-2 Detry (11*), Lawrence (9*)
-1 Hovland (F*)
Quiz question: What do JL Lewis, Jason Gore, Olin Browne, Ricky Barnes, Richard Bland, and Joel Dahmen have in common? Answer: They’ve all been halfway leaders in a 21st century US Open. It’s perhaps worth remembering that we’ve forgotten them as we near the 36 hole mark. Their ghosts might have spooked Thriston Lawrence because he’s in trouble at 18 (his 9th). He has 49 feet for par and to avoid a fourth bogey in five holes since he threatened to join the ranks of those unlikely championship pacesetters. “He was going so well,” says TV’s Wayen Riley. “Until I turned up.” The putt pulls up short and there’s meat on the bone.
Camera angles can be cruel. TV has just given the impression that Adam Scott has missed an absolute tiddler. It looked nasty but official scoring reveals it was actually 5’4” which is far from appalling, of course.
Seconds later: “Boy oh boy oh boy oh boy …” sighs Paul McGinley as Rory McIlroy hoicks (there’s no other word for it) his approach to the par-5 12th miles left of the target.
You might be wondering about the background of JJ Spaun, even if you do recall him finishing second to Rory McIlroy in the Players Championship in March. He won the 2022 Texas Open, one of his 10 top three finishes on the PGA Tour (three have been this year alone). This is only his ninth major championship start and his previous best was T23 in the 2022 Masters. He’s 34, married to Melody, and a Leo.
Michael Meagher emailed a plea: “Put it in the fairway Rory!” He added: “Rory’s opening nine holes: 7 drives in the fairway: 6 pars and a birdie. Longest par putt 6ft 3in. 2 drives not in the fairway: 2 double bogeys. See: it’s easy!” McIlroy is currently +8 for the week through 11 with the par-5 12th to come.
Thriston Lawrence has found the high grass. His eyes lit up at the 305-yard par-4 17th. He took aim at the green and has been caught in the fescue. Andrew Coltart, Paul McGinley and Nick Dougherty on TV all feared for him and … he’s popped it on the green. Funny old game.
If Thriston Lawrence likes thin air (see 21.31), what about clubhouse leader Sam Burns? The Lousiana man is a Bible Belt specialist. Nothing to do with the good book and everything to do with the states in the south-east of the USA. He’s got two PGA Tour wins in Texas, two in Florida, and one in Mississippi – and his Korn Ferry Tour win was in Georgia. He’s never won anywhere else. So if the air in Oakmont is not quite thin enough for Lawrence it might not be sufficiently sticky for Burns.
Hmm, a gnarly lie for Thriston Lawrence beside the par-3 16th green (his 7th). It comes out with no pace and pulls up short. He grimaces and then two-putts for bogey. Back on the 12th the new solo leader (again) JJ Spaun is on the par-5 green in three but has a long, long, long, long birdie putt. He knocks it close. Should be par. And finally Belgium’s Thomas Detry – he’s made birdie at 18 to get it to -2 for the week. A bust few moments at the top end.
Three and a half hours ago Russell Henley finished his round of 72 with three late birdies. He is +2 for the week and that had him T17th when he signed his card. Slowly, while nowhere near the course, he’s creeping higher up the leaderboard. He’s now T11th and there’s a good chance he’ll be top 10 by the end of the day!
Thanks Scott. I spent a little of my break investigating the altitude Oakmont Country Club sits at. Not the obvious US Open question, you might think. But it’s all about the pace-setting Thriston Lawrence. You see, he has four DP World Tour wins and look where they came (and at what elevation): 2021 Joburg Open – Johannesburg at 1,753m, 2022 European Masters – Crans at 1,495m, 2022 South African Open – Johannesburg at 1,753m, and the 2023 BMW International Open – Munich at 520m.
So … Google tells me that Oakmont Country Club is about 305m above sea level. Not quite sure that is sufficiently thin air for Thriston but time will tell!
Thriston Lawrence’s three-stroke lead has disappeared in short order. From the centre of 15, he only just finds the fringe of the green. The collar interferes with his putting stroke, and he clumps a dismal first putt nine feet past the hole. He can’t make the par saver coming back, and there goes that advantage over the chasing pack. Meanwhile birdie for Thomas Detry at 17 and he’s back to where he started the day. To repeat: there’s a good chance Sam Burns will be leading this tournament come the end of the day’s play.
-4: Spaun (11), Lawrence (6*)
-3: Burns (F)
-1: Hovland (F), B Griffin (10), Detry (8*), Stevens (6*)
E: Scott (11), S Kim (8)
… and with that, I’ll pass you into the loving arms of Matt Cooper, who will see you right as the witching hour approaches. See you tomorrow for Moving Day!
Sam Stevens sends his approach from 172 yards at 15 to four feet. It’s a magnificent shot by the 28-year-old from Wichita … but his putter can’t stand the strain. He pulls it and has to make do with par. He remains at -1. Still on the line. Meanwhile any wild dreams of Phil Mickelson completing his career slam at the grand old age of 55 (give or take a day) are pretty much gone. Back-to-back bogeys at 7 and 8, and he’s +5. Now to concentrate on making the cut.
Thriston Lawrence makes his first mis-step of the day. Three putts from 27 feet on the short par-four 14th, and his run of three birdies is halted by a careless bogey. And within seconds, a three-shot lead is reduced to one, because on 11, JJ Spaun nails a fairly straight 11-footer for a bounce-back birdie. It’s all happening, this way and that, and there’s still a fair chance of Sam Burns leading by the end of the day.
-5: Lawrence (5*)
-4: Spaun (11)
-3: Burns (F)
-1: Hovland (F), B Griffin (9), Stevens (5*)
E: Scott (10), S Kim (8), Detry (7*)
Bryson misses the birdie putt on 18. Bah. He shakes his head over the lost opportunity. He tidies up for his par and turns in 37. Meanwhile over on 10, Adam Scott steers in a big right-to-left curler for a birdie that brings the 2013 Masters champion back to level par. The genial 44-year-old Aussie really should have more than one major to his name – that collapse at Lytham in 2012 will always haunt him – but he’s putting himself in position to right that wrong.
Like all good showbiz stars, Bryson DeChambeau knows where the cameras are. He’s ankle-deep in thick rough down the right of 18, 147 yards out. He lashes as hard as he can through the filth, ending up spinning around and hopping on one leg during his follow-through. His ball nevertheless enters the front door of the green and rolls towards the flag, ending pin high, 12 feet to the right. Some players would struggle to advance that 50 yards. Bryson’s set up a birdie chance. He turns around, looks down the lens, throws open his arms and, with a smile beginning to play across his face, mouths in cheeky disbelief: “What was that?!?!” They say Bryson is polarising, but come on, everyone should love him. He’s great fun to have around.
Thriston Lawrence is on fire! A tee shot into the centre of the par-three 13th. He leaves himself a 20-foot left-to-right slider … and guides it in beautifully! That’s three birdies in a row, and he wanders off with barely a flicker of emotion. A little thumbs-up as he walks to the next tee, but no semblance of a smile. Having missed seven cuts in nine PGA Tour appearances this year, he’ll know full well not to get ahead of himself. But he’s three shots ahead of JJ Spaun, who three-putts 10 for his second bogey in four holes, and his third of the day. Thriston Lawrence, though! That unexpected near miss in the Open last year suddenly no longer looks a flash in the pan.
-6: Lawrence (4*)
-3: Burns (F), Spaun (10)
-1: Hovland (F), B Griffin (8), Stevens (5*)
E: S Kim (7), Detry (6*)
Bryson DeChambeau gives himself a little wriggle room. He puts an end to his run of three bogeys with birdie at 17, getting up and down from a bunker to move back to +5. Two clear of the cutline.
Thriston Lawrence has to wait an absolute age to play the par-five 12th. There are three groups ahead of his on the hole. Eventually the snarl-up clears, and it’s worth all the hanging around. A no-nonsense birdie, set up with two big hits down the middle of the track, and last year’s Open Championship nearly-man leads the US version! Meanwhile your Hole-By-Hole report hack is beginning to feel very guilty about acknowledging Ben Griffin’s form and chance of winning. He’s already dropped one stroke at 7 since being given the big talk; now he sheds another, punishment for missing the green at the par-three 8th. Apologies to Ben and all of his friends, family and fans.
-5: Lawrence (3*)
-4: Spaun (9)
-3: Burns (F)
-1: Hovland (F), B Griffin (8), Detry (5*), Stevens (4*)
+1: Perez (F), Scott (8), S Kim (6), L Griffin (5*)
Bryson DeChambeau’s dreams of consecutive US Opens is beginning to enter Pipe territory. Bogeys at 14, 15 and now 16, and the reigning champ is now +6. The projected cut remains +7, so he’s got one shot to play with. But he’ll not fancy missing the cut on his defence. Work to do.
Age can’t wither Phil the Thrill’s spirit. He very nearly drains a 30-foot birdie putt across 5. Just a par, but the old boy’s not turning this in yet. He remains at +3. Meanwhile Sam Stevens chips in from the back of 12. The 28-year-old from Wichita, who shot 71 yesterday, has already birdied 10 this afternoon, and so joins the select group in red. Can you hear him through the whine?
-4: Spaun (9), Lawrence (2*)
-3: Burns (F)
-2: B Griffin (7)
-1: Hovland (F), Detry (5*), Stevens (3*)
… so having given Ben Griffin the big one, he short-sides himself in a bunker at 7 and drops his first stroke of the day. He’s back to -2. And here’s how quickly the picture can change, because over on 14, Thomas Detry, who had started sluggishly if erratically – double bogey, birdie, bogey – holes out from 140 yards! One big bounce on the green, one small one, a click into the flagstick, down and in! It’s his first-ever US Open eagle, and he joins the small group in red figures for the championship. Sixty seconds ago, four shots separated Griffin and Detry; now it’s just the one!
-4: Spaun (8), Lawrence (2*)
-3: Burns (F)
-2: B Griffin (7)
-1: Hovland (F), Detry (5*)
JJ Spaun doesn’t find the green with his tee shot at 8. And he doesn’t get too close with his chip. But he rolls in the 10-footer that remains for par with a staunch calmness. That’s a brilliant putt in more ways than one, because it avoids back-to-back bogeys and maintains his share of the lead at -4.
Phil Mickelson has famously finished runner-up in his national championship on six painful occasions. And so the US Open remains the one big gap on his CV. He turns 55 on Monday, so you’d assume his chance to fill it has long gone. Especially as he’s never been the most accurate with the big stick anyway, and you can’t get away with driving like a wild-eyed loon at Oakmont. However, look-see here! Having shot 74 yesterday, he starts his round today with three pars … then wedges his approach into the par-five 4th from 104 yards to kick-in distance. The birdie takes him to +3 and … he couldn’t, could he? No. Nope. No. Realistically, no. But he could, too! Just imagine. If he somehow did it, every roof in the Oakmont area would blow sky high, even if they were made of solid Pittsburgh steel. Hey, dreaming is free. We’re allowed.
Ben Griffin sends his tee shot at 6 to 15 feet and clatters the putt into the centre of the cup. The birdie takes the 29-year-old from Chapel Hill, North Carolina into a tie for second at -3. Griffin had no record to speak of either on the PGA Tour or in the majors until three months ago, when he won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Andrew Novak. He’s since won his first solo Tour title, the Charles Schwab Challenge, and finished tied for eighth at last month’s PGA Championship. Additionally he was runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the Memorial a fortnight ago. There are few players in better form … just in time for major season!
-4: Spaun (7), Lawrence (2*)
-3: Burns (F), B Griffin (6)
-1: Hovland (F)
JJ Spaun leaves his third into 7 well short of the flag. He nearly drains the 30-footer that remains, but it’s a bogey that always looked on the cards when his tee shot found the second cut. Meanwhile a second bogey of the day for Kim Si-woo, this time at 4, and he drops to level par. Just five players under par now. Given three of those have a combined 41 holes to play between them, and the course is getting ever firmer, there’s a fair chance there will just be two by the end of the day.
-4: Spaun (7), Lawrence (2*)
-3: Burns (F)
-2: B Griffin (5)
-1: Hovland (F)
E: Kim (4), Detry (2*), Stevens (2*)
+1: Perez (F), Scott (6), Schauffele (5*), MacIntyre (4*), Harman (3), L Griffin (2*)
A backward step for Bryson DeChambeau at the short par-four 14th. He gets a bit too cheeky with his wedge in from 70 yards, taking on a pin tucked behind a bunker and watching in horror as his ball lands one yard shy, disappearing into the lush rough draped across the bunker’s shoulder. He can’t get up and down and that’s his second bogey of the day, following the one he made at 10. They neatly sandwich that birdie at 12, but he’s in arrears for his day’s work so far. He’s +4.
Thriston Lawrence curls in a 25-foot right-to-left swinger on 11. He moves to -4 and could soon be tied for the lead, because JJ Spaun is in a spot of trouble at 7, having found the thick stuff from the tee and been forced to chip out sideways. Meanwhile up on 12, Robert MacIntyre chips in from the back of the green to repair half of this afternoon’s damage. He’s back to +1 and his unfazed expression speaks of a man ready for the challenge. There’s a famous Scottish football manager who had a name for that.
Rory McIlroy can’t get particularly close with his splash out of the bunker at 4. He does well enough to scramble his par, but that’s a disappointment on a hole that has so far given up the joint-highest number of birdies this week (63, just like the 17th). He remains at +8, one outside the projected cut-line.
Another birdie for the leader! JJ Spaun gets his reward for a lovely tee shot at the par-three 6th, a gentle draw to six feet. In goes the putt, and the Players runner-up now has a cushion at the top. Just the five players under par now.
-5: Spaun (6)
-3: Burns (F), Lawrence (1*)
-2: B Griffin (4)
-1: Hovland (F), S Kim (3)
E: Schauffele (4*), Detry (2*), Stevens (2*)
We might as well gorge on Rory McIlroy action while we still can. Because the way he’s going, he’ll not be around Oakmont too much longer. From the centre of the 4th fairway, he pulls his second into a greenside bunker on the left. He could do with a decent lie, because he’s short-sided, the pin’s tucked up in that corner of the green and there’s very little room to play with. He’s just fortunate that the ball didn’t snag in the thick rough, dropping into the trap instead. Then he’d be in real bother. Time for a bit of Rory magic. He needs some of it.
It’s not been the best start for Robert MacIntyre. Scotland’s best hope of ending the old country’s 26-year major-championship drought – Paul Lawrie their last winner at the 1999 Open – bogeys 10 and 11 to slip back to +2.
… but the 2011 champ can’t get up and down from the back of 3. Rory McIlroy, the latest member of the career-slam club, has opened 6-4-6. He’s +8 overall now, and with much work to do if he’s to hang around for the weekend. Oakmont Country Club, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, everyone!
Bryson DeChambeau is on the apron in front of the par-five 12th green. He could chip, but elects to putt instead. He’s 123 feet away, and the putt has 30 or 40 feet of left-to-right break. He judges it almost to perfection, the ball swinging around on a glorious arc to three-and-a-half feet. What judgement, because these greens are getting harder and faster by the minute. That’s one of the putts of the week. He tidies up for a brilliant birdie. The defending champ is back to +3.
It could be a long day for Rory McIlroy. A double-bogey at 1. A birdie chance passed up at 2. Now he drives into a fairway bunker at 3, then smacks his second into its face, and in gouging out from the rough he’s left himself in, sends his third scampering hysterically through the green and into more cabbage at the back. Bogey will be a good result here now. He’s currently trending towards the weekend off.
Having just dropped his first stroke of the day, JJ Spaun responds by reclaiming the shot – and with it sole ownership of the lead – at the par-five 4th. Meanwhile a birdie-birdie start for Xander Schauffele at 10 and 11; birdie for Ben Griffin at 2; but an awful double-bogey start for Thomas Detry, who zig-zags his way down 10 and drops to +1 quicksmart. Throw in birdie for Adam Scott at 1, and bogey for Kim Si-woo at 2, and it’s time for a wee update.
-4: Spaun (4)
-3: Burns (F), Lawrence
-2: B Griffin (3)
-1: Hovland (F), Scott (3), S Kim (2)
E: Schauffele (2*)
Rory McIlroy has the chance to repair some of that opening-hole double-bogey damage. But his birdie putt from the fringe at 2 is always swinging off to the right. He leaves himself a tricky five-footer coming back, but makes it to at least stem the bleeding. He’s +6.
We’ve already had one hole-in-one today, courtesy of Victor Perez at 13. That was only the second US Open ace in Oakmont history – Scott Simpson made the first on 16 back in 1983 – but in true London-buses fashion, we wait all that time and another nearly comes along in short order. Justin Hicks fires an iron straight at the very same flag. It’s rolling in, surely, but turns to the left at the very last moment. So close to a little bit of history. Hicks doesn’t have much else to shout about this week, having shot 84 yesterday and already made a bogey and double today. But that’s a birdie, a nearly moment, and he’s +16.
Thanks Matt. Now then, Justin Rose. He’s currently right on the projected cut line of +7. He’s opened with a par, but he’s in all sorts of bother on 2, having flayed his tee shot into the trees down the right. Forced to take a drop, he then smacks his third off the trunk of another tree, going for a gap that clearly wasn’t big enough for him. The ball comically rolls back down a cart path, with punters jumping out of the way of it. It eventually comes to rest under the tyre of a mobility scooter that couldn’t shift into gear in time. A slow-motion, slapstick version of this …
… and so he’s eventually wedging through a larger gap into the green. But he’s nowhere near the pin. Two putts later, and that’s a double-bogey fiasco. Rose has come second in two of the last three majors; he’ll not be getting anywhere near that this time. In fact he’ll now do very well to make the weekend. He’s +9.
Time for me to hand back to Scott. What’s to come for the afternoon starters? The suspicion is that the greens will get faster and scoring get a little tough.
-3: Burns (F*), Spaun (3), Lawrence
-2: B Griffin (2), S Kim (1)
-1: Hovland (F*), Scott (2), Detry
The leader JJ Spaun drops his first shot of the week. He found the green at 1 in regulation, two-putted for par. He missed the green at 2, got up-and-down for par. At 3 he missed the green and couldn’t save par. A few nerves? He slips back to sit alongside Burns on -3.
A tricky start for Bryson DeChambeau (bogey at 10) but he looks set to bounce back. He’s got 8 feet for birdie at 11.
Rory McIlroy opens with a double bogey-6 after hacking out his chip and two-putting. “He’s waited all morning,” laments Laura Davies. “And then that …” Oh well, it’s Royal Portrush in a month … (Prove me wrong, Rory!)
Rory McIlroy’s opening hole is turning nasty. After his drive found sand, his second blow found thick rough. He shoveled the ball forward knowing that the land would sweep it to the green. But it never stops. It was like trying to stop a ball on a downhill stretch of motorway. He’ll be chipping for par from yet more lush rough.
Jon Rahm didn’t pull any punches after his 75 saying: “Honestly, I’m too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective. Very frustrated. Very few rounds of golf I’ve played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn’t sniff the hole, so it’s frustrating. I didn’t make a putt, that was the main difference. I didn’t play bad.”
A 75 for Jordan Spieth today. A disappointment after his opening 70. He’s an honest fellow, though. “If I look back at all my history, the idea of winning the US Open would be the most difficult task for me and I somehow snuck it out on a course that’s not a normal US Open golf course.” He was talking of Chambers Bay in 2015 and his record since then backs up his thoughts – he’s yet to add another top 10.
“One the tee, Rory McIlroy.” In an ideal world, he’d find the 1st fairway and ride the wave from his starting point of +4. Roryland (as a new biography terms it) is not currently ideal, however. He’s playing the tougher front nine first and he’s found sand with his opening drive.
