Koepka lurking behind Spaun after Round 1 at Oakmont 1z1h2o
J.J. Spaun's brilliant 4-under 66 held up over the course of the day, but Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm gave the U.S. Open leaderboard some major pop in the afternoon of the opening round at Oakmont Country Club. 52g3k
Spaun was the only player to go bogey-free over the treacherous layout en route to his lowest round ever in a major championship. While he has flashed in other events - notably a playoff loss to Rory McIlroy at the Players Championship earlier this season - he has just one career top-25 finish at majors.
The opposite is true for Koepka and Rahm, as the duo sport a combined seven major wins between them. Both shone bright in the afternoon, each pouring in an eagle to get their rounds firing. Koepka's birdie-birdie finish placed him just two behind Spaun and one back of Thriston Lawrence in second, but Rahm sits in a group tied for sixth at 1-under.
| Place | Player | Round 1 score | Total to par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.J. Spaun | 66 | -4 |
| 2 | Thriston Lawrence | 67 | -3 |
| T-3 | Brooks Koepka | 68 | -2 |
| T-3 | Sungjae Im | 68 | -2 |
| T-3 | Si Woo Kim | 68 | -2 |
| T-6 | Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | 69 | -1 |
| T-6 | Jon Rahm | 69 | -1 |
| T-6 | Ben Griffin | 69 | -1 |
| T-6 | Thomas Detry | 69 | -1 |
| T-6 | James Nicholas | 69 | -1 |
| T-11 | Bud Cauley | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Jordan Spieth | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Collin Morikawa | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Robert MacIntyre | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Russell Henley | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Cameron Young | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Adam Scott | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Denny McCarthy | 70 | E |
| T-11 | Ryan McCormick | 70 | E |
Koepka's return to the first page of a major leaderboard is a welcome sight after he missed the cut in both the Masters and PGA Championship this season. He credited a scolding from coach Pete Cowan as a big reason behind his turnaround.
"Pete got into me again on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well," Koepka said, according to ASAP Sports. "Yeah, Pete, I'll keep that between us. I wasn't happy with it, but 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. He's not afraid to."
While Koepka and Rahm were among the notable players in contention, the three biggest stars in the sport struggled to start the tournament.
Scottie Scheffler once again looked human during a U.S. Open, with the challenging layout in the season's third major getting to the World No. 1. His 3-over 73 was his first opening round over par since last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau struck the ball well enough to be near the top of the leaderboard, gaining a whopping 4.07 strokes off the tee and approach combined. However, he struggled mightily on the greens, ranking outside the top 125 in putting and not making one putt over 7 feet all day. If he can sort out his flatstick overnight, he could make a big run in Friday's second round.
"For whatever reason, just couldn't get the speed of the greens dialed in," DeChambeau itted. "I was in the collar a couple times, just three-putted on those holes, and three three-putts and doing whatever happened on 12, then No. 9, three-putting there, too. I mean, it could have been a couple-under round pretty easily."
It was a tale of two nines for McIlroy, who looked like the Masters champion for the first few hours Thursday but closed resembling someone who finished 149th in Canada last weekend. He turned in 2-under after a bogey-free opening nine but made four bogeys and a double on his final stretch to finish with a 4-over 74.
He once again declined to speak to the media after the round, the fifth straight time he's done that in a major after doing so following all four days of the PGA Championship.