Brooks Koepka, Matthew Wolff and Russell Henley were among the early leaders in the slow-moving first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
The trio all held 3-under par scores through 15 holes.
Koepka, a two-time U.S. Open champion, held the lead at 4 under after he had played 11 holes but bogeyed his next hole. Patrick Rodgers also reached 4 under before dropping a couple of strokes.
Once play began, there were all sorts of entertaining stretches among the first half of the field to tee off.
Wolff posted eight birdies on his first 14 holes, but he also had three bogeys and a double bogey. Still, it was notable because in the 2008 U.S. Open on the same course, no golfer turned in an entire round with that many birdies.
Phil Mickelson, who won last month’s PGA Championship, started on the back side and was 2 over through 13 holes.
Collin Morikawa, who won the last major held in California by capturing the 2020 PGA Championship, started on the back nine and didn’t have a birdie until No. 1, his 10th. Earlier, he had three bogeys and then an eagle 3 on the 18th. A double bogey on the fifth had him in trouble.
The start of the event was delayed 90 minutes because of morning fog, creating adjustments for tee times. There hadn’t been a fog delay in a U.S. Open since the 2004 first round at Shinnecock Hills.
The time period for daylight was more than halfway done and yet barely a dozen golfers had completed their rounds, leaving open the possibility that all entrants might not finish their first rounds by Thursday night.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who won last year at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York, was among the golfers with afternoon tee times.
If the schedule gets out of kilter, it could be even more of an endurance test than a normal U.S. Open.
“(You’ve) got to rest and get your body ready for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It’s a long grind,” DeChambeau said earlier in the week.
Spain’s Jon Rahm, who earlier this month led the Memorial through three rounds before he was forced to withdraw because of coronavirus protocols, also was listed for an afternoon tee time in his first event since that unfortunate development June 5.
This is the first U.S. Open at Torrey Pines since Tiger Woods won the 2008 championship. Woods remains out of action since an automobile accident in February.
–Field Level Media