Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele break records in opening round of US Open, Rory McIlroy well placed at LA Country Club
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Updated 16/06/2023 at 07:36 GMT
The exclusive Los Angeles Country Club finally threw open its doors to the US Open, and it was a first look for many professionals at the venue. There were fears it would be a typical tough US Open test, but on the first day records were broken with Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele going low in California. It was a welcome return to form for Fowler.
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Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele wowed the fans in the opening round of the US Open with record-breaking 18 holes at Los Angeles Country Club.
USGA officials’ unwritten target for their tournament is for the winning score to be as close to par as they can engineer it, and they will have their work cut out to toughen conditions after many of the early starters on Thursday found Los Angeles Country Club to their liking.
Fowler thrived, as he made 10 birdies in a round of 62 - a record for a US Open and the joint lowest in major championship history.
It has been a long road back for Fowler, who slipped as low as 185 in the world midway through last year.
He began working again with coach Butch Harmon at the start of 2023, and the signs have been positive in recent months.
With his swing steeper and more secure once again, Fowler looked in total control of his ball flight.
Combined with a confident putting stroke - he revealed before the tournament began that he had taken a couple of inches off the length of his putter - it propelled Fowler to the clubhouse lead at eight-under par.
When he did get out of position, such as on the eighth, he was fortunate with his lie and somehow made birdie from the barranca - which set a record for birdies (10) at a US Open.
Schauffele matched Fowler’s round of 62, and his was flawless with eight birdies and 10 pars.
First Round Leaderboard
- T1. Rickie Fowler - eight-under
- T1. Xander Schauffele - eight-under
- T3. Wyndham Clark - six-under
- T3. Dustin Johnson - six-under
- T5. Brian Harman - five-under
- T5. Rory McIlroy - five-under
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sits menacingly at three-under par, but it could have been better as the putter let him down on the final hole as he missed a tiddler.
Jon Rahm struggled off the tee, but was able to keep himself in contention with a round of 69 - the same score as Viktor Hovland.
The later starters were unable to get to Fowler and Schauffele, as conditions got a little tougher - albeit nowhere near the standard formula for a US Open.
Rory McIlroy was one of the later starters and he played himself into contention with a round of 65.
The Northern Irishman drove the ball superbly, hitting 10 of 13 fairways and launching the ball prodigious distances - including a tee shot of 382 yards on the first.
He got to six-under at one stage, with his only blemish coming on the 18th when his approach found trouble at the side of the green and an embarrassing air shot resulted in a bogey.
Brooks Koepka was in the same group as McIlroy, but the US PGA champion was not at his best and had to settle for a 71 - the same score as defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
Dustin Johnson would have been utterly unfazed by the PGA Tour getting into bed with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund - and by extension LIv Golf - and he demonstrated that by cruising round in 64 blows to sit two off the lead.
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