Finally, golf is the focus again in the U.S. Open. Michael Thorbjornsen opened the 122nd edition of the toughest test in golf with a tee shot just right of the first fairway at The Country Club.
BROOKLINE, Mass. on the U.S. Open ( ):
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7:05 p.m. Matt Fitzpatrick is through the first round of the U.S. Open with a score of 68 after a bogey on the 18th hole dropped him to 2 under par for the day. The 27-year-old Englishman won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club — the most recent of the 17 USGA championships held on the course. He was 3 under on the front nine on Thursday and then had an up-and-down back nine, with three bogeys and two birdies. Fitzpatrick sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th hole but then gave the stroke back on No. 18 when he hit his approach into a greenside bunker and two-putted for bogey. Dustin Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open champion who was in Fitzpatrick’s group, also finished at 2 under. That had them in a pack tied for seventh, two strokes behind leader Adam Hadwin as he finished his round.
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3:45 p.m. Welcome back to American golf, Phil Mickelson. The fans have been supportive to Mickelson at the U.S. Open. The golf course? Not so much. Mickelson missed the first green from the fairway and started his 31st U.S. Open with a bogey. It really got bad on the par-3 sixth hole when he four-putted from about 18 feet. Mickelson was 5-over par through six holes at the U.S. Open, the only major keeping him from career Grand Slam. It probably wasn’t the birthday present he had in mind. Mickelson turned 52 on Thursday. Mickelson is the chief leader of PGA Tour players taking Saudi riches to play in the LIV Golf series. He played last week for the first time in four months, and there appears to be plenty of rust still in his game.
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2:25 p.m. Joel Dahmen has made it a foursome atop the U.S. Open leaderboard among the early starters at The Country Club. Dahmen joins Rory McIlroy, David Lingmerth and Callum Tarren at 67. Conditions are about as gentle as can be expected. There was cloud cover in the morning that kept the greens protected from crisp and moderate wind. And to think Dahmen wasn’t sure he would be at Brookline. Ten days ago, he was looking at the forecast and debating whether he wanted to spend 36 holes in the rain during a Monday qualifier in Ohio. In the end, he decided to go. And there was rain late in the day. He made it with one shot to spare. Phil Mickelson leads the wave in the afternoon. Mickelson had a bogey from the fairway on the first hole and is 1 over through two holes.
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1:15 p.m. Rory McIlroy slammed his club twice in a bunker. Later, he chucked an iron across the fairway. Imagine what he might’ve done had he been playing bad. Despite his problems down the stretch, McIlroy finished his opening round at The Country Club on Thursday tied for the U.S. Open lead.
