Oakmont, PA.-Riding a warm start by a chip-in Birdi on its early hole, JJ Spon set an early speed at the US Open with 4-under-park 66 at the Omont Country Club on Thursday.
Spon in-in round on involved nine and bird no. For 4-under 31 on 10, 12, 16 and 17, for the first nine holes of a championship for the US Open Omont Record. He kept stable with all the pars on the front nine.
It marked only the eighth bogie-free round in Omont in the US Open History and tied Andrew Landry in 2016 for the lowest US Open First Round score here.
Until 7:15 pm, ET, Spon held a thin lead on South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence (67), with Brooks Kopka with 2 in 2 in 2 years.
Los Angeles indigenous recalled green in Par-4 10th hole, but fully prepared his chip from 5 inches of Omont. He went to a tap-in on par-5 number 12, 5-footed on par-3 number 16 and number 17 a par-4 on 11 1/2-2-Foot.
“It sets such a tone of how the day was about to go. You are not really expecting to chip it,” Spon said. “You are just trying to distance yourself for equal. It was really good to predict lies, hit the shot how you want, and it comes out in a way, and it is just feeding towards the hole and it goes inside.
“It was 7:10 in the morning or whatever was a good awakened call.”
The 34 -year -old Spown, has never ended within the top 20 of a major. He has a title at PGA Tour (Valero Texas Open, 2022) and lost a playoff for Rory McClayo at the Players Championships in March.
Koipka had one eagle and two bogies through 16 holes before making only two birdies a day in Nose 17 and 18. The two -time US Open Champion was tied at 68 with South Korean Sungje Im and C Wu Kim. John Rahm of Spain, Ben Griffin and Belgium’s Thomas Detre 1-under-under 69 were part of a tie.
I was the only player to take the lead from Spanish, but it all ran up to a hole. After making three holes on the back nine, the IM rolled in the back-to-back beadies in the NOS. 2 for the lump sum lead under 1 and 2.
But he found Omont’s famous “Church Puz” bunker away from the third T, which was the first of many misconceptions in the way of bogies.
Meanwhile, mcilroy, birded nos. For the initial part of the lead on Thursday before the separation on 11 and 12. After pile up four bogies, they needed two attempts to get out of the rough on the long para -3 eighth and made a double bogie. He shot 41 on his second nine N route at 4-over 74.
Northern Ireland Masters champions RBC were using an old model of a tellermade driver after struggling with a new model at Canadian Open. Mcilroy ruled a driver during the PGA Championships as non-influential, which was due to the original switch.
World No. 1 Scotty Sheffler did not perform much better in the afternoon wave, cards to six bogies during the 3 overs of 73.
Other notable names to shoot on the across included Victor Hoveland (71) of Norway, Xander Schaffele (72), Japan’s Hideki Matsuayama (74), Patrick Cantley (76) and Irishman Shane Lori (79).
Defending champion Bryson Decombo opened with 3-over 73. In a course where more than 5 par parked the victorious score in 2007, DechaMbeau was asked if 3 overs may be at the top of the leaderboard later this week.
“If it doesn’t rain on Saturday, there is probably a good chance,” said Decombo. “But I’m shooting under the equilibrium and giving myself a better chance at the end of this week.
“It was difficult. It was a cruel test of golf. But one I am excited for tomorrow. If I just streamlute some things and get some speed, we are going on our way, we will see where it goes.”
-Adam Zillonka, Field Level Media
