DeChambeau looks to rebound in Rd. 2 at U.S. Open

OAKMONT, Pa. – A few demoralizing hacks out of the rough and an uncooperative putter defined the first round of Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open title defense Thursday at Oakmont.

The Crushers GC captain shot a 3-over 73 that left him disappointed but determined to make amends when he tees off Friday afternoon for the second round.

“This course can come up and get you really quick,” DeChambeau said. “Just got to be on your game. It got me, and I wasn’t fully on my game.

“Pretty disappointing how I played.”

His opening hole provided a foreshadow, as he found the fringe with his approach shot, then three-putted from 18 feet for bogey.

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It was the first of three three-putts, but that didn’t tell the whole story with his putter. He had seven birdie putts within 10-20 feet and made none of them. His two birdies each came from 6-1/2 feet on the fifth and seventh holes.

DeChambeau acknowledged that he had trouble with the speed of Oakmont’s lighting-quick greens.

“Just gotta get the putting a little bit more dialed in and I’ll be right there,” he said. “3 over could’ve easily been 2 under today.”

DeChambeau did make it one long putt from the fringe, but it came after a disasterous few minutes in the thick rough around the par-5 12th green.

After his second shot landed on the front of the green and ran all the way into the back rough, his chip shot from a 45-degree upslope lie “came out like a jumper. Shot up and right,” DeChambeau said.

That left him closer to the pin but with a buried lie, and it took him two more chips to travel 20 feet and reach the fringe. He was still 25 feet from the hole but managed to salvage a bogey by making the putt.

“Should’ve been a 7-iron to run it up there instead of trying to get too cute with it,” DeChambeau said of his first chip. “That’s the U.S. Open for you. Gotta be more dialed in than I was today.”

DeChambeau wasn’t the only player knocked sideways by Oakmont’s 5.25-inch high rough.

“The rough is incredibly penalizing,” he said. “Even for a guy like me, I can’t get out of it some of the time, depending on the lie. It was tough. A brutal test of golf but one I’m excited for tomorrow.”

While there’s no shame in a 73, DeChambeau knows his margin of error is now smaller. And his putter has to heat up.

“Tidy up a couple of things and get some momentum going my way and see where it goes,” he said.

RAHM’S RETURN TO U.S. OPEN: A year ago, Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm missed the U.S. Open at Pinehurst due to a foot infection. He spent most of that week in bed, watching the tournament and providing commentary to a lot of his friends, providing insights on the course and certain shots.

“My friends like it just because of that,” he said. “I just enjoy it because I’m a golf fan in general. If I’m not there, I can still enjoy it.”

Even so, he enjoyed Thursday’s first round even more, so he’s healthy and back inside the ropes. He enjoyed it even more after a 1-under 69 left him in a five-way tie for sixth.

“Just a really good round, really good golf in general,” Rahm said. “Everything felt good. The thing I would say made it really good was how well I did off the tee. I would say hit pretty much every tee shot in the fairway or on the first cut and far down there at that. So that certainly made the day a lot easier.”

He was also patient. Rahm’s first 11 holes consisted of 10 pars and a bogey. He then made his first birdie at the par-4 third, followed by an eagle at the par-5 fourth from 11 feet.

He suffered a late bogey but overall, he’s in good shape to make a run at his second U.S. Open title.

“I'm extremely happy,” he said. “I played some incredible golf to shoot 1-under, which we don't usually say, right? Not many things I could really say about today.”

TOP 10 FOR KOEPKA, RAHM: Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm are inside the top 10 after Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open, with Koepka tied for third after shooting a 2-under 68, and Rahm another stroke back with a 69.

It’s the fifth time that both players have ended the first round of a major inside a top 10. The previous four instances:

• 2019 Masters (Koepka T-1, Rahm T-6)
• 2019 Open (Koepka T-3, Rahm T-3)
• 2021 U.S. Open (Koepka T-5, Rahm T-5)
• 2023 Masters (Koepka T-1, Rahm T-1)

Since 2019, the only other pair of players to appear on as many major championship first-round leader boards together are Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele (also five times).

REED SHRUGS OFF HISTORY: Patrick Reed made history by recording the fourth albatross in U.S. Open history, holing his second shot with a 3-wood from 286 yards at the par-5 fourth.

But he gave all three of those shots back on his final hole with a triple-bogey 7 at the 18th. So, he wasn’t in much of a mood to talk about the historical implication of his albatross after signing for a 3-over 73.

“One hole doesn’t mean jack to be honest with you,” he said. “… It’s awesome. That's great. But I mean, it's kind of one of those things that after you finish with a triple, that's really the last thing you're really thinking about.”

SMITH OPENS WITH 75: Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith’s 5-over 75 included five bogeys, a couple of three-putts and some missed opportunities on Oakmont’s two par 5s.

“I didn’t think it was that bad,” Smith said afterwards. “I hit the driver good. Just bogeys on the two par 5s from the fairway. Even if I make two pars there, 3 over doesn’t sound that bad.”

The 75 is the second highest opening score in Smith’s U.S. Open career. But unlike his 79 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, Smith’s score Thursday still leaves him with a realistic chance to make the cut.

“A couple of three putts, bogeys on the par 5s – switch those round, we’re right in it,” he said. “Plenty of good stuff there. Just need to keep doing what we’re doing, although it seems like you want to bash your head in out there.”

If Smith does make the cut, he’ll be spending his first Father’s Day without his family, as two-month-old son Remy remains at home with Smith’s wife Shanel.

“He’s still a little bit too young to travel,” Smith said. “Hopefully next year they’ll be here.”

MICKELSON’S TOUGH STRETCH: Phil Mickelson was even par at the turn, including a bounce-back from a double bogey with consecutive birdies. But starting with hole No. 1 on his final nine, the HyFlyers GC captain suffered two bogeys and another double in a three-hole stretch to shoot a 4-over 74.

BALLESTER, BLAND SHOOT 76: Newly signed LIV Golf player Josele Ballester began his first U.S. Open with four consecutive bogeys but eventually steadied the ship, playing his final nine holes in even par en route to a 6-over 76. His round was highlighted by a birdie from 86 feet, 8 inches at the par-4 14th. Ballester, the 2024 U.S. Amateur champ, turned pro last week to join Sergio Garcia's Fireballs GC.

2024 U.S. Senior Open champion Richard Bland of Cleeks Golf Club also shot 76 in a round that included no birdies and six bogeys.