The thick tough and trademark purple flags have been there, however in lots of respects Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club felt distinctly in contrast to a US Open.
Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele each shot eight-under par rounds of 62 at the quirky and diverse venue, with Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson additionally going low at 5 and six-under respectively.
Scottie Scheffler is lurking with intent after a three-under 67, and seemed extra comfortable on the greens after his placing issues at Memorial the place his ball-striking was imperious. If the World No 1 can match up the two aspects of his sport, he may nonetheless be the participant to beat this weekend.
McIlroy’s lengthy sport seemed in good order on Thursday, solely undone by an air-shot from the tough on the 18th which price him a closing bogey. Much has been manufactured from McIlroy’s relative struggles of late, particularly along with his wedges, however he went into Sunday at his final two tournaments with an opportunity to win. Without a serious since the 2014 US PGA Championship, McIlroy’s sport is clearly not too distant.
Co-leader Schauffele expects the USGA to react to the low scoring.
“It’s not really what you expect playing a US Open, but monkey see, monkey do,” Olympic champion Schauffele mentioned.
“I was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front of me. [But] it’s just Thursday. It’s literally just the first day of a tournament. It’s a good start. You just wait until this place firms up. It’s going to be nasty.”
Schauffele has a stack of prime 5 finishes at majors on his CV however is but to breakthrough with a victory, and this match in his native California at all times seemed a presentable alternative. Schauffele and Fowler’s rounds have been the lowest-ever rating at a US Open, with Tommy Fleetwood making the most up-to-date of the six earlier 63s in the remaining round in 2018.
