First on the tee: Jordan Niebrugge handles an extra butterfly or two flitting around in his stomach and manages a 1-over-par 73.
Niebrugge finishes strong
“I managed some emotions early on and I played solid all day.”
JORDAN NIEBRUGGE ON HIS FIRST U.S. OPEN ROUND AT ERIN HILLS
TOWN OF ERIN There may have been an extra butterfly or two flitting around in Jordan Niebrugge’s stomach Thursday morning.
The 23-year-old professional from Mequon has played in a lot of big golf tournaments, but this was special. He was about to hit the opening tee shot in the 117th U.S. Open – the first-ever U.S. Open in Wisconsin.
“It’s a pretty tough tee shot, too, to start with,” Niebrugge said of drive on the par-5 first hole. “It would have been a little better teeing off on 10 — you’ve got probably an 80-yard fairway there.
“Yeah, I managed some emotions early on and I played solid all day.”
Niebrugge started his day with a par and had two birdies and three bogeys en route to a 1-overpar 73. After back-toback bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16, he finished with a birdie on the par-5 18th.
“It was a good finish,” he said. “I think it was a really smart play, hitting 3-wood off the tee and keeping it short of that (fairway) bunker, because I knew I could get up there (near the green) with another 3-wood.
“I put it in a good spot and had a solid up-anddown. It definitely gives me some confidence. I just need to hit a few more iron shots a little closer. Other than that I played pretty solid.”
Niebrugge had a nice gallery following him, even though he teed off at 6:45 a.m. He played in an all-Oklahoma State threesome with Talor Gooch and Kevin Dougherty.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “We had a lot of guys following us today. We had a bunch of OSU family and a lot of family and friends from around here. All three of us played solid and we had a lot of fun getting together again and playing out there.
“You’re obviously going to be nervous in any event, especially one of this magnitude. But playing in front of a home crowd encouraging you every step of the way is pretty cool.”
Niebrugge said he wasn’t surprised by some low scores in the morning wave, including a 7-under 65 by Rickie Fowler, which tied the U.S. Open record for best firstround score in relation to par. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf shot 63s at par-70 Baltusrol in 1980.
“The greens are pretty soft and receptive,” he said. “The greens are rolling so pure, so I can see a lot of guys getting on a roll with their putter and making some putts. If you’re keeping it in the fairway, you can attack a lot of these holes.”
Niebrugge won a qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Erin Hills in 2013 and then won the national title a few weeks later. He also finished second in the Erin Hills Intercollegiate as a senior at OSU.
“It’s a lot warmer right now than when I played it back then, but we’re playing a couple (tee) boxes back,” he said. “It’s a long golf course. It’s tough, but it’s fair. You’ve got to keep it in the fairway. You can attack some of the holes out there. I felt comfortable all day.”