Top golfers are off to rough start at US Open
SOUTHHAMPTON, N.Y. — Carnage didn’t run into traffic problems Thursday en route to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and the 118th U.S. Open.
While bumper-to-bumper congestion on nearby thoroughfares irritated all within their vehicles, Shinnecock’s sunlit green boulevards caused plenty of irritation in the first round of the national championship.
Winds whipping off the Long Island Sound were stubborn and forceful from the first tee time to the last and turned the historic track into a test of survival instead of an assault on par. The expected winds, which reached 20 mph with gusts of 25 mph, prompted the U.S. Golf Association to alter the setup and pin locations before the round to try and limit the damage.
It’s hard to imagine how things could have been worse.
Tiger Woods started his round with a triple bogey and four-putted the 13th. Jordan Spieth made triple on his second hole and added five bogeys and a double bogey. Rory McIlroy had a trio of double bogeys for the first time in major.
With many elevated greens featuring dangerous shaved-down runoffs at the mercy of the airstreams, tall, thick fescue rimming the holes and slick putting surfaces, the par-70, 7,448-yard course played to an average of 76.2.
Only four in the field of 156 were under par.
The mayhem was no more amplified than by the morning marquee group of Spieth, McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, winners of 12 majors among them.
Thirty minutes into his round, Spieth was 4-over after missing a three-footer for par on his first hole — the 10th — and making triple on the 11th when his bunker shot went over the green and his subsequent chip came back to his feet.
Meanwhile, McIlroy made two bogeys and two double bogeys in his first five holes and Mickelson bogeyed four of his six holes.
By the time the three reached the scoring trailer, Mickelson was the low man in the group with a 77 despite missing just one fairway in regulation. Spieth shot 78, his highest score in a major, while McIlroy shot 80.
Others in misery included Bryson DeChambeau with a 76, Bubba Watson with a 77, Jon Rahm with a 78 and Jason Day with a 79.
Scott Gregory, the 2016 British Amateur champion, shot 92, which ties the highest score in this tournament since 1990.
Somehow, Scott Piercy shot 69 a day after wondering what was wrong with his game after an abbreviated practice round. “I walked off the golf course after four holes because I was so frustrated with my preparation,” said Piercy, who added he lost five golf balls in four holes. “I didn’t really expect this this morning. Just kind of regrouped last night, tried to go back to a couple things that have worked throughout the year. I was able to kind of piece it together again.”
Russell Henley also shot 69 despite a last-hole bogey.
Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter joined Piercy and Henley at 1-under 69 for a share of the lead.