Reed takes lead as real US Open gets started
MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Every shot required full attention. Every hole was a test. Every par was valued.
Patrick Reed embraced every aspect of it Friday when the U.S. Open lived up to its reputation as the toughest test in golf, and so did Winged Foot.
“I love the grind,” Reed said, barely unable to contain a grin.
From the bunker, he twice saved par. From ankle-deep rough behind the green to back pins, he walked off with two more pars. Throw in five birdies to offset the inevitable mistakes, and Reed had an even-par 70 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the weekend in a U.S. Open that feels as though it’s just getting started.
“It’s almost like they set it up to ease our way into it, and then showed us what it’s supposed to really be like,” Reed said.
He was at 4-under 136, and only five other players remained in red numbers. Bryson DeChambeau powered and putted his way to a 68, the lowest score on a day Winged Foot played to an average score of 75.25, and was at 3 under.
After an opening round in which 21 players broke par, Winged Foot allowed only three players under par. Nine others shot even. Everyone else was hanging on for dear life.
This was the Winged Foot everyone has heard about. This is the U.S. Open everyone expected.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Harris English each had a 70 and were at 2-under 138.
They were joined by Justin Thomas, who opened with a 65 — the lowest ever at Winged Foot for a
U.S. Open — and lost all those shots to par after 10 holes. Thomas then delivered a 5wood from 228 yards into the wind on the par-3 third hole and made a slick, 15-foot, double-breaking birdie putt to steady himself. He scratched out a 73 and is right in it.
Jason Kokrak (71) was the only other player under par at 1-under 139.
“This isn’t exactly a place where you go out and try to shoot 6 or 7 under to catch up,” Thomas said. “I’m not going to worry about what everyone else is doing because you could shoot 80 just as easily as you could shoot 68. I just need to stay focused, and most importantly, go home and get some rest. Because I’m pretty tired.”
There’s still 36 holes to go, and no indication that Winged Foot is going to get any easier.
“The rough is still really thick. I don’t think they’re planning on cutting it,” Matthew Wolff said after salvaging a 74 that left him four shots behind. “The greens are only going to get firmer, and the scores are only going to get higher.”
Tiger Woods is among those who won’t be around to experience it. He had a pair of double bogeys at the end of the back nine, and two birdies over his last three holes gave him a 77. He missed the cut by four shots, the eighth time in his last 15 majors he won’t be around for the weekend.
“It feels like the way the golf course is changing, is turning, that anybody who makes the cut has the opportunity to win this championship,” Woods said. “I didn’t get myself that opportunity.”