Winged Foot has its wings clipped
All that hype over how tough the US Open can be at Winged Foot. All that history of so many scores over par.
Yesterday brought a surprise: All those red numbers.
Justin Thomas led the way with six birdies and only one bogey from a bad lie in the bunker, finishing with a 25-foot birdie putt that he barely touched for a five-under 65.
It was the lowest score in a US Open at Winged Foot in New York, which is hosting the Open for the sixth time since 1929. And it was worth only a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters, of Belgium, and Matthew Wolff, the 21-year-old Californian making his US Open debut.
Rory McIlroy, who has been struggling to get off to a decent start in the majors, opened with a 67 and tried to contain his disappointment it wasn’t lower.
McIlroy was among those two shots behind on scoreboard filled with red numbers, an unusual site for Winged Foot. In the previous five US Opens, a total of 17 players were under par after the first round. Yesterday, there were 21.
No-one believes it will stay that way. Still, this was the day to take advantage.
‘‘It’s helpful with three days left, but it’s not even remotely close to being over,’’ Thomas said of his best start in a US Open or any major.
Thomas went into the week saying it was a ‘‘different kind of fun’’ to grind over pars, to hit middle irons to difficult pins instead of the low scoring at so many other tournaments.
Patrick Reed and Will Zalatoris a made a hole-in-one on No 7, and Zalatoris somehow missed another ace on No 13. Spanish amateur Eduard Rousand holed out for eagle from the first fairway with his second shot in his US Open debut. Louis Oosthuizen holed out for eagle from the second fairway. Thomas played with Tiger Woods and PGA champion Collin Morikawa, who couldn’t get done fast enough.
Woods was in five bunkers through five holes and then appeared to steady himself with three straight birdies around the turn to get under par, but only briefly. He made three bogeys coming in, still had a chance to post a reasonable score and then let it get away. From short of the steep shelf fronting the 18th green, he flubbed a flop shot, pitched the next one eight feet beyond the pin and missed the putt to take double bogey for a 73.
‘‘I did not finish off the round like I needed to,’’ Woods said, an expression he uttered five more times out of the six questions he faced after his round. Morikawa shot 40 on the back nine for a 76.
‘‘There’s a couple of guys that went a little lower than maybe expected,’’ McIlroy said. ‘‘But it’s not as if the rest of the field are finding it that easy.’’
Phil Mickelson, returning to the scene of a double bogey on the 72nd hole that cost him the 2006 US Open, opened with two birdies and still struggled to break 80. Dustin Johnson, the No 1 player in the world, couldn’t make putts and shot 73.
■ New Zealand’s Danny Lee carded a solid first-round even-par 70 to be tied for 21st but fellow Kiwi Ryan Fox will struggle to make the cut after an opening round 74 left him tied for 92nd.