TWO UNLIKELY LEADERS
Henley and Oosthuizen haven’t won majors, but big names lurk
Russell Henley played in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in 2014, in his third year as a pro after a decorated college career at Georgia. Made a 40-foot birdie putt on 18 just to break 80 on the South Course. Missed the cut by six strokes.
“I don’t really remember (much) besides just leaving the course feeling like I just got beat up,” Henley said. “I played in that one time and really struggled, and it was like, well, I’ll just not play it from now on.”
So he didn’t.
He returned to Torrey Pines this week after sneaking into the
U.S. Open, ranking 59th in late May when the top 60 received exemptions (before slipping to his current 63rd). A little bit different experience this time.
Henley shot a 4-under 67 to take the first-round lead after a morning fog delay that lasted 90 minutes, and that included a bogey on his opening hole that brought flashbacks to 2014. The only similarity with his other trip around Torrey South was a birdie on 18, although this one required a putt 34 feet shorter.
Also at 4 under was South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who didn’t tee off until after 3 p.m. and had two holes left when play was suspended just before 8. Players were allowed to finish their current hole (and Rory McIlroy’s group quickly hit their tee shots on 18 even though Sergio Garcia, in the group ahead, was still in the fairway).
Oosthuizen and Henley were unexpected figures atop the leaderboard. Oosthuizen, because he has never led a major after the first round in his previous 49 starts. Henley, because he has no top 10s and eight missed cuts in 26 career appearances in ma
jors.
Henley tied for low amateur at the 2010 U.S. Open but never finished higher than 25th in 2018. He didn’t qualify in 2019 and 2020.
“I don’t feel like it’s a huge surprise just because I do feel like I’ve played some good golf in some bigger events in the last year,” said Henley, 32, who last won on the PGA Tour in 2017. “But in terms of putting four rounds together at a U.S. Open, I’ve struggled with that. So I’m just going to keep trying.
“I’m just trying to hang in there.”
A pair of European veterans, Italy’s Francesco Molinari and Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello, were at 3 under. Lurking at 2 under are local favorite Xander Schauffele, two-time U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka, reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and pre-tournament favorite Jon Rahm. McIlroy, running from fairway to green in the fading light, birdied 18 to reach 1 under and avoid an early alarm clock.
Rahm also raced to finish and also birdied his final hole.
“Even 20 minutes difference on sleep (helps),” said Rahm, whose group had late tee times Thursday and early Friday. “It is less than a 12hour turn around and you got
to include the warm-up, the cool downs. Sometimes you wish you had a couple extra minutes, and by finishing today we get that. So it’s a big difference.”
Less concerned about sleep despite a 7:29 a.m. tee time today was defending champion Bryson DeChambeau. He needed a late birdie to get to a 2-over 73, then went immediately to the range to hit balls in the dark.
The 36 players who didn’t finish, some with as many as six holes left, will resume beginning at 6:50 a.m. today.
Those who did finish are scheduled to start the second round at 6:45.
The fog delay was a nuisance for spectators, particularly those who sleep in their cars to get coveted “Dawn Patrol” tee times at Torrey Pines and play regardless of June Gloom visibility. It was less so for players, who welcomed the receptive greens from the morning moisture and took advantage to post red numbers.
The marine layer retreated by mid-morning to create clear, calm conditions. It
wasn’t until the first groups made the turn that the wind freshened and made club selection more perilous. Koepka and Patrick Rodgers both got to 4 under before dropping strokes as Torrey bared its teeth.
The weather changed yet again as evening approached, with the wind dying down but temperatures cooling.
“I thought the course was set up well,” Canadian Adam Hadwin said after a 1-under 70. “You played well, you could give yourself some opportunities
to make some putts. … I don’t think the rough is maybe as penal as you’ve seen at other U.S. Opens. I think it’s just a little dry. It’s been dried out, so it’s a little bit easier to get through.”
There were 19 scores under par and four more still on the course when darkness fell. In the 2008 U.S. Open here, there were 11 total in the first round.
The good news for Henley and Oosthuizen is that 28 of the last 30 major winners were under par after their opening round.
The bad news: The last 10 guys who had had solo or shared first-round leads at the U.S. Open weren’t among them.
Since 2014, when Germany’s Martin Kaymer went wire-to-wire to win by eight strokes at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, first-round leaders played the rest of the tournament in a combined 73 over par. They managed only three of a combined 30 rounds under 70.
Henley should know. He’s part of that stat.
He was in a four-way tie for the lead after the opening round in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills, then went 73-77-73 to finish tied for 25th.
The first-round leaders in 2008 were Kevin Streelman and Justin Hicks at 3 under. Streelman shot 77 the next day and finished 53rd. Hicks followed his 68 with an 80 and finished 74th.
“I mean, you can’t win it today,” Koepka said, “but you can definitely lose it.”
The 2017 and 2018 champion avoided disaster on the seventh hole after hooking his drive off the cart path and under a picnic table in the Fan Oasis food court (and a guy in a pink shirt eating a wrap). He yanked his next shot under a tree next to the green, then chunked a chip from the rough before making a could-have-been-worse bogey.
Less fortunate were Phil Mickelson (75), Collin Morikawa (75), Henrik Stenson (76), Kaymer (77), Justin Rose (78) and 2012 champion Webb Simpson (79).
“Not the start I wanted,” said Morikawa, who won the 2020 PGA Championship 10 months ago on a seaside course in San Francisco. “Bogeying every par 3 and having three three-putts today, just not acceptable. I mean, it’s not how you keep yourself in a tournament on a Thursday.”
Koepka missed the 2020 U.S. Open last September following knee surgery. He was just down the road in La Jolla, renting a house for 2½ months of rehab.
“I didn’t watch a shot,” Koepka said of DeChambeau’s six-stroke win at Winged Foot. “I don’t watch too much golf in the off time. It’s just … yeah.”