Schauffele gets off to his usual good start at U.S. Open.
Xander Schauffele found himself two shots off the lead after play was suspended Thursday evening late in the first round of the U.S. Open.
With any luck on the Torrey Pines South Course greens, the San Diegan could have been atop the leaderboard instead of tied for fifth place after an opening-round 69 on the par-71 layout.
Schauffele easily could have picked up a couple strokes had some putts lipped in instead of out.
Most notable was an 11foot putt for eagle on the par-5 18th hole (his ninth), at which Schauffele settled for birdie.
“I felt like I didn’t really hit a bad putt,” Schauffele said. “I lipped out a few. I made a few. But overall I felt really comfortable. I’m getting more comfortable with this arm-lock thing.”
Schauffele, a Scripps Ranch High and San Diego State alum, already ranked as a top-10 putter, but recently switched to an armlock style to be even more consistent with his stroke.
The style involves standing slightly more upright, but Schauffele said it is more mental than physical.
“Mentally getting comfortable with it,” he said. “I think it’s an advantage, like I’ve said before, but mentally it’s more so me getting comfortable with it in tournament golf.”
More physical is something Schauffele has started doing when reading putts, laying flat on the ground to get as close a read as possible.
Likened to a push-up position, it’s even more extreme than the “Spider-Man pose” Camilo Villegas made famous a decade ago.
“I think I’m a real green reader,” Schauffele said, “and sometimes when I get even lower I may pick up
something that I missed just kind of hunched over or crouched over.
“Just like the arm lock, I’m trying to find any way to get myself an advantage.”
Added Schauffele: “I just try to make sure I don’t really damage the green in any way, shape or form or I’m in anyone’s line.
“I think I just started doing it on a few putts and then I kind of liked it and now I’m stuck doing 50 push-ups every day, so it’s great.”
Schauffele has finished in the top 10 in all four of his U.S. Open appearances, much of it on the heels of strong starts.
He has gone 68, 66, 72, 66 and now 69 in the first round
of his five Open appearances.
Key will be how Schauffele follows up today. The second round has been his biggest struggle — with scores of 72, 73, 74, 73 the past four years.
Staying on the South
Unlike when the pros come here in January for the Farmers Insurance Open, and the first two rounds are split between the North and South courses, the U.S. Open is played exclusively on the South. That’s just fine with Patrick Rodgers, the former Stanford star who played the Farmers the last six years with two top-10 finishes and four missed cuts.
“I’ve always played well on the South Course,” Rodgers said after a 1-under 70 in the opening round. “I feel very comfortable. It’s obviously very demanding, but it kind of requires a similar skill set throughout the round.
“Most holes are similar with bunkers on both sides, long rough, and you’re hitting driver on pretty much every hole. I feel like that suits my game. I’ve always putted well on Poa annua, going to school sort of in the neighborhood, and so yeah, I feel like it’s a place that suits my game.
“The weeks where I’ve struggled, I’ve struggled on the golf course we’re using as
the range this week.”
Rodgers shot a 2-under 33 on the front nine Thursday, then made birdies at 12 and 13 to take the lead at 4 under. But bogeys at 14, 16 and 17 dropped him down the board.
“I really took advantage of those first 13 holes,” he said. “It’s kind of a dream start in a U.S. Open. I drove it great, put the ball in positions to score and felt very comfortable over the putter. Made a few 4- or 5-footers to kind of keep some momentum going in my round.”
Unfortunately for Rodgers, as often happens with momentum, it vanished without warning.
“It’s just inevitable that … a bounce here or a bounce there isn’t going to go your way,” he said. “I hit a decent approach shot into 14 that went over the green by a yard into a really difficult lie and hit a bunch of great putts coming in that lipped out.”
Locals watch
Charley Hoffman was one of the last to start his first round and was 1 over through 15 holes when darkness fell. Starting on the back nine, Hoffman had birdies at 13 and 2 and bogeys at 11, 1 and 4.
Former San Diego standout J.J. Spaun was one of the first to begin his round, but he got off to a bad start and it never got much better. He made double bogey at the first hole, bogey at the second, another bogey at the fifth and then began the back nine with two bogeys and another double. A birdie at the last allowed him to finish at 6-over 77.
Playing not watching
During his time away from the PGA Tour the last several weeks, Matthew Wolff said he “pretty much” did not watch any golf on TV.
“Actually, it’s funny you say that,” Wolff said to a questioner Thursday, “because I was talking to Bubba Watson earlier on the range this week and he told me he stopped watching golf; he only watches LPGA because they’re so positive. He goes, ‘LPGA is like the commentators, like everyone is just so positive, like every shot they hit is the best shot ever.’
“I’m not hating on the LPGA; I think it’s awesome, because these shots are hard out here and it’s like, you know, sometimes they’re describing a shot and they make it sound easy and it’s not. And it’s just, I’m only trying to have positive thoughts in my head and be positive.”