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4 hours ago
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Key events
Dustin Johnson has been largely shocking at this level since joining LIV. Last season he missed the cut in all three American-based majors and the narrative was that by moving to the rebel tour he’d gained lots of money but lost his competitive drive. So has his performance here (so far) come out of thin air? Well, not quite. DJ showed some better signs with 33rd at The Masters and 44th in the US PGA Championship but then really stepped it up with top fives in the last two LIV events: fourth at LIV Golf Korea at the end of May and fifth at LIV Golf Andalucia two weeks ago. It’s been six years since the second of his two majors (2020 Masters) but Rory McIlroy had an 11-year gap between his fourth and fifth so let’s not presume that Johnson has had his day.
Contrasting fortunes for the two main men from LIV. Bryson records his second double bogey in a row after clumsy work on and around the green at 4. From even par to +4 (tied 79th) in no time. Forget doubles, Jon Rahm isn’t even entertaining bogeys. After keeping a clean card with 16 pars and two birdies in round one, he’s taken his bogey-free streak to 20 with a pair of pars on lap two. Rahm is tied sixth and looking like a big factor in this tournament.
Grey seemed to dominate the optics at Shinnecock on day one. That was the colour of both the sky and the jumper of choice for Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood. It’s a brighter vibe today. In that leading group, Wyndham Clark and Dustin Johnson are sporting white t-shirts while Gary Woodland appears to have one of Stan Bowles’ QPR shirts from the 70s.
Matt Fitzpatrick has to hole a 27-footer to save par at 3. It keeps him at -3 and in a tie for third. Great work. But not so good for playing partner DeChambeau, who misses the fairway, comes up short with his approach and looks utterly baffled as his par putt from 30 feet drifts five feet past. He completes an error-strewn hole by missing that one so it’s an ugly double bogey and Bryson tumbles down to +2.
The average score in round one was 73.280 which isn’t too exteme for a US Open. Here’s how it compares to the last five years.
Round 1 Scoring Average
2025 Oakmont Country Club 74.64
2024 Pinehurst No.2 73.20
2023 Los Angeles Country Club 71.40
2022 The Country Club at Brookline 72.29
2021 Torrey Pines South Course 74.01
Gary Woodland’s story has been well documented but is worth repeating. Earlier this year he went public with his mental struggle with PTSD, a byproduct of brain surgery to remove a lesion in September 2023. It’s a constant battle for the popular American so it was wonderful to see him win the Houston Open in March – his first victory on the PGA Tour in nearly seven years. The US Open has always been special for him as he won the event at one of golf’s great cathedrals, Pebble Beach, in 2019.
And could Woodland be on track for a second US Open win? He’s made a fantastic start, following up an opening 67 with a birdie at the 1st today after putting his approach to inside three feet. He has work to do at the 2nd though after finding sand and splashing out to 10 feet. His putt just misses left after drifting across the hole and he returns to -3 and in a tie for third. Here’s the latest leaderboard:
-6: Clark (2)
-4: D Johnson (2)
-3: M Fitzpatrick (2), Woodland (2), Cowan (5)
Viktor Hovland and Niklas Norgaard are both wearing vertical striped black and white trousers that, let’s be honest, scream butcher’s apron rather than high fashion. “A pound of sausages and half a pound of mince,” says Ewen Murray in the Sky commentary box as Hovland putts from off the green at 2. The Norwegian’s first effort pulls up short but he saves his bacon by holing a six-footer for par.
No rest for our leaders. Wyndham Clark (leader), Dustin Johnson (solo second) and Gary Woodland (tied third) are all playing in the same group again. That three-ball of former US Open champs shot a combined 13-under in round one which, quite frankly, is astonishing at a Shinnecock playing as tough as ever. They’re starting at Hole 1 today.
Matt Fitzpatrick (tied third) has also got his second lap underway and just missed a 19-foot birdie putt at the 1st. The 2021 Brookline winner is one group ahead of the Clark-DJ-Woodland three-ball and the Englishman has Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland for company. Two-time US Open champion DeChambeau (2020 and 2024) shot an even par 70 in round one but Hovland had a miserable first circuit of Shinnecock, racking up six bogeys and not a single birdie in a 6-over 76. A shame that as Hovland came in on the back of a third place in Canada last week – his best finish of the season.
I’m enjoying the name of one of the players in tied fifth. Spencer Tibbits is a former Oregon State standout but sounds more like he hangs about with Neville Thumbcatch in the the late 60s. Tibbits actually qualified for the US Open at Pebble Beach as an amateur in 2019. Anyway, he’s making an ‘Attack’ on the leaderboard.
What about the weather today? I’ll give you how it’s described in USA Today. Kind of cutesy.
Friday, June 19: Stiff winds with clouds giving way to sun; gusty winds will continue to pose problems for golfers.
Saturday, June 20: Stiff winds with plenty of sunshine; gusty winds will continue to pose problems for golfers.
Sunday, June 21: Times of clouds and sunshine; nice for Father’s Day activities.
Do these activities include telling your kids to leave you alone as you’re watching the golf?
Overnight leader Wyndham Clark pars the final two holes via a pair of short putts and posts the clubhouse lead of 6-under 64. Well played that man! But look at the bunch behind him – a trio of fellow former US Open winners. Dustin Johnson, the champion at Oakmont in 2016, has picked up shots at 7 and 9 this morning to shoot 66 and cut Clark’s overnight lead in half. Meanwhile, the 2023 Brookline winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, and 2019 Pebble Beach hero Gary Woodland both finished birdie-par at 8 and 9 when returning to the course and they’re just three back.
And, lo and behold, there’s a fifth former US Open champion who is in the bunch at -2. Jon Rahm still has three to play so still has the chance to improve his score. In the meantime, some players have already started round two. That includes amateur Ryder Cowan, who has started par-par to remain at -2.
Here’s what I guess we’re calling the second-round leaderboard. I’ve put in some random syllable (^) to show that Rahm is still playing his first round. If that’s not the right convention, sue me.
-6: Clark (-)
-4: D Johnson (-)
-3: M Fitzpatrick (-), Woodland (-)
-2: Cowan (2), Stevens (-), Rahm (15*^), McGreevy
While we wait for Clark and others to finish, here’s Bryan Armen Graham’s report of the day one action.
Preamble
Hello everyone! The pace of play at a US Open is always sloooow and the grind wasn’t helped by a two-hour fog delay on Thursday morning. It meant many of those in the afternoon wave didn’t compete their rounds.
So they’re heading out again this morning and that includes the runaway leader Wyndham Clark. Anything under the par of 70 was considered excellent in the tough Thursday conditions but 2023 US Open champion Clark somehow got to -6 through his first 16 holes before bad light stopped play. Can he stay there, or go even lower, when he finishes up early this morning? We’ll find out shortly.
