Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave joins us in the studio ahead of a packed weekend of Super Rugby, motorsport, water polo, and more. Video / NZ Herald / Photosport
Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has made a strong start to the US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club, while Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele both made history with the lowest rounds ever round at the event.
Fox sits in a share of 14th place at two-under, six shots back from the two leaders.
The world number 41 had back-to-back birdies to finish the front nine followed by a third birdie at the par four 12th, which saw him briefly move into third place on the leaderboard early in the day. His only bogey of the round came at the following hole.
Fox has recorded strong showings at the first two majors of the year with a tie for 26th at the Masters followed by 23rd at the PGA Championship.
Playing in his fifth US Open, Fox’s best finish was tied for 41st at the 2018 event at Shinnecock Hills. He has missed the cut at his last three US Open tournaments.
Schauffele soon matched him with an eight-under 62 of his own, making the first round a most extraordinary day for scoring in the major known as the toughest test in golf.
The tough part was keeping track of their birdies.
“It’s not really what you expect playing a US Open,” Schauffele said. “But monkey see, monkey do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front me.”
Fowler was the first, a round so remarkable it included two bogeys when he missed the green on the 254-yard 11th and missed the fairway on the 17th on his front nine. But starting with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th, he ran off four straight birdies. The streak ended on the par-three fourth when he came two inches away from holing a long bunker shot.
He set the record with a two-putt from just under 60 feet on the par-five ninth. That’s also when he noticed the leaderboard.
“I knew where I was at,” Fowler said. “I would say from the middle of the round up until the ninth green, our last hole, I didn’t really know or see any scores. And then I saw that Xander was at seven (under) at that point, and I’m not sure if he even knew where I was or anything.
“But it was kind of cool if he did to see he kind of latched on and we were taking off a bit.”
Rickie Fowler watches his tee shot on the seventh hole. Photo / AP
Schauffele was two groups behind and never too far away. He lost one birdie chance on the short par-four sixth by trying to drive the green, but then picked up a rare birdie on the 258-yard seventh hole with what he called a “tomahawk four-iron” to five feet.
“That’s pretty much all I have in my body,” Schauffele said.
He got up-and-down from just short of the green on the par-five eighth, and then had a birdie chance from just inside 30 feet that would have topped Fowler and send him into the major championship record book alone. He left it short and settled for a 62.
They now share the major championship record with Branden Grace, who had a 62 in the third round at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open.
Their record day came on the 50-year anniversary of Johnny Miller posting the first 63 in US Open history. Since then, five players have shot 63 in a US Open, most recently Tommy Fleetwood in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills.
Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf each shot 63 in the opening round at Baltusrol in the 1980 US Open, which Nicklaus went on to win.
The conditions were prime for scoring — overcast, mild with barely any wind. Condensation in the morning felt like a like mist, and it kept the greens receptive.
Even so, the next best score from the morning wave was a three-under 67 by a group that included Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau.
The low scoring was sure to raise questions about LACC, a century-old club hosting a major championship for the first time. Schauffele wasn’t interested in that.
“My job is just to play. I try not to speculate too much,” he said. “I’m going to take what the course can give me, and today it gave me a low one.”
Xander Schauffele on the 17th hole. Photo / AP
He also wasn’t expecting this to continue. The USGA’s idea of a good test is something around par, and there wasn’t much that could be done against increasing depth of talent in golf and pristine weather conditions.
“It’s just Thursday. It’s literally just the first day of a tournament. It’s a good start,” Schauffele said. “You just wait until this place firms up. It’s going to be nasty.”
It already proved to be just that for some players. Justin Rose, the Pebble Beach winner this year who is returning to good form, opened with a 76. Justin Thomas, Jason Day and Tommy Fleetwood could only manage 73.
PGA champion Brooks Koepka was among the late starters and was three-over through his first five holes to finish with a one-over 71. McIlroy, playing with Koepka, made some inroads, shooting a five-under 65 to pull within three of Fowler and Schauffele. McIlroy’s only bogey came on 18 — really it was a terrific save after not moving the ball an inch on his third shot from deep greenside rough.
Masters champion Jon Rahm, playing alongside Schauffele, opened with a 69. That’s typically a solid start in the US Open. This one left him seven shots behind.
Schauffele tends to play his best in the US Open — five top 10s in his six appearances, and he has been among the elite on the PGA Tour the last several years even without winning a major.
Fowler is different. He once finished in the top five at all four majors in 2014. But a recent slump made a challenge just to get in them. He was the first alternate last year at Brookline and had to go home without hitting a shot.
But he went back to instructor Butch Harmon in September and has played well enough to get back into the top 50 in the world after being in danger of falling out of the top 200 a year ago.
And there he was at a major, putting his name in the record book for all the right reasons.
“It’s definitely been long and tough — a lot longer being in that situation than you’d ever want to,” Fowler said. “But it makes it so worth it having gone through that and being back where we are now.”
But even he offered a degree of caution for the rest of the week.
“There’s still plenty of golf to be played. It’s going to be tough tomorrow afternoon,” he said. “But at least got out of the gate and we’re off to a good start.”
