Ryan Young
U.S. Open Round 1 live updates, leaderboard: Rory McIlroy joins Patrick Cantlay in the early lead after bogey-free start
Bryson DeChambeau is two shots off the leaders after Thursday's opening round in North Carolina
The U.S. Open is off and running at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, and we've already got a tight battle at the top of the leaderboard.
Coming into the week, it seemed as if everyone was going to be chasing Scottie Scheffler — who is on a heater not seen since Tiger Woods' heyday. Scheffler, however, had a very average round. The top-ranked golfer in the world finished with a 1-over 71, which had him six shots off the lead.
Instead, it was Patrick Cantlay who took advantage in the early wave. He made three birdies in his final five holes of the day to card his 5-under 65. That briefly gave him a two-shot lead over the field when he entered the clubhouse. Cantlay needed just 23 putts in his round, which marked a career-low for him at a major. Ludvig Åberg finished at 4-under in his first ever round at the U.S. Open, which has him alone in third.
It was Rory McIlroy who dominated the late wave on Thursday afternoon. McIlroy carded a bogey-free 65 to match Cantlay in the lead, thanks to a huge walk-in birdie at the 18th to end his round.
Absolutely knew it was good. pic.twitter.com/zRvzBiiYNW
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
McIlroy hasn't won a major championship in a decade now, but he's started the last six U.S. Opens with a round in the red. He finished in second in Los Angeles last summer, too.
Bryson DeChambeau was right with McIlroy briefly, too. He dropped back to 3-under after a late bogey down the stretch, which has him in a tie with Matthieu Pavon in fourth. Tony Finau and Tyrrell Hatton are alone in sixth at 2-under. Brooks Koepka, who finished at even par, left the course without speaking to the media on Thursday — and his explanation was incredible.
Woods, on the other hand, struggled. After a birdie to open his day, he made five birdies in seven holes around the turn before finishing with a 4-over 74. He'll need a big outing on Friday in order to make the cut, something he failed to do last month at the PGA Championship.
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LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER62 updates
Brooks Koepka's media criticism
Brooks Koepka left Pinehurst on Thursday without speaking to the media — other than texting with Eamon Lynch. That exchange was, of course, incredible.
Since Koepka thinks the media needs to be more creative, here are a few of Jay Busbee's hypothetical semi-golf-related questions for him:
Do you think prime Brooks can take prime Tiger?
You have to play a round drinking one beer a hole. How many holes do you make it, and what do you shoot?
You're going to rob a bank. Which three players are you taking in your crew?
Click the photo to read more about Brooks Koepka's text exchange after Round 1 at the U.S. Open. (AP/George Walker IV) Scheffler's struggles and yet ...
Scottie Scheffler is 1-over, still very much in contention. It feels like he should be 10 back.
Here are a few stats:
- Fairways hit: 5/12 (146th)
- Putts: 24 through 12 holes (98th)
- Greens in regulation: 9 of 14 (36th)
We could get into the strokes gained stats, but you get the point.
He's spraying the ball everywhere, isn't making any putts ... and yet he's just 1-over par, only six back of clubhouse leader Patrick Cantlay.
This very much feels like a team going 3-for-20 from 3-point land and still winning.
Brooks Koepka's hilarious "text" interview
Brooks Koepka didn't want to talk to reporters after his even-par start at the U.S. Open. So, Golfweek's Eamon Lynch texted with him instead.
The results were hilarious.
"Thanks, Dad." 🤣
Click the photo to read Brooks Koepka's text interview with Golfweek's Eamon Lynch. (David Cannon/Getty Images) Afternoon reset: Cantlay's lead appears safe
With the second wave approaching the turn, here's where we're at:
- Patrick Cantlay's 5-under 65 still paces the field.
- Rory McIlroy hasn't played himself out of it in Round 1. He's 2-under through eight. If anyone is going to challenge Cantlay's 65, Rory is the most likely candidate.
- Scottie Scheffler is spraying shots everywhere, but has managed to keep himself at 1-over.
- Just 19 of 156 players are under par.
- Brooks Koepka left without talking to media, which is understandable. He had it to 3-under only to bogey three of his final six holes to finish at even.
- And, looking ahead, tomorrow's cutline could prove very interesting. The rule is top 60 and ties. Right now, that would be +1, which would include a 80 players. That's how tight things are right now.
Scheffler birdies
It took seven holes, but Scottie Scheffler finally looks like Scottie Scheffler. He drained a curling 12-footer for birdie at No. 7, his first birdie of the day, to get back to 1-over.
Breaking through 💪
Scottie Scheffler gets his first birdie of the day @USOpenGolf.pic.twitter.com/svNCjc8jV2— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 13, 2024
Also, can we talk about his whitewalls ...
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Another bogey for Scheffler
Scheffler missed a 62-foot putt by 18 FEET! That led to a bogey, pushing the world No. 1 to 2-over through six. This has been his rockiest round in ... over a year maybe.
Scheffler out of sorts early on
We've gotten so used to seeing near perfection from Scottie Scheffler as of late that it's glaring when he's anything but. But ... that's what we're seeing thus far through four holes. He's missed fairways both left and right, having to scramble a bit just to make par.
At the third, he put his tee shot into a leftside bunker, then found a greenside bunker, had a lengthy putt for par and came up short. It's a bogey for the World No. 1.
Xander gets in red numbers
Xander Schauffele takes the early lead ... in the battle of the big dogs. He birdies the second to get to 1-under. Scheffler and McIlroy are still at even.
The featured group is underway
The three top-ranked players in the world just happen to be paired together. Go figure.
Anyway, Scottie Scheffler (1), Xander Schauffele (2) and Rory McIlroy are off and running. All three carded pars on the first.
Tiger Woods finishes at 4-over
Tiger Woods' day is done. He posted a 4-over 74 to kick off the U.S. Open, but he pulled off several huge par saves to limit the damage.
Still, Woods is nine shots back of the leaders entering the clubhouse. He'll need a good outing tomorrow if he's going to make the cut.
Click the photo to read more about Woods' start from Jay Busbee on the ground at Pinehurst:
Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods' opening round at the U.S. Open. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) Brooks has company
Ludvig Aberg and France's Matthieu Pavon have joined Koepka at 3-under. There aren't a lot of birdies out there, but there are a few.
Another birdie for Ludvig Åberg!
He's tied for the lead @USOpenGolf. pic.twitter.com/5GRdTiYY4h— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 13, 2024
Tiger wrongway
Another miss on the approach for Tiger leads to another bogey. He drove the ball in the fairway at No. 2, only to need four shots to get down from 187 yards out. After a great start, his round is slipping away.
Brooks ... again
There was a traffic jam at 2-under, then Brooks Koepka did Brooks Koepka things — in this case, draining a 30-footer for birdie — to get to 3-under through 10.
A very familiar face at the top of the U.S. Open leader board.
Brooks Koepka -3. pic.twitter.com/zn4p3lMB0M— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
The day started with Scottie Scheffler as the favorite. Who would you take now?
Another (not good) one for Tiger
Two three puts in a three-hole span has Tiger now at +2. He had a look for birdie at No. 1 (his 10th), but left it 10 feet short. Yes, 10 feet short. He missed that for bogey, his third in four holes.
First nine update
As players begin to make their turns, here's where we're at:
- Just 14 of the 78 players on the course are under par; 47 are over par
- Brooks Koepka looks dialed in early, something we've seen before.
- Tiger Woods has his putter working. His issue the last few holes has been getting on the green in regulation and giving himself decent opportunities for birdie.
- Not going to happen for Phil Mickelson, again. He's already 5-over after just seven holes.
- Par is a good score.
Back-to-back bogeys for Tiger
Facing a 57-footer for birdie, Tiger ran it nine feet by the hole. He burned the edge on his par putt and that's back-to-back bogeys to move him to 1-over through eight holes.
Here comes Brooks
Brooks Koepka loves majors. Heard that before? And now he's atop the leaderboard thanks to a birdie at No. 7. He and Logan McAllister are at 2-under.
