New York-area golfers surprisingly in US Open contention after Day 1
OAKMONT, Pa. — Sometimes at the U.S. Open, you get a local player or two who makes it through qualifying to get into the field, lives their brief dream and is gone by the weekend, having missed the cut by a mile.
No one knows what lies ahead Friday for Ryan McCormick and James Nicholas, two of the most decorated players from the New York Metropolitan Area who qualified into this week's 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont.
But after Thursday's opening round, damned if both of them aren't in contention.
Nicholas — a 28-year-old native of Scarsdale, graduate of Yale, son of Dr. Stephen Nicholas, the longtime orthopedic surgeon for the Jets, and grandson of Dr. James Nicholas, who preceded Stephen with the Jets and happened to be Joe Namath's orthopedist — is on the first page of the leaderboard.
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NBC Sports
34 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
After 'stupidest' penalty, Shane Lowry among those exiting U.S. Open early
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Newsweek
34 minutes ago
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U.S. Open: Biggest Names to Miss the Cut at Oakmont
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Hamilton Spectator
37 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
A frustrated McIlroy smashes a US Open tee marker but makes it to the weekend anyway
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — First Rory McIlroy flung an iron down the 12th fairway. Then he used driver to demolish a tee marker on 17. He might not win the sportsmanship award at the U.S. Open, but he will get to play on the weekend. McIlroy overcame two rounds of disappointment by draining a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Friday to finish at 6-over par and guarantee himself a tee time at Oakmont this weekend. Other than the approach shot he hit on 18 to save the week, or the 20-foot birdie he made on 15 after teeing off into the first cut, very little of his first 36 holes was pretty. McIlroy's weekend was still in limbo when he walked to the tee on the drivable par-4 17th hole, then blocked the shot into a greenside bunker. He used his left arm to smash the club down and shatter the nearby tee marker. He made par there. A few hours earlier on the par-5 12th — another decent birdie chance — McIlroy catapulted his iron down the fairway after pulling his second shot into the left rough. He made par there, too. The birdie at the end capped a round of 2-over 72. It did not mask the issues McIlroy has been facing since his driver was deemed non-conforming before the PGA Championship, sending him on a mad search for a reliable replacement. In two rounds this week, McIlroy has hit 15 of 28 fairways, a stat that doesn't include all drivers but is indicative of where his tee game has gone since he won the Masters two months ago to complete the career Grand Slam. At Oakmont, with its ankle-high rough, two missed fairways over McIlroy's first three holes led to a pair of double-bogeys and forced him to play catch-up for the rest of the round — not to climb into contention, but simply to make the weekend. Next comes the search for motivation — something McIlroy conceded has been hard to find since his landmark victory at Augusta National. On the line this week is his string of six straight top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open, including a pair of runner-ups the last two years. He will start the third round nine shots off the lead. ___ AP golf:
