Scheffler chases back-to-back majors at US Open
The world's top golfers face an ultimate challenge at Oakmont, where dense rough, sloped fast greens and tricky bunkers have Scheffler among many calling it the hardest course they might ever play.
"This is probably the toughest golf course in the world right now," defending US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau said.
Scheffler noted the tall rough, saying, "What's so special about this place is pretty much every time you're off the fairway it's going to be very difficult for you to get the ball to the green."
Scheffler, whose nine wins last year included Paris Olympic gold, has won three of his past four starts and his matchup against iconic Oakmont is golf's version of a heavyweight showdown.
It begins at 1:25 p.m. (1725 GMT) when he starts off the first tee alongside fourth-ranked American compatriot Collin Morikawa and Norway's Viktor Hovland.
After capturing last month's PGA Championship for his third major crown, Scheffler is trying to become the first man to win consecutive majors since Jordan Spieth in 2015 by taking his first US Open title.
Scheffler is a heavy oddsmakers' favorite but tries to ignore such things, especially after bettors forced him to dump his Venmo account.
"I was either getting paid by people or people requesting me a bunch of money when I didn't win. It wasn't a good feeling," Scheffler said.
Second-ranked Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, and DeChambeau, who won last month at LIV Golf Korea, will be among the first to test Oakmont after Indianapolis dentist and former Oakmont caddie Matt Vogt hits the opening shot off the first tee at 6:45 a.m.
Five-time major winner McIlroy, who says he has seen progress after driver struggles in the past month, begins off the 10th tee at 7:40 a.m. with playing partners Justin Rose of England and Shane Lowry of Ireland.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy could become only the seventh player to win the Masters and US Open in the same year, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Spieth, Arnold Palmer, Craig Wood and Ben Hogan.
DeChambeau, seeking his third US Open victory in six years, goes off the first 10 at 7:29 a.m. alongside fourth-ranked US countryman Xander Schauffele, the reigning British Open champion, and Spain's Jose Luis Ballester, the reigning US Amateur champion.
Phil Mickelson, who turns 55 Monday, can complete a career Grand Slam with a victory. He starts at 8:02 a.m. off the 10th tee, two groups behind McIlroy.
Mickelson, the oldest major winner at age 50 from his 2021 PGA Championship victory, is a six-time major champion and six-time US Open runner-up.
A field of 156 from a record 10,202 entries will be trimmed to the low 60 and ties for the last two rounds, although thunderstorms are in the weekend forecast.
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France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Scheffler hopes to solve sloppy bogeys, silly mistakes after 73
Scheffler, whose three wins in his past four starts included last month's PGA Championship, is trying to become the first back-to-back major winner since Jordan Spieth in 2015. But after his worst first round at a major compared to par, and seven strokes adrift of leader and US compatriot J.J. Spaun, he has a lot of work to do. "I made some silly mistakes out there," Scheffler said. "I just need to give myself some more looks at birdie. That's really all it came down to. "I'll clean up some of those mistakes and I think tomorrow will be a better day." Scheffler struggled with six bogeys against three birdies, a six-foot birdie putt at the second followed by three bogeys in the next four holes. "I felt like I did a pretty good job after the start, had kind of a sloppy bogey on three, sloppy bogey on four, and then another bogey on six and all of a sudden I'm a few over par," Scheffler said. "On this golf course, when you get over par early, it can feel like a daunting task. I did a good job of battling, and if I'm a little sharper tomorrow, I think I can score a bit better." Scheffler paid the price for getting even a little out of position. "It's just really hard to get the ball in play and it's really hard to get the ball close," he said. "Anytime you're out of position the golf course just gets really challenging. "It's not overly complicated. It's just difficult." A birdie at 11 was followed by bogeys at 13 and 15 to doom any hope of a late charge. "I would have liked to have finished a little better. I felt like I was battling back pretty well," Scheffler said. "The greens just got challenging out there late in the day. There's so much speed and so much pitch and then with the amount of guys going through on these greens, they can get a little bit bumpy. "But you know that's going to be part of the challenge going in. You've got to do your best to stay under the hole and stay patient." Scheffler will be set for a morning start on Friday. "I felt like I did a pretty good job of executing," he said. "I've just got to be a little bit sharper tomorrow. I've probably got to give myself a few more looks." He hopes to go a bit faster also. © 2025 AFP
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Koepka gets Oakmont scolding and leaps into US Open title hunt
The 35-year-old American took his lesson in a bunker at Oakmont and responded by firing a two-under-par 68 to stand two off the lead after Thursday's firt round. "It's nice to put a good round together. It has been a while," said Koepka. "I've been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. We worked pretty hard last week." Koepka works with Englishman Cowen on his short game and with coach Jeff Pierce on his putting. Both instructed him last week. Cowen went back at it on Monday in a practice round. "Pete got into me again on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well," Koepka said. "It's just a matter of executing the feels versus perception for where I've been. It has been so far off, it's on opposite sides, but now it's starting to click. "Unfortunately, we're about halfway through the season, so that's not ideal, but we're learning." How intense was Cowen's teaching session? "JT (Justin Thomas) thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes and he was on the other side of the green... He was like, 'I was worried, your head was down.' "Yeah, Pete, I'll keep that between us. I wasn't happy with it, but it was something I needed to hear at the right time. It's not the first time he's done it. He's not afraid to." Koepka said he had not done it since the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills, when Koepka won the title. "I don't like having 'yes' people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what's going on, what they see," he said. Koepka won the 2017 and 2018 US Open titles and the PGA Championship in 2018, 2019 and 2023. But after five wins in Saudi-backed LIV Golf, Koepka has not won since last August at Greenbrier and not managed a top-10 major finish in two years. "Still the same person. Just mechanics were off," Koepka said. "Getting on the right track. "I wasn't consistent enough. When I felt like I cut one, it was drawing. I felt like I blocked one, it would go straight. I just had no sense of reality of where things were. My perception was so far off." Long practice range sessions last week paid off, Koepka said. "It's starting to click," he said. "I'm starting to see the ball flight evolve where it's a nice little fade and I don't have the two-way miss going. Very consistent now." © 2025 AFP
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Spaun takes US Open nervous energy to record Oakmont start
Spaun, however, took his nervous energy and chaneled it into a bogey-free four-under-par 66 on Thursday to equal the best US Open first round ever fired at the famously challenging course. "I didn't really feel like I'm going to show a bogey-free round four-under. I didn't really know what to expect especially since I've never played here," Spaun said. "But yeah, maybe sometimes not having expectations is the best thing, so I'll take it." The 34-year-old American began on the back side, made birdies on four of the first eight holes, then closed with 10 pars, some of them grinding long putts or rescues from rough to ease his worries. "All you've been hearing is how hard this place is, and it's hard to not hear the noise," Spaun said. "I was actually pretty nervous. "But I actually tried to harness that, the nerves, the anxiety, because it kind of heightens my focus, makes me swing better, I guess. "I get more in the zone, whereas if I don't have any worry or if I'm not in it mentally, it's kind of just a lazy round or whatever out there. "I like feeling uncomfortable. I ended up feeling pretty comfortable towards the end of the day, but there's a long way to go still." Spaun won his only PGA Tour title at the 2022 Texas Open and this year was second at the Cognizant Classic and Players Championship, losing a playoff to second-ranked Rory McIlroy. "I didn't win, but it was great for me to lean back on that experience and know I can perform on the biggest of stages and handle it with the pressure," Spaun said. "There's going to be a lot of pressure this week, too, and hopefully I can rely on those experiences. "I've been consistently right there. And everyone knows that the more you put yourself there, the better you're going to have results and the better you're going to play, eventually turn one of those close calls into a win." Leaping atop the leaderboard early on day one never hurts, either. "It definitely makes me feel good, makes me feel confident that I'm leading the tournament. But there's plenty more golf left. This course is only going to get tougher," Spaun said. "I'm trying to feel like I have nothing to lose. That was kind of my mantra at The Players going into Sunday with the lead. It was like, I feel like I have nothing to lose. "So I'm going to roll with that again this week and hopefully it'll turn out more in my favor." Not bad for a guy who was fretting over his swing last week. "I felt like I was a little off after Memorial," Spaun said. "I tried tweaking some things at home, and kind of went down the rabbit hole and just kind of threw it out the window." © 2025 AFP
