US Open's 'ridiculous' 300 yard par-3
The par-3 eighth at Oakmont, host of the US Open, is tipped to re-set its own record for the longest par-3 in the tournament's history.
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South Wales Argus
21 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Rory McIlroy struggles in US Open opening round at Oakmont
The Masters champion, trying to shake off the hangover of his Augusta National win in April, came to the Pittsburgh course last week on a scouting mission and carded an 81. While he fared slightly better in Thursday's first round, his four-over-par 74 leaves him needing to produce something special if he is to win the third major of the year. A tale of two nines for Rory. 33-41 from our 2011 champion as he sits 8 off the pace. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025 He is eight shots off first-round leader JJ Spaun, who tamed the brutal Oakmont course widely described as the hardest in the game, with a blemish-free 66. The American sits one shot clear of Thriston Lawrence. Sungjae Im, Brooks Koepka and Si Woo Kim are a shot further back on two-under-par. World number one Scottie Scheffler, the overwhelming pre-tournament favourite, also struggled in posting a 73, along with defending champion Bryson DeChambeau. Scheffler said: 'I just feel like after today, I've probably got to give myself a few more looks, it could have been a little bit of a different story. 'But the golf course is just challenging.' Two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka made a better fist of it, an eagle on the fourth hole helping him to two under, while Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth were one under. J.J. Spaun produced a blemish-free round (Charlie Riedel/AP) Scotland's Robert MacIntyre reckons he played one of the best rounds of his career in shooting a level par, which puts him four shots off the pace. McIlroy was simply beaten up by an unforgiving golf course which punishes you when you miss the fairway, which the Northern Irishman did plenty of times, and even sometimes when you hit the fairway. Starting on the back nine, it seemed to be going all too well for the Northern Irishman as he made the turn at two under after birdies at the 11th and 12th. But it quickly unravelled as he played holes one to nine in 41 shots, which included four bogeys and a double bogey. His playing partners Justin Rose and Shane Lowry did not fare any better as Rose went round in a seven-over 77 with the Irishman a further two shots back and both facing the prospect of missing the cut. McIlroy's struggles make Spaun's record-equalling round of 66 even more impressive. Watch and learn! 👇👇👇 Every televised shot from J.J. Spaun's bogey-free 66, just the 8th flawless round in U.S. Open history at Oakmont. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025 His four birdies in a blemish-free round, which is the joint-lowest first-round score in the US Open on this course, came on the 34-year-old American's first outing at Oakmont. 'All you've been hearing is how hard this place is, and it's hard to not hear the noise and see what's on social media,' he said. 'You're just kind of only hearing about how hard this course is. '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.' He continued: 'I just tried to kind of take what the course gave me. I hit a lot of good shots and tried to capitalise on any birdie opportunities, which aren't very many out here. 'But I scrambled really well, too, which is a huge component to playing well at a US Open, let alone shoot a bogey-free round. 'I'm just overly pleased with how I started the tournament.'
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Brooks Koepka reveals brutal 'scolding' from coach Pete Cowen inspired US Open resurgence
Brooks Koepka has revealed a 45-minute rollicking from the no-nonsense Englishman in his corner was responsible for his resurgence at the US Open. The five-time major winner rebounded from back-to-back missed cuts at the Masters and the PGA Championship by firing his way to a first-round 68 at Oakmont to sit just two shots off JJ Spaun's lead. Koepka has now credited his turnaround to 74-year-old Yorkshireman Pete Cowen, his coach, who tore strips off him over his attitude at the start of the week. The American said: 'It's nice to put a good round together. It's been a while. I've been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. Pete got into me on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well. 'I'll put it this way: JT (Justin Thomas) thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes, and he (Thomas) was on the other side of the green. 'I saw him Monday night. We were at a Rolex function. He was like, 'I was worried; your head was down'. I wasn't happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It's not the first time he's done it. He's not afraid to. '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. 'If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it, and he did a helluva job on it.' Koepka added: 'I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn't want to be around me. It drove me nuts. It ate at me. 'I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating. I had to apologise to everybody. I wouldn't have wanted to be around me.'
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
JJ Spaun leads at US Open as Pavon attacks, Scheffler struggles
JJ SPAUN was starting to feel intimidated by Oakmont horror stories heading into his first experience of the iconic layout at this week's US Open. Spaun, however, took his nervous energy and channelled 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.' Advertisement 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.' South Africa's Thriston Lawrence is one shot adrift of Spaun on 67, with France's Matthieu Pavon making a charge and top-ranked Scottie Scheffler struggling. Alongside Lawrence at three-under was nack-nine starter Pavon, who birdied 12 from inside three feet, the 14th from just inside eight feet and drove the green at 17 for a tap-in birdie. Scheffler endured a roller-coaster round as favourites tumbled, standing on one-over after 12 holes with four bogeys and three bogeys. Two-time Masters champion Scheffler, whose nine wins last year included Paris Olympic gold, has won three of his past four starts, including last month's PGA Championship. He is trying to become the first man to capture consecutive majors since Jordan Spieth in 2015. South Africa's Lawrence, third in last year's European Tour Race to Dubai, drove the green at 17 and sank a four-foot birdie putt then escaped the right rough to par 18 and shoot 67. 'I like a tough test,' he said. 'I feel like it fairly suits me.' World number two Rory McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, fired a 74. The back-nine starter birdied 11 and 12 but made four bogeys and a double bogey on his second nine. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau shot 73 with five bogeys and two birdies. 'Pretty disappointed with how I played,' DeChambeau said. Six-time US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson, who turns 55 on Monday, opened with a 74 in his bid to complete a career Grand Slam. - Reed makes an albatross - American Patrick Reed made the fourth albatross in US Open history from the fairway from 286 yards on the fourth hole, the first at any major since Nick Watney in the 2012 US Open at Olympic Club. Ireland's Shane Lowry holed out from the fairway from 160 yards for the first US Open eagle at Oakmont's third hole, but it was his lone bright spot in a round of 79. American Maxwell Moldovan made the first US Open eagle at the first, holing out from the fairway from 189 yards, then looking to the heavens with a smile. He fired a 76. You can view the full leaderboard here – © AFP 2025
