Record breakers set the pace on history-making day at US Open

Keeping on top of a west coast major requires an awful lot of commitment for those of us on the opposite side of the world – so allow us to help you get up to speed with what’s going on at the 2023 US Open…

Between 1860 and the start of this US Open, only one man had carded a 62 in a major. A few hours later, it was three.

Branden Grace’s historical round at the 2017 Open was matched not once but twice as Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele wrote their names into this tournament’s storied history.

• Lowest rounds of golf in major history

The pair, who played in a morning wave that enjoyed benign conditions at LA Country Club,  carded 20 birdies and just two bogeys between them – both of those on Fowler’s card – on a low-scoring day in California.

Records were made to be broken!@RickieFowler and @XSchauffele's historic 62s earned them @Lexus Top Performance of the Day co-honors. #LexusGolf pic.twitter.com/1wOixIfefH

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2023

So good were Fowler and Shauffele, it meant the 6-under 64s carded by Dustin Johnson and Wyndham Clark were only good enough for a tie for third and two back. Incidentally, Johnson has now carded 10 rounds of 65 or better in a major, which ties Tiger Woods for the most of all time.

Rory McIlroy looked like he would match their number, largely thanks to a five-under front nine, but his blemish-free round was spoiled at the last when, from the thick greenside rough, he whiffed his chip and had to make a 12-footer back up the hill for bogey. He’ll begin day two alongside Brian Harman in tied-fifth.

A six-strong group that includes 2020 champion Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler make up the top 10.

Such was the low-scoring on Thursday, the worst score was a nine-over 79 – carded by both Aaron Wise and amateur Alexander Yang – which means this is the first US Open in history where no player has shot an opening round in the 80s.

• US Open round 2 tee times

Leaderboard

-8 Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele
-6 Dustin Johnson, Wyndham Clark
-5 Rory McIlroy, Brian Harman
-3 Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim, Paul Barjon, Harris English, Sam Bennett

• Full US Open leaderboard

Dinking in LA

Unless you were glued to the 2017 Walker Cup or 1940 Los Angeles Open, you won’t have seen much of LA Country Club. And it didn’t take long for the California track to show us just how fun this week is going to be, with players taking advantage of its quirkiness right out the blocks.

Check out this lovely use of the contours from amateur Michael Brennan…

BANG! 💥

Michael Brennan of @WakeMGolf with the shot of the day so far! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/gCc3DQyMwj

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2023

• 8 weird facts about the 2023 US Open

Speaking of Brennan, the Wake Forest University student was fortunate enough to play a practice round with his hero Rickie Fowler on Wednesday as they took on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas…

A major debut Michael Brennan will never forget.
 
11 years after dressing up as @RickieFowler for Halloween, he teed it up with him for a U.S. Open practice round … and even beat @JustinThomas34 and @JordanSpieth in a match 😏 https://t.co/Cu93wTIRdK pic.twitter.com/mELSmjxm8Y

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2023

A charming story – but how old does the sentence “Rickie was one of my heroes growing up” make you feel?

Ace, ace baby

The 49th and 50th holes-in-one in US Open history fell midway through the opening round.

There’s been a lot of talk this week about LACC’s five par-three holes – particularly the three that stretch way north of 200 yards – but it’s the tiny 15th that was expected to produce the most excitement this week. And Thursday did not disappoint.

First up, Matthieu Pavon did this…

💥 ACE ON 15 💥@matthieupavon #USOpen pic.twitter.com/A3LrX0OGrG

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2023

Later, Sam Burns followed him in…

Another one! @Samburns66 makes an ace at No. 15! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/yuKBbllHW0

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2023

By the way, how much better are aces when the ball skirts past the pin before hitting the brakes and skidding back into the hole? Just a delight to watch.

Incidentally, no player made birdie on the par-three 11th on Thursday. According to the USGA stattos, there has been just one other US Open this century where players have failed to birdie a par-three, and that was the 243-yarder at – you’ve probably guessed it – Winged Foot in 2006.

The one to watch?

Such was the magnitude of what was going on ahead of him, Scottie Scheffler’s opening 67 largely went by unnoticed – but he’ll be the player to keep an eye on during Friday’s second round as he looks to add the US Open to the Masters title he won last year.

After his opening round 67, Scottie Scheffler is now 58-under-par in majors since the beginning of 2020 – 25 shots better than any other player in that span.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 15, 2023

That’s a Tiger Woods-level performance. Watch this space.

Right, that’s enough for the first round of the 2023 US Open. We can’t imagine the USGA will allow the players the same low-scoring opportunities on Friday. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter to keep on top of the biggest talking points.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor