The wild theories of potentially humongous scores failed to materialise, as the first round of the 123rd US Open at Los Angeles Country Club – with its beautifully quirky holes and an examination of mental strategy as much as physical execution – was played out in near-perfect conditions of little wind and overcast skies to the extent that Rickie Fowler, still chasing a breakthrough Major win, shot an opening round of 62, eight-under-par.
That his record low round in a US Open – and one which equalled the record in any Major, set by Branden Grace in the 2017 Open – wasn’t sufficient to put him a country mile ahead of everyone spoke volumes for the unexpectedly soft test that players experienced on the first day of play, some pre-round rain and cloud cover aiding and abetting.
Nevertheless, Fowler’s brilliance provided yet further proof the Californian’s reformation since returning to his old coach Butch Harmon. This time last year, Fowler was 152nd in the world rankings but his return to form is such that he is now up to 45th and back to the kind of form that once upon a time had him a likely lad to win not just one Major but multiples.
Fowler’s round of 10 birdies and two bogeys was well-crafted yet such was the soft nature of the test offered that he had to share star billing, as Xander Schauffele – without a bogey on his card – joined him on that number after also signing for a 62.
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The duo shared the clubhouse lead of the early wave of players, some five strokes clear of the pursuing pack.
“The greens were definitely receptive, which was nice. I think they were going to get a lot firmer,” opined former champion Bryson DeChambeau, the slimmed down version of the man who lifted the trophy in 2020 starting his own bid this time with a 67 which was also registered by world number one Scottie Scheffler, after a much-improved round with his putter in hand.
Yet, even in such pleasant scoring conditions, Shane Lowry was among those reminded that, even on a pet day, nothing is ever straightforward. Having covered his opening 16 holes in level par, Lowry was derailed late on by two closing bogeys that saw him scribble his name to a scorecard of two-over-par 72.
Lowry was joined on the 72 mark by Séamus Power, while Irish amateur international Matthew McClean marked his maiden US Open appearance with a 73.
Others to feel the pain more harshly were Tyrrell Hatton who opened with a 74 and former champion Justin Rose, seemingly on a return to form, who signed for a 76.
Scheffler described Fowler’s efforts as “a heck of a round,” but added: “The scores were a bit lower than I imagined them to be, but going out early on Thursday it’s the easiest conditions you’re going to see most of the week.”
This was not what had been anticipated, the tameness of the exam only likely to irk the USGA into a much tougher test over the weekend with the likelihood that pins will be tucked away or positioned on precarious ridges.
While Schauffele, like his fellow-Californian Fowler, is still chasing a first Major win, he at least reached one summit in the sport when claiming the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
For Fowler, the past few seasons have been tough, only barely retaining his PGA Tour status last year before embarking on a number of tough-love decisions which involved changing caddie and coach. The result has been impressive and, although entering this week with a back injury, there was a purity of ball-striking like that of old.
“It was a great day. The first few days this week I wasn’t feeling very comfortable swinging and wasn’t making many putts or hitting very good putts, so continue to get work in on the course as well as in the practice area, and finally a couple things clicked a bit yesterday. Then it was more just go out, trust it, and let things happen,” said Fowler, adding:
“I knew there was birdies to be made out here, but you have to drive it well and get the ball in position first. Yeah, did that, and from there just managed our way around really well .. I knew that the stuff that I worked on yesterday, both swing and putting, putting was great, range was so-so, which a lot of times you don’t want to go stripe it on the range. That’s just a bad sign.
“A lot of it was just going out and trusting stuff I’ve been working on, and then some of the feels from yesterday. I knew where I was at. I would say from the middle of the round up until the 9th green, our last hole, I didn’t really know or see any scores. And then I saw that Xander was at seven (under) at that point, and I’m not sure if he even knew where I was or anything, but it was kind of cool if he did to see he kind of latched on and we were taking off a bit.”
