Russell Henley playing cards sixty-seven holds the first-spherical clubhouse lead at U.S. Open Championship
Russell Henley playing cards sixty-seven holds the first-spherical clubhouse lead at U.S. Open Championship
As first impressions go, the South course at Torrey Pines golf direction didn’t depart a high-quality one on Russell Henley.
A first-spherical seventy-nine inside the 2014 Farmers insurance Open – which additionally makes use of
the North path right here – brought about a missed reduction and the Georgia native opting to pass over the
past due-January event from his annual West Coast PGA excursion itinerary.
“I do not keep in mind [much] besides leaving the path feeling like I simply was given beat up,” stated Henley, a
3-time PGA excursion winner.
Every now and then time and a touch of self-assurance can heal vintage wounds.
On Thursday inside the first round of the 121st U.S. Open Championship, Henley punched back.
A four-underneath-par sixty-seven gave the 32-year-old the clubhouse lead, with Louis Oosthuizen, of South
Africa, also at 4 under with two holes to play when round 1 turned into suspended due to darkness. A 90-minute
fog delay on Thursday morning led to the condition in which 36 players have been unable to complete the round
before darkish.
Oosthuizen, playing within the afternoon wave, bogeyed the par-four 11th, his 2d of the day, before gambling 5-
below-par golfing over the following 14 holes. Need to Oosthuizen, the winner of the 2010 Open Championship
at St. Andrews, keep his position or bypass Henley when spherical 1 play resumes Friday at 6:50 a.M. PDT, it’d be
the primary time he has owned the primary-round lead in a primary championship. He’s facing a 30-footer for
birdie at the par-3 eighth.
Europeans – 2018 Open Championship winner Francesco Molinari,
of Italy, and Rafa Cabrera Bello, of Spain – shot 68s, whilst the organization lurking strokes returned consists of –
time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka,
homeland preferred Xander Schauffele, reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Jon Rahm, whose first
PGA excursion win got here at Torrey Pines within the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open.
Henley, who additionally shared the first-spherical lead in his ultimate U.S. Open start in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills,
didn’t allow the postpone to the beginning of round 1 to have an effect on his day, even though he hit a poor 9-
iron technique to the 440-backyard first hollow for a gap bogey. Birdies on Nos. 5, 7, and eight produced a front-
nine 33, and his lone lower back-9 blemish on No. 12 changed into offset through three greater birdies, including
on the par-5 ultimate hole. He completed +3. Ninety-seven in strokes-gained placing, a chief development from
his season common of +zero.08.
“I experience like I’m a top-50 player within the global,
” said Henley, who cited that some of the quality
performances of his profession have come in the last year, no matter no longer generating any wins. “I’ve had a
ton of top 10s. I have been in competition. I have been absolutely constant.
“that doesn’t suggest I’m going to try this the following three days, however, I simply felt relaxed accessible.
I do not feel like it is a large surprise due to the fact I do sense like I have performed some proper golf in a few
bigger events in the last 12 months. But in terms of putting four rounds collectively at a U.S. Open, I’ve struggled
with that. I’m just going to maintain attempting.”
Oosthuizen is sincerely no stranger to U.S. Open chief forums.
In his closing six starts, the 38-year-vintage owns a tie for second (2015), a solo third (2020), and a proportion of
seventh (2019). His metronomic swing and even-keel demeanor are ideal traits to achieve the game’s largest
activities.
He just hasn’t managed to get a 2d title. Oosthuizen lost a 3-hole mixture playoff in 2015 at St. Andrews to Zach
Johnson, a sudden-death playoff to Bubba Watson inside the 2012 Masters and tied for a second inside 2017
PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C.
“I simply enjoy playing certainly hard golfing courses,” stated Oosthuizen. “I suppose by hook or by crook I
awareness a bit higher once I play those courses, knowing that the margin for error is genuinely small. Especially
around this area, you have to force it well, you have to begin it in the fairway, and you are going to have hassle in
case you’re lacking fairways … and I have definitely been using it suitable recently.”
Cabrera Bello had the lone bogey-unfastened round on Thursday.
A survivor of the June 7 Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier, the Spaniard registered simply his 2nd smooth card in
101 foremost championship rounds. Closing September at Winged Foot, the 37-yr-antique with six professional
victories – all in Europe – opened with a 68, best to falter on the weekend and finish in a tie for twenty-third.
Improving that result, Cabrera Bello stated, comes all the way down to better cognizance.
“The reality that your attention wishes to be at 100 percent if no longer more on every shot,” said Cabrera Bello.
“I experience like in many instances I just make stupid errors due to the fact I should potentially lose awareness a
2d, and here [in the U.S. Open] I’m like with this 6th feel on the sport, and that allows me. The truth that its
chief, it also motivates me.”
What’s next
While 36 gamers nonetheless have to complete their opening round, round 2 of the championship will begin –
fog allowing – at 6:forty five a.M. With the low 60 scorers and ties on the top of the spherical qualifying for the
very last 36 holes this weekend. Stay insurance starts offevolved at nine:40 a.M. EDT on Peacock. Golf Channel
alternatives up the movement at 12:30 p.M., with NBC broadcasting 6-nine p.M. Peacock then choices up the
telecast till the play concludes.
First-rate
· How appropriate is Brooks Koepka in majors? The two-time U.S. Open champion has finished inside the pinnacle
10 in 14 of his 28 starts off evolved. He is currently tied for 5th.
Bryson DeChambeau opened protection of his identity with a 2-over-par 73, rebounding from 3 consecutive
second-nine bogeys from No. 11 with birdies on 14 and 18.
· Sahith Theegala, of Chino Hills, Calif., who had the honor of hitting the primary ball of the championship, had a
few 20 buddies and family participants in attendance, maximum of whom made the morning travel from extra
Los Angeles.
The former Pepperdine All-American who won 2020
Jack Nicklaus Award because the excellent participant in college golf had a hard lower back 9 en course to a
seventy-six.
Reigning PGA champion Phil Mickelson, wanting a U.S. Open name to finish the professional Grand Slam, shot
75 in the future after turning fifty-one. Mickelson has six runner-up finishes within the U.S. Open.
The remaining month at Kiawah Island’s Ocean direction, he became the oldest winner of a prime championship.
· Day 1 of the U.S. Open also was disappointing for some past champions. Gary Woodland (2019) shot seventy-
four, Martin Kaymer (2014) and Jordan Spieth (2015) each published 77s, and 2012 champion Webb Simpson
shot a seventy-nine, his worst end result, via two strokes, in 39 U.S. Open rounds.
Brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari,
the 2005 U.S. Novice champion, shot sixty-eight and 70, respectively,
placing them in function to grow to be the primary brothers to make the reduce within the identical U.S. Open
because of Joe and Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki in 1993 at Baltusrol. It doesn’t appear promising for the other
brother duo inside the discipline. Alvaro Ortiz published an eighty-two, at the same time as Carlos changed into
three over thru 15 holes.
Of the 9 amateurs inside the subject, Auburn college senior Andrew Kozan, of West Palm Beach, Fla., produced
the nice establishing-day round, an even-par seventy-one, strokes better than 2021 USA Walker Cup competitor
Pierceson Coody.
Quotable
“satisfied the manner I put the ball. I had quite a few self-belief in it. Started out pretty plenty everything proper
online wherein I wanted to. Like I stated, I am now not the most comfortable with Poa [annua greens]. I don’t
enjoy putting on it, just due to the fact the ball can bounce offline so commonly, but I am now not very thrilled
with the way I drove the ball at the returned 9. The entirety just sort of leaked a touch right after which over-
adjusted on 7 and hit it left.” – -time champion Brooks Koepka after his first-round 69.
“I am a real green reader and occasionally whilst I get even lower, I may additionally pick out up something that I
overlooked [when I’m] hunched over or crouched over. Just like the arm lock [with my putting stroke], I’m
attempting to find any way to get myself a bonus.” – Xander Schauffele explaining why he sometimes lies on his
belly parallel to the floor to read putts.
“now not but.
Perhaps after today.” Francesco Molinari (three-beneath sixty-eight) while asked if there’s a
pleasant bet with his older brother, Edoardo, who opened with a 70.
“it is disturbing, I might have appreciated more time in mattress, to be sincere. But, yeah, you are just sitting
around doing nothing besides, so it is no big deal, simply re-warm up a pair of times and that becomes it. Did not
honestly trouble me an excessive amount of.” – Matthew Fitzpatrick at the ninety-minute fog delay.
“It sets upright for me. I played like this in university [at Missouri], I made a number of pars, hit a lot of fairways
and a lot of veggies, so I attempted to re-ignite that feeling. I ought not to hit it that a long way. I’ve were given
to hit my shots and men are going to hit it past me and guys are going to make greater putts perhaps, however,
I’m going to locate ways to have the one’s probabilities, and I am simply going to find a way to position strong
rounds together, and that changed into the aim.” – qualifier Hayden Buckley, who competes at the Korn Ferry
tour, after carding a sixty-nine in his first U.S. Open spherical.
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Russell Henley cards 67, holds first-round clubhouse lead at U.S. Open Championship
