J.J. Spaun leads U.S. Open at
Oakmont on a wild day of great shots and shockers
[June 13, 2025]
By DOUG FERGUSON
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — J.J. Spaun is still new enough to the U.S. Open,
and a newcomer to the brute that is Oakmont, that he was prepared
for anything Thursday. He wound up with a clean card and a one-shot
lead on an opening day that delivered just about everything.
Scottie Scheffler had more bogeys in one round than he made had the
entire tournament when he won the Memorial. He shot a 73, his
highest start ever in a U.S. Open, four shots worse than when he
made his Open debut at Oakmont as a 19-year-old at Texas.
Patrick Reed made the first albatross in 11 years at the U.S. Open
when he holed out a 3-wood from 286 yards on the par-5 fourth. He
finished with a triple bogey.
Bryson DeChambeau was 39 yards away from the hole at the par-5 12th
and took four shots from the rough to get to the green.
Si Woo Kim shot a 68 and had no idea how.
“Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing on the course,” Kim
said. “Kind of hitting good but feel like this course is too hard
for me.”
Through it all, Spaun played a steady hand in only his second U.S.
Open. He played bogey-free and finished with 10 straight pars for a
4-under 66 on America's toughest course hosting the major know as
the toughest test in golf.
He matched the low opening round in U.S. Opens at Oakmont — Andrew
Landry also shot 66 the last time here in 2016 — and it was no
mystery. Good putting never fails at any U.S. Open, and Spaun holed
five par putts ranging from 7 feet to 16 feet to go along with four
birdies.
“I didn’t really feel like I’m going to show a bogey-free round 4
under. I didn’t really know what to expect especially since I’ve
never played here,” said Spaun, playing in only his second U.S.
Open. “But yeah, maybe sometimes not having expectations is the best
thing, so I’ll take it.”
Oakmont lived up to its reputation with a scoring average of about
74.6 despite a course still relatively soft from rain and moderate
wind that didn't stick around for long.
And oh, that rough.
Just ask Rory McIlroy, although he chose not to speak for the fifth
straight competitive round at a major since his Masters victory. He
had to hack out three times on the fourth hole to get it back to the
fairway, and then he holed a 30-foot putt for a most unlikely bogey.
He shot 74.
“Even for a guy like me, I can’t get out of it some of the times,
depending on the lie,” DeChambeau said after a 73. “It was tough. It
was a brutal test of golf.”
The start of the round included Maxwell Moldovan holing out for
eagle on the 484-yard opening hole. Toward the end, Tony Finau hit
an approach just over the green, off a sprinkler head and into the
grandstand, his Titleist marked by green paint of the sprinkler. He
saved par.
When the first round ended more than 13 hours after it started, only
10 players managed to break par. That's one fewer than the opening
round in 2016.
Scheffler, the heavy favorite as the No. 1 player in the world who
had won three of his last four tournaments by a combined 17 shots,
made a 6-foot birdie putt on his second hole. Then he found the
Church Pew bunkers on the third and fourth holes, made bogey on both
and was never under the rest of the day.
“I made some silly mistakes out there, but at the same time, I made
some key putts and some good momentum saves in my round,” Scheffler
said. "But overall just need to be a little sharper.“
Spaun, who started his round by chipping in from ankle-deep rough
just right of the 10th green, was walking down the 18th fairway when
a spectator looked at the group’s scoreboard and said, “J.J. Spaun.
He’s 4 under?”
[to top of second column] |
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, prepares to hit from the tall
grass on the fourth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open
golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in
Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The emphasis was on the number, not the name.
But some of the names were surprising, starting with Spaun. He lost
in a playoff at The Players Championship to McIlroy that helped move
him to No. 25 in the world, meaning he didn't have to go through
U.S. Open qualifying for the first time.
Thriston Lawrence of South Africa, who contended at Royal Troon last
summer, had six birdies in a round of 67.
And perhaps Brooks Koepka can count as a surprise because the
five-time major champion has not contended in a major since winning
the PGA Championship in 2023, and he missed the cut in the Masters
and PGA Championship this year.
He looked like the Koepka of old, muscling way around Oakmont,
limiting mistakes and closing with two birdies for a 68 that left
him in a group with the South Korea duo of Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im.
“It’s nice to put a good round together. It’s been a while,” Koepka
said. “It's been so far off ... but now it’s starting to click.
Unfortunately, we’re about halfway through the season, so that’s not
ideal, but we’re learning.”
Another shot back at 69 was a group that included two-time major
champion Jon Rahm, who went 11 holes before making a birdie, and
followed that with an eagle.
“I played some incredible golf to shoot 1 under, which we don’t
usually say, right?” Rahm said.
The course allowed plenty of birdies, plenty of excitement, and
doled out plenty of punishment.
McIlroy also was bogey-free, at least on his opening nine. Then he
three-putted for bogey on No. 1 and wound up with a 41 on the front
nine for a 74. Sam Burns was one shot out of the lead until playing
the last four holes in 5 over for a 72 that felt a lot worse.
Spaun was not immune from this. He just made everything,
particularly five par putts from 7 feet or longer.
“I think today was one of my best maybe putting days I’ve had maybe
all year,” Spaun said. “Converting those putts ... that’s huge for
momentum and keeping a round going, and that’s kind of what happens
here at U.S. Opens.”
Spaun wouldn’t know that from experience. This is only his second
U.S. Open, and his ninth major since his first one in 2018. He
didn’t have to qualify, moving to No. 25 in the world on the
strength of his playoff loss to McIlroy at The Players Championship.
“I haven’t played in too many,” Spaun said “I knew it was going to
be tough. I did my best just to grind through it all.”
It was every bit of a grind, from the rough and on the fast greens.
Three more days.
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