118th U.S. Open Championship Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y., June 11-17, 2018
The 2018 U.S. Open is finally upon us, and the best players in the world are set to battle it out for the trophy at historic Shinnecock Hills.
Can Tiger Woods finally put it all together and win his fourth U.S. Open title? Can World No. 1 Dustin Johnson capture his second in three years? Or will Phil Mickelson complete the career Grand Slam at last?
We are live blogging the entire first round from Shinnecock Hills beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday. Follow the along below so you don't miss a shot.
FULL ROUND 1 LEADERBOARD | OUR EXPERTS' U.S. OPEN PREDICTIONS
Enough about the traffic and what happened in 2004 , thankfully, it's time for some actual golf. The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills, and while the historic track -- and all its potential treachery -- will take center stage, so will a large group of stars playing at a high level. Dustin Johnson, fresh off a six-shot victory in Memphis, will tee off as a 9-to-1 favorite, but close behind are Justin Rose (12/1), and Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler all at 16/1. Then there are the two guys everyone will be paying attention to: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Each will anchor a marquee group on Thursday and Friday with Woods playing alongside DJ and JT (1:47 p.m. ET on Thursday) and Phil grouped with Rory and Jordan Spieth (8:02 on Thursday). As the action gets underway, here are some last-minute thoughts from our editors and a chat with Sergio Garcia . And keep it here for all the latest scores, news and highlights.
12:47 p.m.: Justin Rose posts a solid opening 71. The 2013 U.S. Open champ at Merion didn't convert many birdie opportunities, but he nearly holed a couple sand shots en route to shooting one over, which currently puts him in the top 10 on this trying Thursday.
12:45 p.m.: In a fantastic example of too little, too late, Rory McIlroy birdies his second consecutive hole at the 6th. That moves the four-time major champ back to eight over. If he's got a side game with his playing partners, though, he's now only two back of both after Mickelson and Spieth bogey the difficult par 4.
12:40 p.m.: Tiger is here! Tiger is here! The 14-time major champ makes his way to the practice area in a grey pants-navy shirt combo that gets my wife's approval. This is Tiger's first time playing in the U.S. Open since missing the cut (badly) at Chambers Bay in 2015. Of course, he's also trying to win his first major since capturing this tournament at Torrey Pines in 2008. Feel like taking a walk down memory lane? You're in luck. I recently took a look back at that epic victory .
12:22 p.m.: For the first time all day, Phil, Rory and Jordan play a hole in which neither make a bogey. Not only that, they all make birdie on the par-5 5th hole. That brings this star-studded group's cumulative score through 14 holes down to 19 over. This leads to an obvious question. . .
And what's an obvious (at least, to me) answer: YES!
12:03 p.m.: Scott Piercy proves it's possible to break par at Shinnecock Hills, firing a one-under 69 to start his tournament. And Piercy is no stranger to playing well under difficult conditions. The four-time PGA Tour winner finished T-2 at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
11:57 a.m.: And there it is. Scott Gregory, an English pro who was the 2016 British amateur champ, posts 92. He might be the only guy who fails to break 90, but there are going to be a bunch of players who don't break 80 on Thursday. And two guys who appear to be heading that way are to former World No. 1s, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day. Both are at 10 over well into their second nines.
11:35 a.m.: Scott Gregory just double bogeyed No. 17 to fall to 21 over (Yes, TWENTY-ONE over) with one hole to play. That guarantees we will see a score in the 90s at the U.S. Open for the first time since 1992. History!
11:07 a.m.: OK, it's a new nine for the morning marquee group and the first hole is the easiest hole on the course. Time to get something going, right? Nope. Mickelson makes a four-footer for par while Spieth makes bogey and McIlroy makes double. Rory is now nine over through 10 holes. HOWEVAH, if he uses what a 15-handicap friend of mine calls "The Standard" (AKA bogey golf), he's one under. Gotta stay positive.
11:02 a.m.: Jason Day just chipped in on 12! To save par! And stay at six over! U.S. Open, baby!
10:47 a.m.: Jordan Spieth drains a 30-footer birdie putt on 18 to make the turn in . . . 39.
Playing partner Phil Mickelson is also four over, while the third member of the group, Rory McIlroy, cards an opening 42. Let's hope the afternoon super group of Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas fares a bit better.
10:10 a.m.: Matt Kuchar birdies No. 6 to get to two under and tie the early lead with Ian Poulter. Earlier this week, Fox analyst and eight-time PGA Tour winner Brad Faxon said Kuchar was his under-the-radar pick on the Golf Digest Podcast . So if it happens, we're taking partial credit for that prediction. If it doesnt, we're never mentioning it again.
9:55 a.m.: Finally, a little life from Rory McIlroy. He rolls in his first birdie on No. 15 (his sixth holed of the day) to get back to (gulp) five over.
9:52 a.m.: Matthew Fitzpatrick rolls in a 30-foot curler for eagle on No. 5. See? This course isn't that hard. Fitz joins a group of eight players currently under par, led by Charley Hoffman at -2.
9:35 a.m.: Shinnecock is playing tough from tee to green, but the wind is also wreaking havoc on the putting surfaces. Take the story of Scott Stallings, who found the green with his third shot on the par-4 14th, but walked away with a NINE .
9:30 a.m.: Spieth makes his longest putt of the day, a 10-footer, but it's for another bogey. Meanwhile, McIlroy makes a second straight double bogey. At three over through five holes, Mickelson is dusting his playing partners. Fox Sports just came on the air with their coverage. They might be showing a lot less of the morning marquee group than planned if this keeps up. . .
9:10 a.m.: Justin Rose, the second-favorite (and my pick) to win, has moved to red numbers through five holes. Meanwhile, the early marquee group of Phil, Rory and Jordan is a combined 11 over through four holes. Yikes.
8:55 a.m.: Jordan Spieth is not the only big name struggling early at Shinnecock. Playing partners Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy are both two over through three, Jason Day is three over through four, and Bubba Watson is three over through three.
Somewhere, Mike Davis is smiling.
8:43 a.m.: After birdieing his first two holes, Patrick Reed bogeys No. 3. I'll admit, that GRAND SLAM call may have been just a tad premature. . .
8:31 a.m.: The good news for Jordan Spieth? He rammed in a five-footer on his second hole after a miss from a similar distance on his first. The bad news? It was for TRIPLE BOGEY. Yep, Jordan Spieth is four over through two holes. Not an ideal start.
8:28 a.m.: Reigning Masters champ Patrick Reed birdies the first two holes. Patrick Reed is winning the GRAND SLAM!!!
8:23 a.m.: BEEF!!!! Andrew "Beef" Johnston birdies his first hole and that's good news for everyone. Why? Because if the Brit wins this tournament, you can pick up a free sandwich from Arby's on July 4th . Man, if you thought he was popular now. . .
8:19 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, whose putting struggles have been well-documented this year, leaves himself a four-footer for par on his first hole and. . . doesn't touch the hole. Ouch. Mickelson also bogeys, which McIlroy misses a good look at birdie and settles for par.
8:10 a.m.: Mickelson, McIlroy and Spieth all find the fairway on the par-4 10th, their first hole of the day. However, Mickelson goes long, Spieth only finds the front of the green and McIlroy hits a nice shot to about 10 feet. The wind is howling, folks! Well, it's actually pretty typical for this area, but it's certainly a force. Even with some softer conditions from yesterday's rain, we could see some carnage today!
7:55 a.m.: Defending champ Brooks Koepka birdies the opening hole. We're going to have a repeat, people! OK, not so fast. You will probably see a lot of birdies on the 399-yard, downhill par 4, which is arguably Shinnecock's easiest hole. Things get a lot tougher after that. . . But still, it's a nice start for Koepka, who rolled in a 40-footer to quickly get into red numbers.
The U.S. Open is underway at Shinnecock Hills!
Opening-round play is here Thursday in New York. We will be tracking the action. Follow along below…
How to follow the action:
All times Eastern and represent Thursday
TELEVISION: FS1 (9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.); Fox (4:30-7:30 p.m.)
FS1 (9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.); Fox (4:30-7:30 p.m.) ONLINE STREAMING: USOpen.com, Featured Group 1 (7:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.); USOpen.com, Featured Group 2 (8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.); Featured Holes Nos. 7, 9 and 11 (8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.)
USOpen.com, Featured Group 1 (7:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.); USOpen.com, Featured Group 2 (8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.); Featured Holes Nos. 7, 9 and 11 (8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.) ON GOLFWEEK: Tour Tracker | All coverage
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U.S. Open Tracker
UPDATE No. 12 (12:30 p.m. ET): We have a 92 on the board from Scott Gregory. Yep, it’s carnage out here…
https://twitter.com/golfweek/status/1007299023148146688
UPDATE No. 11 (12 p.m. ET): We have a sub-par round!!! No, we’re serious.
Scott Piercy, who was an alternate before getting into the field earlier this week, is in with a 1-under 69 and oh man, what anybody would take for that number today. He’s tied for the lead and one of just two players under par (Ian Poulter, through 14, is at 1 under as well). Piercy is the clubhouse leader by two.
Scott Piercy was an alternate. Scott Piercy is the first player to post a red number in Round 1. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/bGUq5FBzeP — U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 14, 2018
UPDATE No. 10 (11:25 a.m. ET): Rory starts his back nine double bogey-bogey. He is now 10 over through 11. He’s second-to-last.
Jordan Spieth is 6 over through 11. Phil Mickelson, at 5 over, is remarkably the best of the group!
Leaders are still 2 under, but only four are under par now.
UPDATE No. 9 (10:50 a.m. ET): Here are some updates…
The lead is still 2 under, with Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar and Calum Hill (of course) tied at the top. Four more at 1 under. Scott Piercy (1 under through 15) is the only player under par through more than nine holes.
As for big names: Aside from Kuch, Justin Rose and Patrick Reed are doing the best at Even par. Brooke Koepka is 2 over through 11 and Rickie Fowler is 2 over through eight.
Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson both open (on the back) in 4-over 39. Bubba Watson is 5 over through 11 and Jason Day is 6 over through the same. Rory McIlroy goes out in 7-over 42 on the back.
Here’s Rory’s U.S. Open in a nutshell thus far…
UPDATE No. 8 (10:10 a.m. ET): We now have a four-way tie for the lead at 2 under.
Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar, Charley Hoffman and Russell Knox are all co-leaders. Six players are under par total.
UPDATE No. 7 (9:40 a.m. ET): This is really starting to get dim for Spieth and Rory.
McIlroy is now 6 over through five, and Spieth is 5 over through five. Unreal. Charley Hoffman has taken over the solo lead by getting out to 2 under through four holes.
UPDATE No. 6 (9:20 a.m. ET): Phil Mickelson is 3 over through four … and the leader in his group.
That’s because Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are both 4 over. That would be a combined 11 over from that trio. Wow.
The lead is 1 under, held by several players including Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka.
UPDATE No. 5 (9:03 a.m. ET): Here’s a rundown where the big names stand so far. Wind is up today, so the scores are brutal so far.
Patrick Reed: 1 under through 4 (T-2)
Brooks Koepka: 1 under through 4 (T-2)
Rickie Fowler: Even through 3 (T-10)
Rory McIlroy: 2 over through 3 (T-38)
Phil Mickelson: 2 over through 3 (T-38)
Jason Day: 3 over through 4 (T-53)
Jordan Spieth: 4 over through 3 (T-60)
UPDATE No. 4 (8:55 a.m. ET): More examples of carnage…
Jason Day is already 3 over through four.
It's been that kind of start for many of the stars this morning. #USOpenhttps://t.co/6NZAT4UPhS pic.twitter.com/ObgSDrl02d — U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 14, 2018
UPDATE No. 3 (8:45 a.m. ET): We’ve got some morning updates, and some are gruesome…
Aaron Baddeley leads at 2 under (through four) and Patrick Reed starts birdie-birdie-bogey on the back to tie the lead and then fall one back. Defending champion Brooks Koepka is also 1 under through three (on the front). Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy both are 1 over through two on the back.
The bad… Jordan Spieth starts bogey-triple and is already 4 over. Yikes! Matthew Southgate has 93 yards from the fairway for his second at his opening par-4 10th and makes TRIPLE BOGEY! Yeesh! Scott Stallings has yet to make a par and has a 9 on his card! Stallings starts bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey-quintuple bogey-bogey-birdie and is 7 over. Wow!
UPDATE No. 2 (7 a.m. ET): A reminder that these are the conditions that will face the players today at Shinnecock…
The wind is really whipping at Shinnecock this morning. 15-20 mph from the West/Southwest with gusts to 30. It’s gonna be a wild opening round at the #USOpen. pic.twitter.com/Ukx8a4Os8N — David Dusek (@Golfweek_Dusek) June 14, 2018
UPDATE No. 1 (6:45 a.m. ET): The U.S. Open is now underway!
The 118th #USOpen Championship gets underway with Harold Varner III hitting the first tee shot at Shinnecock Hills. https://t.co/WkMkpEAzvt — U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 14, 2018
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