PINEHURST, N.C. — Pinehurst No. 2’s lightning-fast greens, steep runoffs and tricky root fields put their weight on display Thursday in the first round of the 124th U.S. Open.
So much so, that world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler finally took human form by shooting a 1-over 71, while many of the world’s best players were surprised by even higher scores.
Temperatures are expected to rise even further on Friday, making conditions in the second round even more challenging as the greens and fairways become even harder.
“Yeah, it’s really tough,” said Tyrrell Hatton of England, who shot 2-under 68. “Sure, you can hit a great shot where the pins are. Putting it 20 feet out on the green is a great shot, which is crazy to say when you’re hitting something like a wedge into the green.
“It’s just trying to accept that par is a good score. Even if you manage to hit the green, like two-putts aren’t very easy. Yeah, it’s a really tough test.”
They will all be chasing Patrick Cantlay, who is looking for his first major championship win, and Rory McIlroy, who is trying for his first victory in nearly 10 years. He set the pace with a 5-under 65.
Here’s what to watch in the US Open second round:
Cantlay in a new location
For the first time in his career, Cantlay found himself atop a major championship leaderboard with a score of 5-under after the first round. In fact, Cantlay has only finished in the top-10 after the first day of a major championship twice before: at the 2022 Masters and the 2019 PGA Championship. His best finish came in the latter, where he tied for third.
Following his friend Xander Schauffele’s victory at this year’s PGA Championship, there is now an argument to be made that Cantlay is one of the best players in the world even without a major win.
Cantlay has eight PGA Tour wins in his career and is one of the most successful players on the Tour. Yet his major record hasn’t been great. This year, he finished tied for 22nd at the Masters and tied for 54th at the PGA Championship.
There’s still a lot of golf left to play, but Cantlay has immediately put himself in great position. Whether he can keep that up on Friday or Sunday is another matter.
On Thursday, Cantlay hit nine of 14 fairways and only 10 of 18 greens. It was his short game (gained 3.8 strokes in that area) and his putting (only 23 total putts!) that fueled his round of 65, the lowest score ever in a major at Pinehurst No. 2.
“At 7:40 a.m. I knew it was going to be the easiest game I’ve played all week,” Cantlay said. “With less wind and probably the softest we’ll see. I’m really happy with the round I played today.”
At first glance, Cantlay’s path to the top of the leaderboard doesn’t seem sustainable. Sure, you’re not going to hit a lot of greens in regulation at Pinehurst No. 2 anyway, but you also don’t need just 23 putts to finish the course. If Cantlay’s putter stays great and his short game stays sharp, he won’t be leaving anytime soon.
Will No. 2 Pinehurst play even tougher the rest of the week?
Day one of Donald Ross’ playground for the world’s best players saw a little bit of everything. We saw players struggle to keep shots on the green, move from bunker to bunker, remove whole tufts of grass from their approach shots and fall prey to the course’s most devilish contours and challenges.
We also saw 15 players shoot under par – a reminder that no matter how difficult the setup, these players are really, really good. That’s the same number of players who shot under par after the first round at the 2014 US Open.
Even after just one day, it’s clear Pinehurst has a strong start. Four of the hardest played holes on the golf course Thursday were among the course’s first eight holes. No two holes played harder than the 528-yard par-4 fourth hole and the 228-yard par-3. Both played about a half shot over par.
“There’s always going to be a guy who hits the ball great, has everything going for him, makes some bombs, and you can shoot that,” said Sergio Garcia, who finished at 1 under. “Will we see that consistently? If it doesn’t rain, I don’t think it will happen. You can see somebody, yes, shoot a 66 or a 65 or something like that, but at the end of the day, I think as the course gets firmer, faster, a little bit of wind here and there, it’s going to be harder to shoot those scores.”
It will be interesting to see how the USGA treats the rest of the golf course from now on. Green speeds fluctuated between 13 and 14 on the Stimpmeter on Thursday, and if the golf course gets more solid, those speeds could become even more difficult to deal with as the week progresses.
What will Tiger have to do?
After a disappointing 4-over 74 in the first round, 15-time major champion Tiger Woods hoped to try to improve things by going to the putting green on Thursday. After making a 12-footer for birdie on his first hole, No. 10, and two excellent par saves on Nos. 12 and 13, Woods’ putter was too inconsistent on the lightning-fast green at Pinehurst No. 2.
He made three-putt bogeys on Nos. 17 and 1. The three-time U.S. Open winner missed a 4½-footer for par on the par-4 fourth. To his credit, Woods saved pars from 9 feet and 18 feet on Nos. 6 and 7, respectively, or the round could have been even worse.
“I’d like to hit some putts,” Woods said after his round. “My speed wasn’t there. I think I three-putted two or three times today? If I can get that clean, if I get some iron shots that aren’t as loose as I did, I’m even at par.”
This dilemma has persisted for Woods since he returned to competitive golf after seriously injuring his right leg in a car crash in February 2021. He is reluctant to play too much before a major tournament, fearing he will not be able to recover in time from another injury.
But playing less golf has left him searching for answers about his putting because he doesn’t have enough reps.
“I’m getting better physically as the year goes on,” said Woods, who will be looking to avoid missing the cut at a second consecutive major. “I haven’t played that much yet because I don’t want to injure myself (before a tournament), then I won’t be able to play in a major championship.
“It’s a matter of choice, isn’t it? Play a lot without the possibility of playing, or don’t fight as intensely even when you don’t play.”
things to do on friday
In addition to having the most difficult setup of the four major championships, the US Open also has the toughest 36-hole cut. Only golfers with the top 60 scores and ties will be in for the final 36 holes this weekend.
The PGA Championship and Open Championship have 36-hole cuts with the top 70 scores and ties making the cut. The Masters keeps the top 50 scores and ties around for the weekend, but the first major of the season has a much smaller field than the 156-man field at the US Open.
64 golfers were 2 over or better after the first round.
There are several big-name players who will have to work hard to make it through the final two rounds. Defending FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland, whose game finally showed signs of life with a solo third-place finish at the PGA Championship, was no contest Thursday at Pinehurst No. 2, shooting an 8-over 78.
Along with Woods and Hovland, they include: Phil Mickelson (9 over), Justin Thomas (7 over), Sahith Theegala (7 over), Will Zalatoris (5 over), Dustin Johnson (4 over), Shane Lowry (4 over), Justin Rose (3 over), Cameron Young (3 over), defending champion Windham Clark (3 over), Sam Burns (3 over) and Matt Fitzpatrick (3 over).
The problem with trying to build an edge on No. 2 Pinehurst, according to Woods, is that you can get yourself into a lot of trouble when you put pressure on yourself to make things happen.
“It can go very far here, in the wrong direction,” Woods said. “It’s very hard to come back. This is a golf course that doesn’t give a lot of birdies. It gives a lot of bogeys and even more than that.”
What about amateurs?
This weekend there could be a very good battle for the Jack Nichols Medal, awarded to the lower level amateur division, with Ohio State’s Neil Shipley once again leading the way with equal points.
You may remember Shipley from the Masters; he was the low amateur at 12-over 300 and beat Woods by 4 shots in Sunday’s pairing at Augusta National. He had four birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey in the first round at Pinehurst No. 2.
“Knowing that I’m comfortable here is a big deal,” Shipley said. “Knowing that I can compete against the best players in the world on a tough golf course, make the cut. It’s a big deal to know that I have the ability to play well when I come here.”
Duke’s Brian Kim (second over), Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent (third over) and UCLA’s Omar Morales (third over) also make the list.
Sargeant earned status on the Tour through the PGA Tour University Accelerated Program for this season, but opted to return to Vanderbilt for his senior season. He deferred his Tour membership until June 2025.
Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai, who spent two years in the Republic of Singapore Navy, was 5 over after the first round. He won the NCAA individual title at Georgia Tech on May 27. He received invitations to the US Open and the Masters in April 2025.
