Ryan Fox makes strong start to US Open as records fall in first round

Rickie Fowler can always say he was the first to shoot 62 in the US Open.

But only by about 15 minutes.

Xander Schauffele soon matched him on the North course at Los Angeles Country Club with an eight-under 62 of his own, making Thursday (Friday NZT) a most extraordinary day for scoring in the major known as the toughest test in golf.

Tough meant keeping track of all the birdies in the lowest opening round of scoring in U.S. Open history.

“It's not really what you expect playing a U.S. Open,” Schauffele said. “But monkey see, monkey do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front me.”

Kiwi Ryan Fox made a solid start with a two-under 68 to leave him six shots off the hot pace, in a tie for 14th.

Fox made back-to-back birdies on holes No 8 and 9, finishing the front nine in style by draining a putt from over 20 feet. He also birdied the par-five 12th but followed up with a bogey after misjudging an easy putt in his only blemish of the day.

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Kiwi Ryan Fox shot an opening round of 68.

Those who came behind Fowler and Schauffele in the afternoon were on the cusp of joining them. Dustin Johnson hit all 13 fairways – a scary thought for the rest of the field – and had a chance at 62 until his five-iron on the par-3 ninth went into a bunker next to the 18th green.

That led to his only bogey and a somewhat disappointing 64 – rare to say in a U.S. Open – to join Wyndham Clark.

Rory McIlroy went out in 30 – his best nine-hole start in any major – and had to settle for a 65. He whiffed on a delicate flop shot from the thick collar of grass around the 18th and escaped with a bogey to join Brian Harman, who played his first 10 holes in six-under but went one-over from there.

Johnson found his way into the record book. He tied Tiger Woods for most rounds of 65 or lower in the majors (10).

“This isn't your typical U.S. Open mindset of like, ‘I’m just playing for par.' You've got to make some birdies to keep in line with those guys,” Harris English said after a ho-hum 67.

It all started with Fowler, whose remarkable round included two bogeys. He set the record with a two-putt from just under 60 feet on the par-five ninth. That's also when he noticed the leaderboard.

“I knew where I was at,” Fowler said. “I would say from the middle of the round up until the ninth green, our last hole, I didn’t really know or see any scores. And then I saw that Xander was at 7 (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.”

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Rickie Fowler was in superb day one form.

Schauffele got up-and-down from just short of the green on the par-five eighth, and then had a birdie chance from just inside 30 feet that would have topped Fowler and sent him into the major championship record book alone. He left it short and settled for a 62.

They now share the major championship record with Branden Grace, who had a 62 in the third round at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open.

Their record day came on the 50-year anniversary of Johnny Miller posting the first 63 in US Open history. Since then, five players have shot 63 in a US Open, most recently Tommy Fleetwood in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills.

The conditions were prime for scoring – overcast, mild with barely any wind. Condensation in the morning felt like a like mist, and it kept the greens receptive.

Even so, the next best score from the morning wave was a three-under 67 by a group that included Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. Five more players shot 67 in the afternoon.

Others struggled. Justin Rose, who won at Pebble Beach in February and is back to good form, opened with a 76. Jordan Spieth had a 72. PGA champion Brooks Koepka shot 71.

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Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm line up putts.

Masters champion Jon Rahm, playing alongside Schauffele, opened with a 69. That's typically a solid start in the US Open. This one left him seven shots behind.

Schauffele tends to play his best in the U.S. Open – five top 10s in his six appearances, and he has been among the elite on the PGA Tour the last several years even without winning a major.

Fowler is different. He once finished in the top-five at all four majors in 2014. But a recent slump made a challenge just to get in them. He was the first alternate last year at Brookline and had to go home without hitting a shot.

But he went back to instructor Butch Harmon in September and has played well enough to get back into the top 50 in the world after being in danger of falling out of the top 200 a year ago.

AP