Phil Mickelson struggling early, Rory McIlroy throws a club and more from Round 1
Phil Mickelson discusses participating in the U.S. Open after playing in the LIV Golf Invitational. (1:08)
BROOKLINE, Mass. — Perhaps the talk of LIV Golf vs. the PGA Tour will subside for a few days, with the start of the U.S. Open at The Country Club officially here. Or, at least, until Phil Mickelson returns to the course Friday. Mickelson, the face of LIV Golf, is still searching for that one missing piece of his Grand Slam résumé: a U.S. Open win.
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During the first round, two kids ran off with defending champ Jon Rahm‘s ball on the 18th hole. Rahm got a free drop on the hole while the kids snagged a souvenir.
Adam Hadwin was the leader by 1 at the end of the first day at 4 under. Rory McIlroy is part of a pack chasing him at 3 under, while Phil Mickelson struggled mightily and is near the bottom of the leaderboard at 8 over.
Here’s a look back at the sights and sounds from the first day.
The 15 LIV Golf players in the field this week, for the most part, struggled through the opening round of the U.S. Open. How bad was it? They nearly combined to shoot their name.
LIV, in Roman numerals, is 54.
The 15 LIV players put up a cumulative total Thursday of 53 over. Dustin Johnson (2 under) and James Piot 1 (under) were the only ones among the group to break 70. Jed Morgan had the worst day, posting 12-over 82. Mickelson wasn’t much better, shooting 78. Louis Oosthuizen, who was playing with Mickelson, went around in 77.
Dustin Johnson: 68
James Piot: 69
Shaun Norris: 70
Patrick Reed: 70
Richard Bland: 70
Bryson DeChambeau 71
Sam Horsfield: 73
Sergio Garcia: 74
Talor Gooch: 74
Kevin Na: 75
Jinichiro Kozuma: 76
Branden Grace: 76
Louis Oosthuizen: 77
Phil Mickelson: 78
Jed Morgan: 82
After making the turn at 5-over 40, Mickelson had a bogey on the par-4 10th to move to 6 over. He finally picked up a birdie on the par-3 11th with an 8-foot putt. But then things really got away from Lefty. He made a double bogey on the 12th hole, after pulling his tee shot into the deep rough on the right. He needed two shots to get back on the fairway and ended up carding a double-bogey 6 to drop to 7 over. — Mark Schlabach
Phil Mickelson four-putted the par-3 6th hole after landing his tee shot on the green about 15 feet from the hole. After missing a potential birdie putt, Mickelson pushed the par putt past the hole and missed the comeback putt for bogey.
“Wow,” he mouthed to himself as the third putt couldn’t find the hole.
Mickelson has yet to make a birdie and sits at 5 over after six holes. — Paolo Uggetti
Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka touched them all on the 15th hole.
Left with 205 yards to the hole after hitting his tee shot down the middle of the fairway, Koepka badly yanked his approach shot left. His ball flew into the grandstands and bounced around before coming to a rest.
After getting a free drop at the base of the grandstand, Koepka chipped to about 9 feet and made a par putt. He was 2 over after seven holes. — Mark Schlabach
Finding the range…@BKoepka (+1) worked his wedge to a near-perfect distance on 17 to set up a birdie. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/Q38V0sTpDc
After catching fire on the back half of his round and getting to 4-under, Rory McIlroy tried to go at the pin at the par-4 9th but missed long and right. He had backed off the shot twice and switched clubs beforehand. As he saw it land, McIlroy immediately threw his club. When he reached the green he kept pointing to the left, gesturing at how much room he had had he put it there instead. The frustration carried over through his bogey putt. While he waited for Hideki Matsuyama to finish, McIlroy pulled down his white hat over his face. Still, his 3-under round was good to tie for the lead.
Earlier in his round, with the crowd already four- and five-deep around the 18th green, McIlroy got a light Thursday roar as he drained a 16-foot birdie putt to move to 2-under and 1 stroke off the early lead. The 2011 U.S. Open champion started on the 10th tee early Thursday morning and is coming off a thrilling win at the RBC Canadian Open last week as well as two top-10 finishes in this year’s two majors.
“It’s been eight years since I won a major, and I just want to get my hands on one again,” McIlroy said after the round.
He is attempting to win a major the week after winning a PGA Tour event, after claiming the RBC Canadian Open last week. The last player to do it? McIlroy. He won the 2014 PGA Championship the week after winning the WGC-Bridgestone. No player has ever won the U.S. Open after winning on the PGA Tour the previous week. The closest to do it was Arnold Palmer, who tied for second in 1963, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
— Uggetti and Schlabach
I’m bad at all of those and I swept him in literally his own backyard one night @Joel_Dahmen https://t.co/MuqvAhtSoI
Justin Rose, the winner of the 2013 U.S. Open, had a great shot to start his round.
Early dart for @JustinRose99 🎯 pic.twitter.com/AV4N7BsPbX
After shooting 3-under, Joel Dahmen, held a share of the lead when he finished his first round. He has never finished higher than 10th in a major before, so maybe he’s nervous and might take it easy before the second round.
Doesn’t sound like it.
MY MAN @Joel_Dahmen https://t.co/AgQbMWS6rI
Ben Rector is a Nashville-based pop singer/songwriter who has released seven studio albums.
Golf is hard — even for the best players in the world. Chances are that most players are going to catch a bad break at this week’s U.S. Open, which is considered the most difficult test in golf.
McIlroy found that out on the par-4 fifth hole at The Country Club on Thursday. After he pushed his tee shot right, his ball ended up in the thick grass above a bunker. His feet were well below the ball, so he managed to knock it only about 10 yards — into another fairway bunker. He slammed his club wildly twice into the sand.
Remarkably, McIlroy was able to get up and down out of the sand to save par. — Schlabach
A man on a mission. @McIlroyRory saves par at the 5th. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/6SMjcYqGnD
This is Matt McCarty‘s birdie attempt at the fifth hole. Thought the blocked shots in the Boston area were coming later on Thursday.
Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, had this shot that netted just three yards. He did, however, save par on the hole.
This shot traveled 3 yards …
The Country Club is no joke 😳 pic.twitter.com/v1DZX6e8lI
LIV Golf made sure to get the message out that although this is not its event, its guys are still here.
Happy Birthday Lefty! 🎂🎉#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/xne3iZGgYS
Good luck 💪#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/4hWCHPYOmk
Reigning champion Jon Rahm is one of the golfers out early, along with Max Homa, former Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth, and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa.
Throwing darts at 7 🎯
That’s a bounce-back birdie for @JordanSpieth. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/sd9LQbcbAi
There are birdies to be had today on No. 6.@maxhoma23 (-1) is the latest to find one. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/P1phSsip4E
Use the wind to fade it. Make the putt. Simple game 😁
Back-to-back birdies for @JonRahmpga to get into red figures. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/bvMv8siUG0
Sure, the fans in New England are here to see golf. But forgive them if they are a bit distracted. Something else is on their minds — about 7.2 miles down the road.
Big day for Boston sports 👏@celtics | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/SPHHNf0VkG
The Boston Celtics are hoping to keep their NBA title hopes alive Thursday in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors. (9 p.m. ET on ABC). The Celtics are down 3-2 in the series.