OAKMONT, Pa. – Scottie Scheffler entered the 125th U.S. Open as the presumptive favorite but he struggled in the first round at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday. The world No. 1 made six bogeys and posted 3-over 73, his first over-par round in the opening round of a tournament since the U.S. Open a year ago at Pinehurst No. 2.
“The greens just got challenging out there late in the day,” he said. “There’s so much speed and so much pitch and then with the amount of guys going through on these greens, they can get a little bit bumpy. But you know that’s going to be part of the challenge going in. You’ve got to do your best to stay under the hole and stay patient.”
After a quick birdie at the second, Scheffler made three bogeys in a four-hole span starting at the third. He found the Church Pews bunker at Nos. 3 and 4 and the ditch at nine. He took three putts from 40 feet at 13 and missed from inside 3 feet at 15. He also played Oakmont’s three easiest holes in 1 over.
“The way he opened up the first few holes, you thought this was going to be a Rolls Royce performance from him,” Golf Channel’s Paul McGinley said on “Live From.” “He’s not been himself at all today. His stats are bad and he’s hit a lot of poor shots for him with some uncharacteristic mistakes.”
Scheffler hit just 7 of 14 fairways, 11 greens and was 3 for 7 in scrambling.
Scheffler has never come back from outside the top 30 at the end of the first round to win an official tournament, but McGinley didn’t seem overly concerned.
“He’s like a marathon runner. He knows how to pace himself,” he said. “There’s also a little bit of an intimidation factor going on. He’s so highly regarded by his peers and he’s a hell of a competitor.”
Brandel Chamblee, on the other hand, said, “Forty-nine people to leapfrog is fairly daunting.”
Scheffler, for one, wasn’t too stressed out about being seven off the lead held by J.J. Spaun.
“When I look back at my round today, I think I just need to give myself some more looks at birdie. That’s really all it came down to,” he said. “I’ll clean up some of those mistakes, a couple three-putts and stuff like that, and I think tomorrow will be a better day.”
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