US Open round one: Spaun leads, Scheffler seven back, Rahm in touch

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and James Nicholas are the only two players out on the course that are currently under par.

The Dane is moving on to the 18th, while the American has two holes to complete, the eighth and ninth.

Tony Finau loves his approach into the 18th but it hits a sprinkler head and trampolines up into the stand behind the green.

A case of, if anything can go wrong, it will, for Finau, who is at six over. A fan chucks his ball down to him which has a huge mark on it from the sprinker and the American throws it back over to a youngster in the crowd.

A pleased Jon Rahm spoke after shooting 69 in his opening round at the US Open:

“Just a really good round, really good golf in
general. Everything felt good.I’m extremely happy. I played some
incredible golf to shoot one under, which we don’t usually
say. Not many things I could really say about today

“It’s nice when you get those scoreboards and it tells you how difficult holes are playing. You know that if you’re making par, you’re gaining pretty
much half a stroke on every hole.

“It’s one of the craziest
things that you can see. So pars are always good. And
knowing that if you make a bogey, you’re not losing too
much.”

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen is scrambling on the 16th. Chipping up and over a huge bank that makes it look like he’s behind a Grand National fence, he sends his ball 14 feet past the pin.

Another tough putt incoming and another shot slips away.

Funnily enough the Dane was the first player to win three times during a regular Challenge Tour season since England’s Aaron Rai in 2017, earning him a promotion to the DP World Tour.

Wolverhampton’s finest, Aaron Rai is on the green but 90 feet from the flag on the long par-three eighth.

He must almost feel like he’s putting this from the West Midlands in the UK and overcooks his effort, sending it some 11 feet past.

That’s going to cost the Englishman a shot.

For all you Patrick Reed fans out there… it’s been quite the round.

After that barely believable 286-yard albatross all the way back at his fourth hole, he’s just wrapped up with a miserable triple bogey down 18.

It leaves him at +3 for the tournament alongside the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler.

So not too bad company then.

Cameron Young has wrapped up his round with a very steady level par 70.

Midway through his back nine, he had made it to two under par but Oakmont refused to let him stay in the red, and a final hole bogey leaves him at 70.

Still well placed though after round one.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen drops a shot on the 15th and now strays right into argiably one of the worst spots of rough on the course off the tee on 16.

He’ll do well to stay in the red numbers by the looks of that.

Brooks Koepka speaking to Sky Sports after shooting 68 to sit two off the lead:

“It was a lot of patience and then you’ve got to take advantage if you get an opportunity. I felt like I did that today – hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens.

“I’ve made a lot of changes. The last year hasn’t gone very well. I’ve got into some bad habits. Sometimes it’s hard to get out of that.

“Last week I built a lot of momentum. My coach Pete Cowengave me a stern talking to earlier this week and I have just tried to take that attitude into this week.”

Elaborating on his comments in his media conference later:

” I don’t like having “yes” people
around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell
me what’s going on, what they see. If I start swaying from
being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out
on it, and he did a helluva job on it.”

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen has trouble getting the ball out of the cup on the 14th but none getting it in.

The Dane knocks in a tricky left-to-right putt from 16 feet and remains in a tie for second.

A generous round of applause for Scottie Scheffler, who finds the heart of the green with his approach at the 18th.

He’ll have a birdie putt from just over 20 feet with Viktor Hovland, putting from even farther back.

The Norwegian sends his ball streaking across the green and shares a smile with the world number one as his ball drops in. That was a brilliant way to end his round but Scottie can’t follow suit and an underwhelming round for him ends on a flat note.

Collin Morikawa also concludes with a birdie thanks largely to a majestic iron shot to four feet. The two-time major winner is in decent shape on the leaderboard in a tie for 13th.

Im Sung-jae looks a little jaded as he wanders cross the ninth green to mark his ball after leaving his uphill birdie putt four feet short.

Straight and firm to finish and despite a bit of a scruffy finish, I suspect he’ll be reasonably content with his day’s work.

Jon Rahm’s putt is lacking a bit of pace on the ninth hole and pulls up a little short. That sort of tiddler that you think you should make with no bother but end up missing.

While the Spaniard contemplates what he hopes will be be his final shot of the day, Jordan Spieth steps up to his putt and looks to hit his ball on a good line… but it lips out. Bogey finish for the 2015 champion.

Dustin Johnson is up next, rolling in from a dozen feet to drop just the one after his horror of a second shot.

And here’s Rahmbo to tidy up. Another 69 for the Spaniard in the opening round. I’m sure I saw a graphic on the TV earlier that said he’s shot a 69 in every first round, bar one, since 2019.

Scottie Scheffler has got a job on his hands here to get this to stop coming out of the left sand trap but that has to go down as a job well done even if he’ll be putting from 12 feet.

Viktor Hovland splashes out well past the flag. The Norwegian has a birdie putt from 20 feet plus but puts way too much on that and is unable to save his par on the easiest hole on the course.

Collin Morikawa can’t drop in his birdie putt from 11 feet and Scheffler also slides one past from a similar distance.

Jon Rahm is on his final fairway and hits a pin-seeker of a second, right on line, but the pace is a little off, 30 feet for birdie.

Dustin Johnson is coming in from a similar distance but he’s almost shanked his second. The ball screws out wide right. Wow. A real high-handicapper shot there from the 2016 champion.

Jordan Spieth, meanwhile, is taking a penalty drop after a wayward drive. He hits a great third to 15 feet. Good look for a par.

I think the camera angle is making Im Sung-jae look more hunched over his ball in the bunker than he actually is.

Whatever the stance, he plays a lovely shot, flicking the ball to four feet. But another shot goes. He misses the par putt and the South Korean is suddenly sliding away.

Im Sung-jae probably can’t get to the end of his round quickly enough. An hour or so ago golf was the easiest game in the world as he moved top of the pile at five under par, with no bogeys.

But reaching the summit seems to have unsettled the Korean a bit. And he’s just tugged his tee shot into the sand protecting the left edge of the green on the long eighth. It’s called Sahara and is about 100 yards in length.

Matt Wallace’s first round concludes with a par at the ninth. It’s been a battling display from the Englishman who is currently in a tie for 40th.

Viktor Hovland’s ball scurries across the drivable par-four 17th into the back bunker. It was always going to be hard to stop that with a driver.

Collin Morikawa finds the left greenside bunker, which now welcomes Scottie Scheffler’s ball.

Got the bucket and spade lads?

Jon Rahm is out with the putter from off the front of the eighth green and he’s judged that pretty well, the ball pulling up four feet short.

From an almost identical position, Jordan Spieth gives his putt a bit more of a biff and his ball is equidistant to Rahm’s on the other side of the hole.

Pars all round.