Record scores by Ricky Fowler and Xander Schauffele and solid performances by several big guns were the most striking features of Thursday’s first round of the US Open golf tournament in Los Angeles.
Fowler and Schauffele dished up scintillating play and brought the exclusive LA country club course to its knees with impressive scores of 62 – eight shots short of par.
This equals the lowest score even in a major tournament and improves the record of 63 as the best score even in the US Open.
The previous record of 62 in a major was set in 2017 when South Africa’s Branden Grace achieved it in the third round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale in Southport in England.
The previous Open record of 63 was set by Johnny Miller at Oakmond in 1973 when he accomplished the feat in the fourth and final round to capture the title by one stroke.
Fowler and Schauffele used the calm weather conditions to their advantage and scored birdies with great play on the greens.
The 34-year-old Fowler scored no less than ten birdies, but also had two bogeys on his scorecard, while the 29-year-old Schauffele had a flawless day and scored eight birdies without dropping a shot.
A very calm and composed Schauffele said after his round that he was satisfied with his game, but that it was only the first round and there was still a long way to go.
“My job is to play every day and give the best possible performance. Today the track and conditions gave me a low score, tomorrow things may turn out differently,” said Schauffele about his game.
He has finished in the top 20 each time in the last six major tournaments and is clearly a player who thrives in tough conditions.
Fowler was the first of the two leaders in the clubhouse and said after his performance that the playing conditions were easier than predicted.
“The course was not set up as difficult as expected. I hit the ball very well off the fairway and my approach shots were also good, which gave me a lot of chances for birdies,” he said.
On his chances going forward, Fowler says his plan is to try and keep things simple.
The two leaders enjoy a two-stroke lead over Wyndham Clark and Dustin Johnson, who both recorded scores of 64, with Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman on 65 in joint fifth position after the first day.
McIlroy is considered one of the big favorites to write the title behind his name on Sunday. He is experiencing a major win drought of nine years and will be in his prime with his game in the first round of this year’s Open.
The Northern Irishman unfortunately conceded a stroke on his last hole after he pulled his tee shot to the left in the rough and needed two strokes to get the ball out of the long grass.
Afterwards, he did not want to talk to the media about his performance.
Apart from Johnson and McIlroy, Bryson DeChambaeu and Scottie Scheffler find themselves on 67 strokes below the top ten on the leaderboard and the two Yanks will be satisfied that they are still firmly in the race for the laurels.
Notable stars further back, but by no means out of contention, are Jon Rahm (69), Viktor Hovland (69), Phil Mickelson (69), Sergio Garcia (70), Collin Morikawa (71), Matt Fitzpatrick (71) and Brooks Koepka (71).
Of the four SA players, Thriston Lawrence and the amateur Aldrich Potgieter showed the best with 70s.
Deon Germishuys (72) and Wilco Nienaber (75) will have to play better on Friday if they want to survive the cut-off mark.
