U.S. Open: Bryson DeChambeau Faces Challenges At Oakmont As JJ Spaun Sets The Pace

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At the U.S. Open, Bryson DeChambeau, the reigning champion, acknowledged he wasn't at his best after a challenging start. Both DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy faced difficulties on the first day at Oakmont. Despite promising beginnings, they faltered on the back nine, ending over par. They now need to catch up with JJ Spaun, who led with a four-under 66.

DeChambeau was even par after 11 holes but stumbled with three bogeys in five holes, finishing with a three-over 73. McIlroy managed two under through nine holes but then had four bogeys and a double bogey, resulting in a four-over 74. He declined to speak to the media afterward.

DeChambeau aims to join Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange, and Brooks Koepka as golfers who have won consecutive U.S. Open titles since World War Two. Reflecting on his performance, he said, "Just didn't get anything out of it." He noted that despite being one-under through eight holes and hitting a perfect drive on nine, the course quickly challenged him.

He expressed disappointment in his play but remained optimistic about improving his putting to turn things around. "Three-over could have easily been two-under today," he added.

Xander Schauffele, DeChambeau's playing partner, had a better round. He birdied the last two holes to finish at two-under.

JJ Spaun had an impressive first day as he was the only player in the morning wave to complete a bogey-free round. This achievement matched the best start at Oakmont and marked his first bogey-free round in a major tournament.

Spaun admitted that having no prior experience at Oakmont might have been advantageous. "I kind of came out here with no prior history at Oakmont," he said. This was only his second U.S. Open appearance.

Other Notable Performances

Spaun explained that he focused on taking what the course offered and capitalising on limited birdie opportunities while scrambling effectively. "I'm just overly pleased with how I started!" he exclaimed.

Among other players, world number one Scottie Scheffler started late but wasn't among the leaders midway through his round. Im Sung-jae shared first place until his first bogey on the 12th hole dropped him to four-under.

Patrick Reed made history by achieving just the fourth albatross in U.S. Open history early in his round with a two on the par-five fourth hole.