Thriston Lawrence (-3) is one shot again, whereas Brooks Koepka, Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im (-2) are tied for third.
Other than the five-time main winner Koepka, the opposite 4 have a mixed seven wins. Lawrence has by no means gained a PGA Tour occasion and is the No. 90 player in the world, whereas Im is the highest-ranked participant of the 4 at No. 23.
Apart from Koepka and Jon Rahm, who’s a two-time main winner, there’s not a lot star energy below par after the opening spherical of the third main this season.
The highest-ranked golfer and three-time winner this season, Scottie Scheffler, finds himself at +3 and tied for forty ninth after a first-round 73 that featured three birdies and 6 bogeys.
Even farther down the leaderboard are 2025 Masters champion and No. 2 participant on the earth Rory McIlroy (+4, tied for 62nd) and the No. 5 participant Justin Thomas (+6, tied for 98th).
The defending U.S. Open champion and No. 10 participant on the earth, Bryson DeChambeau, sits at +3 and in a tie for forty ninth with Scheffler.
All 4 discover themselves no less than seven pictures behind Spaun after Spherical 1, and historical past suggests they may have an extended highway forward of them. In response to The Athletic, no one has gained the U.S. Open from that far back after the opening spherical since Lee Janzen in 1998. It has solely occurred 3 times within the final 60 years.
With solely 10 gamers breaking par on Thursday, it’s clear how treacherous the course is taking part in. Wanting on the historical past of earlier U.S. Open’s on the distinctive course, that shouldn’t be a shock.
In response to Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports activities, there have been 9 U.S. Open’s performed at Oakmont previous to this yr and solely 28 of the 1,385 gamers who’ve competed in these occasions have finished under par.
That doesn’t bode nicely for the celebrities of the game who enter the second spherical on Friday a number of pictures over par. Nobody is secure at Oakmont, however an early deficit will power them to play from behind at one among golf’s hardest programs.
