Rickie Fowler’s putt was the length of a pencil. Cameron Tringale could’ve used an eraser. Tringale’s error — signing an incorrect scorecard — saved him a couple hours of waiting around before he headed home, as well.
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SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Open prides itself on being the most open of all majors with some 9,000 players from all walks of golf having a chance to compete. Open, indeed. RELATED: Leaderboard | Richard Bland: Five things to know The weekend at Torrey Pines features major champions and major contenders, players who are unknown or unheralded, all of them still within reach of that U.S. Open trophy. Nine shots separated first from last. It starts with Richard Bland, a 48-year-old from England who finally won on the European Tour last month in his 478th try. Bland had a 4-under 67 and walked off Torrey Pines with his name atop the leaderboard in only his fourth major. His first one was 23 years ago. Russell Henley had a chance to build a two-shot lead Friday afternoon when he stood over an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth. He missed, and then watched his 2-foot par putt spin out of the cup. That gave him a 70 to join Bland 5-under 137. They will be in the final group Saturday, with plenty of heavy hitters behind them and getting far more attention. Former Open Championhip winner Louis Oosthuizen (71) and Matthew Wolff (68), the U.S. Open runner-up last year at Winged Foot, were one shot behind. Another shot back were two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (67) and Jon Rahm (70), a past winner at Torrey Pines and former world No. 1. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka were at even par, only five shots behind. They were on the same score. They will not be in the same group. Also at even-par 142 was Justin Thomas, who had a 68. “Most times if I’m five back going into a Saturday, I need to probably make 12, 15-plus birdies on the weekend to hang in there,” Thomas said. “But this is a U.S. Open. It’s a little bit different.” Henley doesn’t know much about Bland except that he pays a little attention to golf worldwide and recalled hearing about his British Masters win to end his long quest for a victory. “I’m sure he knows nothing about me, too,” said Henley, a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR who has played 26 majors without a top 10. Bland’s victory in the British Masters made him the oldest first-time winner in European Tour history. That also was the start of a three-tournament series for the leading 10 players to get into the U.S. Open. Travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated the 36-hole qualifier in England. This is only his fourth major — twice at Royal Birkdale in 1998 and 2017, once at Bethpage Black for the U.S. Open in 2009 — and he came in on a high note. “A lot of guys have a lot more on the CV than I do,” Bland said. “But I’m here to compete and give it everything I’ve got.” Oosthuizen, coming off a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship, finished with two pars in the morning to cap off a 67 to share the first-round lead with Henley. He didn’t get any lower in the second round and shot 71, but was right in the mix. So was Wolff, a surprise only because he lost all joy playing golf after such a hot start out of Oklahoma State that he walked away from the game for two months, even missing a major at the PGA Championship. He returned to the toughest test in golf and shot 70-68, two-putting for birdie on the last hole. “It’s awesome that I came out here and played well, but I think more importantly, I’m just getting closer to being more comfortable and being happy and enjoying it,” Wolff said. “I feel like I’ve done a very good job of enjoying it, but I’ve still got a long way to go to keep a level head. Like I said, I’ll probably be working on the same thing that I’m working on now for the rest of my career.” Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy were headed the wrong direction. Johnson, who missed the cut in the Masters and PGA Championship, dropped to 4 over until a late rally gave him a 73 and a spot in the weekend. He was seven behind. McIlroy had to birdie two holes down the stretch for a 73. He was six behind. The 36-hole lead at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open was 3-under 139. The course is strong as ever with enough wind, though a marine layer has kept sunshine from baking out some of the greens. Then again, the weekend awaits. The weekend will include Phil Mickelson, whose deft scrambling kept him inside the cut line and he finished with a birdie for a 69. He was seven shots behind in his quest to complete the career Grand Slam. Bland will be a big part of the weekend, and that’s the charm of the U.S. Open. “I love that about the game,” defending champion Bryson DeChambeau said after a 69 left him five shots behind. “Anybody, any age group, can play this great game and compete and contend. If you’re got the skill set to get the ball in the hole in the least amount of shots, you can be up there with the young guns.” Bland is the classic journeyman, happy to be making a living at golf for more than two decades, disappointed to have not won until he broke through last month, not nearly surprised as most everyone else that he was tied for the U.S. Open.
NOTE: For the first three events of the FedExCup Playoffs, Rob will focus only on golfers outside the bubble to advance. In this first edition, all five included below open the Playoffs outside the top 100 in points. Jimmy Walker … The effect of Lyme Disease on his performance is evident, but at 101st in the FedExCup points, he has the shortest road to advance. The last two times he’s fallen outside the top 100, he climbed back in thanks to a T18 at The Greenbrier Classic and a T28 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. His physical challenge hasn’t negatively influenced his trademark putting, either. If anything, he’s found strength and confidence in it. His overall putting average of 1.502 strokes per hole played is a five-year low among all golfers on the PGA TOUR. Steve Stricker … When you turn 50, your Official World Golf Ranking is supposed to plummet, not rise as his has. Currently 77th in the OWGR and 110th in FedExCup points on the strength of two top 10s and a trio of top 20s. Also 18th on the PGA TOUR Champions money list in just six starts, but it’s his vintage work on the junior circuit that’s kept him floating for a sprint in the Playoffs. He’s second in fairways hit, T33 in proximity, 10th in strokes gained: putting and 23rd in adjusted scoring. A titillating sidebar to his prospects is that the Presidents Cup captain just might play alongside eventual charges who are eager to impress. David Lingmerth … Given his spot at 103rd in points and that a top-40 finish in the first tournament of the Playoffs historically has been enough to lock up a tee time at TPC Boston the following week, the Swede is as smart a projection as it gets among the 24 outside the top 100 and present at Glen Oaks. In his last 10 PGA TOUR starts, he rung up seven top 30s and didn’t miss cut. If that seems like the bar has been lowered to view him as a threat, consider that he recorded only one top 30 and missed the cut in half of his first 10 TOUR starts this season. Slots 11th in strokes gained: putting. Rory Sabbatini … As one of the four who snuck inside the top 125 of the FedExCup standings at the Wyndham Championship, it’s all gravy now for the 41-year-old. It’s the payoff of the battle back via the Web.com Tour graduate reshuffle category, a necessity secured in advance when he failed to meet the terms of a Minor Medical Extension to start 2016-17. At 122nd in the FedExCup standings at THE NORTHERN TRUST, he could use a T4 like he posted at the Wyndham Championship (but a top 25 should do). He’s well aware of how his uptick in putting is behind the sudden surge of five top 25s in his last six starts. Case in point, he enters having recorded positive strokes gained: putting totals in four consecutive measured tournaments for the first time in over two years. Richy Werenski … Talk about comin’ in hot! The 25-year-old rookie was 160th in the FedExCup standings after an 0-for-5 rut through The Greenbrier Classic. All he’s done since is go 5-for-5 with 16 red numbers in as many stroke-play rounds to complement a playoff loss at the Barracuda Championship. Now 108th in points, just like with Sabbatini, Werenski’s timely turnaround is directly attributable to markedly stronger putting. During this stretch, he’s jumped 59 spots to 119th in strokes gained: putting by shedding 1.66 strokes per start on average.
AVONDALE, La. – They call it ham and egging when a team cleverly splits their good holes between them. Chez Reavie and Lucas Glover timed it perfectly with six birdies each to send their team to a blistering opening 12-under 60 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Thursday and a share of the lead with Chinese duo Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou. The key? Making a ton of putts after solid communication. While most teams leave each individual to do their own thing in Four-ball play, this pair picked each other’s brains. And it worked. “We read them right early, and that just gave us good feeling for the rest of the day. Chez birdied the first two; we were dead on with both the reads, so we just kept it going,â€� former U.S. Open winner Glover explained. “We changed maybe a ball or two in a direction one way or the other and that was it. We were pretty right on. Luckily we were hitting our lines also.â€� The pair combined last season for a T39 finish and learned plenty from the experience. Joining back together again they’ve taken an analytical approach, as well as putting in plenty of practice. “I think we’re both really good ball strikers. We wanted to strategize properly, and so I would lay back in some of the fairways and let him get more aggressive on the tees,â€� Reavie explained. “We’re just very comfortable helping each other out. If I tell him something and he’s not all in, then he’s going to do what he wants and I’m completely good with it, and vice versa.â€� They expect to keep the roll going in alternate shot on Friday after getting in a solid 27 holes of practice in the format over the past few days. NOTABLES Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou have been struggling a little in their rookie seasons on the PGA TOUR, but the Chinese pioneers had no such issues Thursday. Zhang, who sits 128th in the FedExCup and Dou, who is a distant 215th, came flying home in the final group to join the lead at 12-under 60. Despite being in the culinary town of New Orleans, the pair said they felt at home after finding a Chinese market and buying supplies. Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown are still a little rankled by their playoff loss to Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt a year ago, so their 10-under 62 to open this year was certainly a step in the right direction for redemption. They sit T3. “Obviously we didn’t finish it off the way we wanted to, so we’re coming back for a little revenge this week,â€� Kisner said. Tony Finau and Daniel Summerhays have been friends a long time. They share the same coach (Daniel’s brother Boyd) and Utah roots. Summerhays opened their round with two birdies and closed it the same way to help them to a 10-under 62 and T3 position. Finau – in his return from an ankle injury had six birdies of his own. “I think it’s really important to get off to a good start in best ball,â€� Summerhays said. “Last year we started alternate shot and you always felt like you were behind the eight ball, because it is a more difficult format. So to come out and really play good golf as a team I think that sets us up really nice for tomorrow.â€� Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley are looking to continue the trend of international winners at the Zurich Classic. The English pair and good mates fired up an impressive 10-under 62 to be T3. Both have won on the European Tour this season and are looking to now notch up a PGA TOUR win. “It’s been kind of the best start to the year I’ve ever had,â€� Paisley said. “It’s been amazing. Hopefully I can just kind of keep it going. Maybe get my card over here. That would be great.â€� Jim Furyk and David Duval turned back the clock with an impressive 7-under 65. Duval, who has played just seven TOUR events in the last three seasons and hasn’t made a cut since 2015, produced four of the seven birdies. “It’s a joy,â€� the former World No. 1 Duval said. “The competition is different. I certainly miss it. I’d like to play a little bit more than I do.â€� Rob Oppenheim created a huge highlight with an albatross on the par-5 7th hole. His hole-out from 262 yards helped his partnership with Nick Lashley open with an 8-under 64 to be T11. Roundup: Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer sit T32 after a 6-under 66. Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt started their title defense with a respectable 7-under 65 to be tied 21st. Patrick Reed, in his first start since winning the Masters is T21 after a 65 with Patrick Cantlay. FedExCup leader Justin Thomas and Bud Cauley struggled to a 2-under 70 to be T77 of 80 teams. QUOTABLES Going to try and look good so we feel good to play good.When you got on so well and you feel comfortable, it makes a big difference out there.He’s the par-3 assassin, so he gets three Par-3s and I get to putt them.Sometimes simplicity is huge in this game. SUPERLATIVES Low Round: 12-under 60 from the Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover and Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou teams. Hardest Hole: Par-4 15th played as the only hole over par at 4.013. It yielded just five birdies. Easiest Hole: The Par-5 7th averaged at 4.238 and had three eagles and 54 birdies. SHOT OF THE DAY
