Four-way tie for lead at U.S. Open

Go ahead, try to make the argument that golfers aren’t athletes after watching Brooks Koepka muscle his way to a second consecutive U.S. Open victory.

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JACKSON, Miss. – Sometimes you get the best results when you least expect it. That was certainly the case for Andrew Landry during Thursday’s opening round of the Sanderson Farms Championship. Battling allergies and an achy shoulder, Landry started the round with low expectations – and then proceeded to light the course on fire, making birdies on the first four holes, and then holing out for eagle from 113 yards on the next to reach 6 under par after five holes. He cooled off after that, and finished with a 6-under 66, good for a spot atop the very crowded leaderboard with Ryan Armour, Conrad Shindler, J.J. Spaun, and Wyndham Clark. And if you had asked Landry what he expected before he teed off, well, he probably didn’t expect to see his name that high up. “Honestly, I wasn’t feeling that up to par going into the day, with my whole golf game and the way I’m feeling,â€� he said. “I’ve been sick the last week. … I’ve been blowing snot out and just nasty stuff.â€� To add to that, he said, “I slept on my shoulder wrong and didn’t really get to practice the last two days. It’s been kind of hurting.â€� So, distractions can help the golf game? “It actually does,â€� said Landry, smiling. “Kind of gets your mind off it, where you don’t have any expectations and you can go out and free up and play golf.â€� Landry’s remarkable opening nine (he started on the back) began with a 6-iron to 4 feet for birdie on the par-3 10th, and ended with a chip-in birdie on No. 18. His back-nine score of 29 included two hole-outs and just nine putts. “It’s fun doing that,â€� he said. “Hitting shots like that and making putts. You just go black out, and it gets really fun.â€� He made two bogeys on his inward nine, but capped the day with a birdie on his final hole, No. 9. Landry, 30, has two Web.com Tour victories but is chasing his first PGA TOUR win. He nearly became an overnight sensation during the 2016 U.S. Open, when he shot the lowest-ever first-day U.S. Open round at historic Oakmont, 66, and then played his way into the final pairing on Sunday. He faltered that day, shooting 78, but that week told him he belonged on this kind of stage. “It’s just a belief system, knowing that you can come out here and play golf and have fun doing something you love,â€� Landry said. “Just believing in yourself. That’s the biggest part of this whole entire job, believing yourself that you can do it and sticking to your game.â€� OBSERVATIONS Spaun’s 66 included seven birdies and several long par putts. All told, he made 103 feet of putts, including 77 feet worth on his inward nine. Armour’s 66 was his best first-round score since he shot 67 on Day 1 of last year’s Sanderson Farms Championship. He’s obviously hoping for a better second round this year – last year he shot 77 on Friday and missed the cut. Local favorite Jonathan Randolph held a share of the early first-round lead– for about 10 minutes. Randolph, who grew up in the Jackson area and considers CCJ his home course, birdied Nos. 13 and 14 to get to 6 under par and a share of the lead in the morning wave, but he then bogeyed 15 and made double-bogey at No. 16. He finished with a 3-under 69. The double on the par-4 16th came after he dumped his second shot from the right rough into water left and short of the green. “I’ve played that hole 100 times, and I knew as soon as I hit it,â€� Randolph said of his water ball. “I told my caddie, ‘You can’t do stupid stuff like that and win this golf tournament.’â€� The last two champions of this event, Cody Gribble (2016) and Peter Manalti (2015), were in the same threesome – and posted decidedly different results. While Gribble struggled to hit fairways and shot 3-over 75, Manalti made seven birdies to shoot 5-under 67 and stand one shot off the lead. NOTABLES WYNDHAM CLARK – A recent University of Oregon grad who is in this week’s field on a sponsor’s exemption, birdied five straight holes (Nos. 11-15) on the way to his 66. He also had an eagle on No. 3. This is his sixth PGA TOUR event, but he does not have status on the PGA TOUR or Web.com Tour. Does he feel pressure to play his way in? “My first few starts, I felt pressure to play well and earn my status that way, but, honestly, this event is to get me ready for Q School, which is next week. If I happen to play great, that’s awesome, and I don’t need to get to Q School.â€� DAVID HEARN – His 68 included birdie putts of 42, 12, 28, and 18 feet. All told, he made 157 feet of putts – tops in the field on Day 1. DRU LOVE – He shot 1-under 71, which was one better than his father, Ryder Cup captain and 21-time PGA TOUR winner Davis Love III. This is the sixth TOUR event they have played in together, and Thursday marked the first time son’s score has bested father’s in the same round. QUOTABLES “I’m just a medium hitter, but I drive the ball awesome. I truly believe I hit driver as the best club in my bag. I like to hit it every hole. There’s holes you can’t hit it, and that’s OK, but whenever I have the opportunity to hit driver I hit it.â€� – First-round co-leader Andrew Landry   “The greens are so pure right now, like marble floors, so if you’ve got good lines and good speed, good things are going to happen.â€� – First-round co-leader Conrad Shindler, whose round included a 25-foot eagle putt on No. 3   “It’s always important, I mean, disregarding the weather. But I saw that stuff. It’s coming. To get off to a good start can only help.â€� – First-round co-leader Ryan Armour, on the importance of a good start in Thursday’s sunshine, with cold and wind forecast for the weekend SUPERLATIVES Low Round: 66, by Ryan Armour, Andrew Landry, J.J. Spaun, Conrad Shindler, and Wyndham Clark. Longest Drive: 381 yards, by Brandon Hagy, on No. 6. Longest Putt: Talor Gooch (71) drained a 51-foot, 6-inch birdie putt on No. 16, for one of just five birdies made there Thursday. Toughest Hole: The par-4, 453-yard 16th hole played to an average of 4.356 and yielded just five birdies. Ten of the 32 double-bogeys posted on Thursday came at 16. Easiest Hole: The par-5, 554-yard third hole played to an average of 4.447. There were three eagles made there, and more than half the field (71 players) made birdie there. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – The player with the unbreakable spirit who finds a way to win this 118th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills could well be a player who has tapped into the requisite stoicism and toughness once already. Dustin Johnson (2016), Brooks Koepka (2017), Justin Rose (2013) and even 48-year-old Jim Furyk (2003) are among those on the first page of the leaderboard who have already won the tournament once. Their secret? Taking their lumps, biting their tongues and coming back for more. “It’s the U.S. Open,â€� said Furyk, who shot 72 and at 6 over is just three off the lead shared by Johnson (77), Koepka (72) and early finishers Daniel Berger (66) and Tony Finau (66). “You know that they’re trying to set the golf course up as close to the edge as possible.â€� The four co-leaders going into Sunday ties the U.S. Open record. Johnny Miller was among four who shared the lead in 1973; Jordan Spieth was one of a quartet at the top in 2015. Both won. “I’m glad I’m in the position I’m in,â€� said Koepka, who is trying to become the first player to successfully defend his U.S. Open title since Curtis Strange (1988, ’89). Rose (73) is just one back after hitting just six greens in regulation but taking only 27 putts, and could be playing for not just his second U.S. Open trophy but also his third PGA TOUR win this season and the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. He could also take over in pole position in the FedExCup. Others in the hunt include fellow major winners Henrik Stenson (2016 Open Championship), who shot 74 and is just two off the lead, and Patrick Reed (2018 Masters), who shot 71 and suddenly finds himself just three back in a bid to win a second straight major. No player has won the season’s first two majors since Jordan Spieth in 2015. One day after a golden twilight bathed Shinnecock and late starters enjoyed an almost total absence of wind, Saturday brought strong gusts, hot sun and crispy greens. The casualties included Rickie Fowler (84), Phil Mickelson (81) and Scott Piercy (79), among others. Still, no one cried foul among those who go into Sunday with a chance. “I feel like the whole entire golf course is fair, even with how the wind is blowing, even with 13 and 15, where those pins are,â€� said Reed. “There’s going to be a lot of guys that are going to complain about those two holes.â€� Mike Davis, the USGA’s CEO, admitted that the organization let a few holes get away from them in the windier-than-expected weather, but your U.S. Open contenders didn’t go there. “I enjoy it,â€� Koepka said. “I enjoy firing away from pins and having to be conservative sometimes and just finding a way to get through it. I mean, my track record is pretty good in U.S. Opens. I feel like the harder the golf course, the better. “It’s already going to eliminate so many guys,â€� he added. “Some guys get down on themselves. You can eliminate them pretty much right away. You can’t get frustrated. You just got to keep plugging away. I think that’s why I’ve done so well.â€� How far back is too far back? Ian Poulter (76) and Charley Hoffman (77) are in a large group at 7 over, four off the lead, and among others with a reasonable chance on Sunday is FedExCup leader Justin Thomas (74, 8 over), who will go into the final round just five back. Given that Berger and Finau each started Saturday 11 shots behind and will wake up Sunday morning tied for the lead, that margin looks imminently surmountable. Attitude may be the final determinant. Instead of debating whether the pins were set too close to the edges, those on first page of the leaderboard have focused on staying away from those edges. “You’ve just got to stay on the fat side of the green,â€� said Furyk, who is already likely to wind up in the World Golf Hall of Fame (17 PGA TOUR wins, including a major and two sub-60 rounds) but would be a shoe-in with another U.S. Open victory. The forecast for Sunday is more sunshine, but with intermittent breezes. Perhaps the USGA will throw some extra water on the course in an effort not to repeat its mistakes of the past. Perhaps not. Best to assume the leaders will face a nasty, fast and fierce Shinnecock. And best to assume the last man standing will waste little or no energy complaining about it.

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