U.S. Open roundtable: Big names struggle in windy opening round

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Each day at U.S. Open, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Patrick Reed (73) said the USGA set up Shinnecock “long and hard” but fair. A lot of players struggled, though, and the field average was north of 76. Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods shot 78. Martin Kaymer and Adam Hadwin each shot 83. Was it too hard or is this just the way a “true U.S. Open” is supposed to look? Sean Martin, Senior Editor: Despite the high scores, I don’t think I saw a negative word about the setup. These scores will happen when the winds are humming like they were today. Fortunately for the players, this was supposed to be the windiest day of the week. Ben Everill, Staff Writer: What is “fairâ€� really? Honestly, I don’t care if they put every flag a pace from an edge because at the end of the day everyone in the field plays the same course. I like it when these guys are out of the comfort zone once in a while. Firm it up some more! Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: I heard more than one afternoon starter complain about the state of the greens, and some of the morning guys felt the pins placements could have been kinder. But in the end, those who played well or reasonably well are going to have their say, while those who struggle will criticize or bite their tongues. This was just really hard, old-school major championship golf. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: I didn’t see a single shot today that led me to believe this was a tricked-out setup. Shinnecock is one of the toughest courses in the world — and that’s before you add U.S. Open conditions and unrelenting winds. I think it was tough but fair, which is exactly what the USGA is going for this week. Phil Mickelson hit 13-of-14 fairways, which was way better than usual, but still shot 77. What went so wrong for Mickelson? Martin: Sometimes you have to wonder if he just wants it too much. Even the optimistic Mickelson has to realize that he only has so many opportunities left to win the U.S. Open. That has to add to the pressure. Everill: Pressure. He wants this too much and as such will never win it. He thinks he has time… I say it has passed. Morfit: I followed this group and noticed that while Mickelson was hitting fairways, he was often leaving himself way too far back. It’s not enough to just hit the fairways with a mid-iron; you’ve got to give yourself a short enough second shot to get at these pins, or at the very least hold the greens. I think he actually played too conservatively, which might be the first time I’ve ever said that about Phil.  Wall: I think he was too conservative off the tee. Hitting the fairway is important, but he left himself with some long second shots. Not only that, he struggled with his iron game a bit in Memphis. I wondered if it could come back to bite him this week. It sure looked that way on Thursday.  There were not many scores in red numbers Thursday, and some surprising names at or near the top of the leaderboard. Which one surprised you most, and why? Martin: It has to be Matthieu Pavon, right? The tattooed Frenchman could follow in the footsteps of countryman Gregory Havret as a surprise contender in a major championship. Pavon is No. 213 in the world ranking and missed five of his last six cuts. He shot 71 on Thursday, though. Everill: I’ve got to go with Russell Henley. I know he’s a TOUR winner and has game but his putter is pretty streaky and I just didn’t expect his short game to hold up in these conditions. More power to him. Morfit: Russell Henley is such a mercurial talent. He looked like the game’s next big star when he burst onto the scene with that win at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and he was great at the Houston Open last year, but he can go so quiet in stretches. I covered his win at Houston, and still I totally forgot how good he is when he’s on. Wall: Scott Piercy walked off the course four holes into a practice round and called his wife to tell her he’d likely be home on Saturday. Now he’s tied for the lead after the first round. Even with his recent U.S. Open success, I did not see that coming.  Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Mickelson, Spieth and Woods were casualties in the first round, with Mickelson’s 77 the best score of the bunch. Which blow-up surprised you most? Martin: I think Day. He has a good U.S. Open record because, like Tiger, he has a knack for grinding out pars in the toughest conditions. Plus, he spoke confidently in his pre-tournament press conference about his chances of regaining No. 1 in the world, and for good reason. He has two wins this season. Everill: Jason Day’s 79. Given he was my pick to win the championship, I was shocked with what I saw. It was also how he made his errors as his trusty putter went missing. Seeing him putt a ball off a green is something I never expected to see. Morfit: Day’s 79. He’s such a grinder in tough conditions, plus he’s won twice already this season. He just didn’t have it. Wall: Jason Day. He normally finds a way to grind out a score even when he doesn’t have his best stuff. Instead, he’ll likely miss out of the weekend for the second straight year.  There was a 92 in the first round, which is obviously too far back, but what’s the highest you could shoot in round one and still be in this tournament? Martin: Raymond Floyd won here in 1986 after a first-round 75. He needed a final-round 66 to overtake a packed leaderboard. It would take something magical to win after shooting higher than that. Everill: I reckon you’re still a rough chance from 6-over and in. It is going to take three very good rounds from there, but with hard and fast and windy conditions set to continue, anything under par or around par is going to move you nicely up the board. Morfit: Anything at 75 or better is still in it. Jimmy Walker, Patrick Cantlay and defending champion Brooks Koepka were among those at 5-over, but as Koepka pointed out an under-par score in the second round would get him (or anyone else on that number) right back in this thing. Wall: I’ll say 5-over still has a chance. But it’s going to take a herculean effort to get out of a deep hole. Posting a couple near-spotless rounds feels like an impossible task at Shinnecock. 

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