Will Rory do it? Is Bryson going back-to-back? What about Brooks? Setting up a wild final round at the U.S. Open

LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods began with an unknowing tribute to Kobe Bryant by making an eagle putt that optical cameras measured at 24 feet, 8 inches. He ended his opening round with a reminder that getting around Riviera unscathed is no small task. Related: Leaderboard | Tiger fades after special start That’s what made Matt Kuchar’s day all the more remarkable. Kuchar drove to the edge of the 10th green and two-putted for birdie and kept right on rolling until he had a 7-under 64 on Thursday, matching his best score at Riviera and giving him a three-shot lead in The Genesis Invitational. So clean was Kuchar’s round that he only once had to stress over a par putt, and he made the 10-footer at the par-3 fourth. “I think it’s one of the few courses that has truly stood the test of time,” Kuchar said. “It was a great test of golf 50 years ago when Ben Hogan was playing, it’s a great test today with Tiger Woods and all the young boys playing.” The conditions were ideal once the morning chill gave way to mild sunshine, and Kuchar took advantage in the morning. As much as Kuchar loves the course, he has only one top 10 in his 13 previous appearances. Woods was 4 under through eight holes and had to settle for a 69. His record at Riviera is under far greater scrutiny, especially this week as he tries for his 83rd PGA TOUR victory to set the career mark he now shares with Sam Snead. Woods has not won in 10 appearances as a pro, two others as a teenage amateur. This one held promise, especially after he drilled an 8-iron into the par-5 opening hole and made the eagle putt. The death of Bryant on Jan. 26 is still raw in Los Angeles, and the TOUR dedicated No. 8 — Bryant wore Nos. 8 and 24 during his 20 years with the Lakers — with a purple-and-gold tee sign. Woods made birdie there, his last one of the round. “Ironic having those two numbers,” Woods said of the length of his eagle putt. “And then No. 8, happened to hit one in there close and had a nice little kick-in there for birdie.” Brooks Koepka had Nike design some purple-and-gold Mamba golf shoes last October because Bryant inspired him during his return from injury. Koepka called the shoe company after hearing of Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash and suggested something be done, oblivious that he had requested the shoes months earlier. He opened with a 69. Justin Thomas opened with a 74 and was in danger of missing the cut for the second time this year. Woods seemed bent on having his say at Riviera with the eagle and two more birdies through eight holes, leaving him three off the lead and the back nine to play. But he couldn’t keep his swing together, and it eventually caught up with him. A drive to the right on No. 11 hit a eucalyptus tree and ricocheted to the left side of the fairway. He missed the green to the left on No. 12 for bogey. He hit a drive into the left trees on No. 13 and got up-and-down from 165 yards for par. He dropped another shot on the 18th when after hitting so many drives to the left, he leaked one badly to the right and had to pitch out to the fairway, slamming his iron into the cart path in disgust as he walked through the crowd. “Just didn’t hit many good shots on the back nine,” Woods said. “Made a couple loose swings and made a couple good saves on the back nine for par, but just wasn’t able to get any birdies on the back nine.” He said his duties as tournament host kept him away from the practice range except for a short time before the pro-am Wednesday, and he was trying to piece something together for the first round. It only lasted so long. Kuchar made birdie on two of the par 5s, made two birdie putts of 30 feet or longer and rarely was in trouble. “To shoot a number like this, you kind of do most things well,” Kuchar said. “I didn’t find myself in much trouble today. … I felt like it was just steady golf, a lot of opportunities and I was able to convert on a good number of opportunities today” K.H. Lee and Russell Henley also played bogey-free and were at 67, along with Wyndham Clark from the morning wave. Adam Schenk and Harold Varner III each had 67 in the afternoon under a little more breeze and greens that were bumpier from so much foot traffic during the day. Rory McIlroy opened with a 68 and it took him time to get going. McIlroy’s opening tee shot was pure enough, but it bounced over the 10th green and rolled up near the lip of a back bunker. He left his first shot in the sand and did well to escape with par, only to miss 3-foot putts on the next two holes — one for birdie, one for par. He had to scramble his way along the back until blasting a 3-wood to about 30 feet on the par-5 17th and making eagle, and then adding an eagle on par-5 opening hole. The biggest challenge was the cold air in the morning. McIlroy ripped a drive — he did that a lot in the opening round — into the par-5 11th and then came up 30 yards short with a flush 3-wood. About two hours later, he had 289 yards for his second into the par-5 17th and hit 3-wood to pin-high. “It just shows you what temperature does,” McIlroy said. Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Reed were among those at 68. Even in mint conditions, only about one-third of the field broke par.

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CROMWELL, Conn. — We pause now to fondly remember Bubba Watson’s neon pink driver, which broke apart mid-swing on the second tee in the Travelers Championship on Friday. RELATED: Leaderboard | Win probabilities: Travelers Championship | No lead safe at Travelers Championship And, if the three-time Travelers winner is going to have luck like this over the weekend, please spare a thought for the rest of the field at the TPC River Highlands, too. Watson recovered after snapping his driver to make birdie at No. 2 on his way to a second straight 66 that left him at 8 under, one stroke behind 36-hole leader Jason Day. “It was a perfect tee shot right down the middle. Chipped it in there and made the putt for birdie,” Watson said wryly. “Ho-hum.” Day shot 62 for the day’s low score and a chance at his first top three finish in more than three years. The former world No. 1 missed three straight cuts before he tied for 44th at the PGA Championship, then withdrew from the Memorial with a back injury and did not qualify for the U.S. Open. Day seemed to fidget with his back on the course Friday, but still had eight birdies in a bogey-free round. “Sometimes when you do have sort of an injury or stiffness, even if you’re sick, sometimes you can come out and play some good golf,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to not really get in my own way today.” First-round co-leader Kramer Hickok was at 10 under before flying the green on the par-3 16th hole and then three-putting from 18 feet for a double bogey; he finished with a 69 to tie Watson for second. Justin Rose and Kevin Kisner each shot 63 and were among seven player tied for fourth at minus-7. Satoshi Kodaira, who was 7 under after the first round, shot a 2-over 72 in the second. A total of 79 players made the cut at minus-2 on the 6,841-yard, par-70 course outside of Hartford. Just squeaking in on the number: defending champion Dustin Johnson and two-time winner Phil Mickelson. Watson, who won the tournament in 2010, ’15 and ’18, started at No. 10 on Friday morning and was 1 under for the day when he arrived at the par-4, 350-yard second hole. That’s when his driver fell apart — but he didn’t. After making contact with the ball, Watson’s clubhead came hurtling off the shaft, landing short of the gallery to the right and leaving him with a broken shaft in his hands. “Luckily … it didn’t reach the crowd so nobody got hurt,” he said. “Nobody in my group knew were the ball was. Once you hit, you’re focused on where the driver head goes.” Despite a fairly pronounced fade, the ball landed in the fairway, about 50 yards from the pin. Watson pitched to 11 feet and holed the putt. Watson said it might have been the travel, going from hot to cold, or overuse that caused the club to break right above the hosel where the shaft connects to the head. His caddie, Ted Scott, tried to pry out the remnant of the shaft so the head could be reused; Watson had a spare driver in his car trunk in case of just such an emergency. Rule 4.1 allows Watson to replace the club. After hitting a 3-wood on the 437-yard, par-4 third, he had his backup in time for the 479-yard, par-4 fourth. “It’s one of those things that happened before and I always have a backup. They brought me the backup two holes later and I played with that the rest of the day,” he said. “I knew there was only a couple drivers left, so really wasn’t too big a deal.” Watson added birdies on the fifth and sixth holes before holing a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 7 to take the lead at 9 under. He gave that shot back with a missed 3-footer on the final hole. “I was trying to get some extra ones if I could,” he said. “Just one of those things that went the wrong way.” Bryson DeChambeau shot 66 on Friday and was at minus-5, one shot better than Brooks Koepka, who had a 67 in the second round. Koepka’s brother, Chase, who qualified for the tournament last year but withdrew because of COVID-19 protocols, shot 73 and missed the cut at 3 over.

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Round 1 of The American Express takes place Thursday from PGA West’s Stadium Course. The deep field includes defending FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, world No. 1 Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and reigning Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (Golf Channel) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1–7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ FEATURED GROUPS TBA MUST READS The First Look Power Rankings Expert Picks Five things to know about PGA West’s Stadium Course

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