Tag: Pinehurst No. 2

These notables are in danger of missing the cut after first day of the 2024 U.S. Open

These players have work to do.

The first round of the 2024 U.S. Open is in the books, and we’re ever closer to crowning a champion at Pinehurst No. 2.

Before we get to that point, there has to be a cut, which is the top-60 and ties at the U.S. Open. The USGA’s championship is smack in the middle of the majors when it comes to weekend cuts. The PGA Championship and Open Championship each allow the top-70 and ties to play the weekend while the Masters, which has the smallest field of the majors, is the top-50 and ties.

And after the opening day at the U.S. Open, there are plenty of notables who have work to do come Friday to make the weekend.

Pinehurst No. 2 is playing like a typical U.S. Open. Firm, fast, and there were plenty of scores over par on the opening day. Don’t expect there to be more birdies than bogeys over the next three days.

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After the opening day of play, the cut is projected at 2 over with 64 players in position to play the weekend. Here’s who is on the outside looking in.

The 2022 U.S. Open champion played alongside Tiger Woods and Will Zalatoris in the opening round and had the best round of the group. But he has work to do to avoid only his second missed cut at the U.S. Open.

The defending U.S. Open champion has some work to do come Friday to make the cut, though he’s not too far back. He had only one birdie and four bogeys in the opening round while struggling with his irons, hitting only nine greens.

Big Cat is making his first U.S. Open start since 2020, but a poor stretch in the middle of his round that included five bogeys in seven holes means he has work to do.

The 2016 U.S. Open champion had five bogeys before his lone birdie of the day.

Many may forget Zalatoris came a couple shots away from possibly having two major titles in 2022. He has been up and down since return from back surgery, but a 5-over performance on Thursday has him behind the 8-ball.

Thomas, a two-time major champion, had nine bogeys in his first round, though two birdies helped offset the damage just a bit.

Considering Theegala was 7 over thru 6 holes, shooting even par the next 12 is a huge bonus. Possibly it’s some momentum heading into Friday?

It seemed as if Hovland may have figured out his slow start to the season with his strong showing at the PGA Championship. But on Thursday, he had as many doubles as birdies and had a lot of bogeys, too. The 78 is his worst round in a U.S. Open.

Mickelson has six runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, the one major he hasn’t won in his career. And after one round, it’s likely that’s not happening this year after as many bogeys as pars (9 each) in the first round. He beat only two players Thursday.

2024 U.S. Open Friday second round tee times, pairings and how to watch

The first round is in the books.

The first round of the 2024 U.S. Open is in the books.

Patrick Cantlay, who has struggled in recent months, opened at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina in 5-under 65, his best score in more than four months. Rory McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champ, birdied two of his final three holes to tie Cantlay at 5 under.

Masters runner-up Ludvig Aberg shot 4 under. Bryson DeChambeau shot 3 under and is again on the first page of the leaderboard at a major.

The purse for the 2024 U.S. Open is $21.5 million with $4.3 million going to the winner. It’s the largest major championship purse.

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As for Friday’s tee times, the top three players in the world tee off No. 10 at 7:29 a.m. ET on Friday with Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and McIlroy. Cantlay goes in the afternoon at 1:25 p.m. ET off the first, and the group before him at 1:14 p.m. features Tiger Woods, who opened in 4-over 74.

Here are the tee times and pairings for the second round of the 2024 U.S. Open:

Friday tee times

1st tee

Time Players
6:45 a.m.
Greyson Sigg, Grant Forrest, Wells Williams
6:56 a.m.
Chesson Hadley, Mark Hubbard, Adam Svensson
7:07 a.m.
Beau Hossler, Victor Perez, Adam Schenk
7:18 a.m.
Robert MacIntyre, Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes
7:29 a.m.
Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Tom Hoge
7:40 a.m.
Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Max Homa
7:51 a.m.
Sepp Straka, Peter Malnati, J.T. Poston
8:02 a.m.
Gordon Sargent, Jake Knapp, Cameron Young
8:13 a.m.
Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel, Adam Scott
8:24 a.m.
Ben Kohles, Denny McCarthy, Ben James
8:35 a.m.
Frankie Capan III, Andy Svoboda, Luke Clanton
8:46 a.m.
Harry Higgs, Hiroshi Tai, Brandon Wu
8:57 a.m.
Joey Vrzich, Chris Naegel, Otto Black
12:30 p.m.
Rico Hoey, Tom KcKibbin, Matteo Manassero
12:41 p.m.
Dean Burmester, Rikuya Hoshino, Seamus Power
12:52 p.m.
S.H. Kim, Justin Lower, Tim Widing
1:03 p.m.
Lucas Glover, Sam Burns, Cameron Smith
1:14 p.m.
Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tiger Woods
1:25 p.m.
Patrick Cantlay, Matt Kuchar, Russell Henley
1:36 p.m.
Tony Finau, Ludvig Aberg, Dustin Johnson
1:47 p.m.
Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson
1:58 p.m.
Daniel Berger, Ryan Fox, David Puig
2:09 p.m.
Ben An, Sam Bennett, Edoardo Molinari
2:20 p.m.
Austin Eckroat, Adrian Meronk, Cam Davis
2:31 p.m.
Aaron Rai, Davis Thompson, Zac Blair
2:42 p.m.
Willie Mack III, Richard Mansell, Ashton McCulloch

10th tee

Tee time Players
6:45 a.m.
Jason Scrivener, Brandon Robinson Thompson, Brendan Valdes
6:56 a.m.
Santiago de la Fuente, Sam Bairstow, Eugenio Chacarra
7:07 a.m.
Kurt Kitayama, Taylor Moore, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
7:18 a.m.
Jason Day, Harris English, Tom Kim
7:29 a.m.
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler
7:40 a.m.
Brian Harman, Nick Dunlap, Wyndham Clark
7:51 a.m.
Hideki Matsuyama, Jackson Suber, Jordan Spieth
8:02 a.m.
Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer
8:13 a.m.
Akshay Bhatia, Eric Cole, Erik van Rooyen
8:24 a.m.
Brendon Todd, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren
8:35 a.m.
Thomas Detry, Brian Campbell, Jackson Buchanan
8:46 a.m.
Taisei Shimizu, Gunnar Broin, Maxwell Moldovan
8:57 a.m.
Sung Kang, Riki Kawamoto, John Chin
12:30 p.m.
Michael McGowan, Carter Jenkins, Logan McAllister
12:41 p.m.
Frederik Kjettrup, Christopher Petefish, Parker Bell
12:52 p.m.
Omar Morales, Max Greyserman, Casey Jarvis
1:03 p.m.
Corey Conners, Stephan Jaeger, Emiliano Grillo
1:14 p.m.
Ryo Ishikawa, Francesco Molinari, Sergio Garcia
1:25 p.m.
Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka
1:36 p.m.
Rickie Fowler, Adam Hadwin, Phil Mickelson
1:47 p.m.
Min Woo Lee, Sahith Theegala, Nicolai Hojgaard
1:58 p.m.
Si Woo Kim, Matthieu Pavon, Sungjae im
2:09 p.m.
Nico Echavarria, Robert Rock, Neal Shipley
2:20 p.m.
Takumi Kanaya, Stewart Hagestad, Mac Meissner
2:31 p.m.
Isaiah Salinda, Bryan Kim, Jim Herman
2:42 p.m.
Carson Schaake, Charles Reiter, Colin Prater

Friday’s TV information

Peacock: 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Featured Groups: usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, all day

U.S. Open All Access: Peacock, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

NBC: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Peacock: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Golf Central: Live From the U.S. Open, Golf Channel, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Neal Shipley, with perhaps the greatest clubhead cover at the 2024 U.S. Open, shoots even par in first round

It might be one of the coolest pieces of golf gear at Pinehurst No. 2 this week.

There are clubhead covers and then there’s this thing that Neal Shipley has at the 2024 U.S. Open.

While we’re not sure if it’s a part of an NIL deal for the 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up or just a funny thing to have, it is perhaps the coolest piece of golf gear at Pinehurst No. 2 this week: an Arby’s curly fries clubhead cover.

Shipley was the low Amateur at Augusta National and got to play Sunday’s final round there with Tiger Woods.

He was later asked about what he learned about himself that week.

“Just knowing that my game can compete out here and I don’t need to do anything special to make cuts,” Shipley said. “When I was just kind of doing my thing and not doing anything special, that was good enough to make the cut and compete out here and beat a lot of players.”

His first-round, even-par 70 to start his week confirmed his game does compete, even on challenging layouts.

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“I think my game really comes out when the golf course is really difficult,” he said Thursday. “I can separate myself from the field because I drive the golf ball so well. When you’re playing some golf courses in college golf, it’s like a wedge contest or putting contest. When you come out to majors, it’s not like that at all. Feel like my game is really suited for these tough, tough conditions.”

Shipley did have a double bogey on the 18th hole and two other bogeys on his card but he also had four birdies. He’s one of 16 amateurs in the field this week, but indicated he’ll likely make his pro debut in Canada next week on the PGA Tour Americas.

Patrick Cantlay shoots a 5-under 65 to grab the early lead at the 2024 U.S. Open

“A lot of balls on the fairway. Left the ball in the right spots, for the most part,” Cantlay said.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Teeing off at 7:40 a.m. on Thursday from the 10th tee, Patrick Cantlay knew that with the lack of wind and the softest the course may play, these likely were the best conditions he’d see all week at Pinehurst No. 2. The 32-year-old Cantlay took advantage, making six birdies and posting 5-under 65 to grab the early first round lead at the 124th U.S. Open.

“Played pretty solid most of the way. I thought the golf course played pretty difficult. But drove it well. A lot of balls on the fairway. Left the ball in the right spots, for the most part,” Cantlay said.

He got into red figures early by sinking a 35-foot birdie putt at No. 11, but gave a stroke back when he missed the green to the left and failed to get up and down at the par-3 15th. That proved to be his lone bogey of the day and his short game otherwise shined: he was seven of eight in scrambling and topped the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green.

With a warm sun beating down on his neck, Cantlay rolled in a 17-foot birdie at 18 to get back into red figures and stuck a short iron to five feet at the first for back-to-back birdies. He followed suit with consecutive birdies again at Nos. 5 and 6, the latter thanks to holing a 20-footer. He was happy to see his putter back in his good graces, highlighting a tricky five-foot save at No. 7.

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“Made a bunch of putts inside, eight feet. I think around this golf course, you’re going to leave yourself putts inside eight feet. That four- to eight-foot range. It important that you hole out,” he said. “I did that well today.”

That included at No. 8, where he made his final birdie of the day after sticking his approach from 176 yards to four feet.

“It was a little left of where I was aiming, but that’s why you aim in the right spot,” he said.

Cantlay is making his ninth appearance at the U.S. Open, and recorded his best result in the championship last year, finishing T-13. Ranked ninth in the world, Cantlay is winless in more than a year and is one of four players in the top 10 – along with Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg and Max Homa – seeking that elusive first major. He missed the cut last week at the Memorial, a tournament he has won twice, and has been a non-factor at the first two majors.

“I’ve been working really hard on my game, and usually when you make just a couple changes and you’re working really hard, it’s just a matter of time,” Cantlay said.

2024 U.S. Open
Ludvig Aberg reacts on the eleventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Aberg had his driver clicking on all cylinders. He hit all 14 fairways in the first round and played judiciously with his approach shots.

“Staying very disciplined is important. There’s a lot of pins where you don’t really think about going for,” said Aberg, who played here previously at the 2019 U.S. Amateur.

He followed his game plan well, carding 4-under 66 to sit alone in second. The 24-year-old Swede is seeking to become the first player from his country to win the U.S. Open and the first to win in his championship debut since Francis Ouimet in 1913. France’s Matthieu Pavon eagled both of the par 5s and posted 3-under 67. Tiger Woods scattered six bogeys on his card and shot 4-over 74. He’ll be battling the cutline on Friday.

“I thought I did the one thing I needed to do today, which is drive the ball well,” he said. “I did that, I just didn’t capitalize on any of it.”

Cantlay, on the other hand, did just that. If his lead stands at the end of the day, it would be Cantlay’s sixth 18-hole lead/co-lead in individual stroke-play events on Tour, and perhaps an ominous sign for his chances. He’s 0-for-5 converting the victory. But he’s pleased that he had the right answers to the questions the famed Donald Ross layout served up in round one and knows that the test is only going to get harder.

“With the weather cooperating, it being warm, I imagine they can get the golf course as difficult as they want,” Cantlay said. “With the Bermuda greens and no rain in the forecast, I expect the golf course to play very difficult in the next few days.”

Did Sergio Garcia have something to prove in opening round of 2024 U.S. Open? ‘No, of course not’

Did Garcia feel any pressure to prove that he warranted a spot in the field? Not exactly.

PINEHURST, N.C. — With 24 U.S. Opens in his rearview mirror, you’d think Sergio Garcia’s routine for this major championship would be tried and true, a consistent formula he’s honed through years.

But since his five-year exemption into the event from his 2017 Masters victory had ended and — by virtue of joining LIV Golf — his Official World Golf Ranking has slipped to 773, Garcia tried to play his way into the event through a Dallas qualifier, just up I-35 from his home in Austin, Texas.

After a 5-under opening round in the 36-hole qualifier, Garcia appeared poised to find his way back into the Pinehurst field. He struggled in the second round, however, and then found himself in a 7-for-6 playoff where he was the only player eliminated after the first playoff hole.

So when Garcia got a call from USGA officials on Monday, informing him that he’d been pushed into the field after finding his way onto the alternate list, the 2024 U.S. Open took on a very different feel, one in which Garcia was simply elated to be in the field, rather than thinking about his chances to secure a second major.

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After he opened play at Pinehurst No. 2 on Thursday with a first-round 69, the fiery Spaniard’s expectations have taken a markedly different outlook.

“Obviously to shoot under par in a U.S. Open, which is a championship that I love, it’s always great,” Garcia said. “To go bogey-free is even greater. It’s something that I give a lot of respect to, and I’m very proud of. I’ve had the pleasure of playing this championship 25 years in a row, so not a lot of people get to do that, so I’m very, very happy to be here, and that’s why I keep trying to qualify and make it here.

“Very happy about the way I played, the way I managed my game throughout the whole round, and how patient I stayed all day.”

Garcia had plans to attend the event with wife Angela and his family either way after learning he’d been named an alternate, but admitted that when the call came it added a sense of relief. And after a few practice rounds, Garcia didn’t feel much pressure as he let loose on the fairways at the Donald Ross design on Thursday.

“I did drive it really, really well. Very aggressively, too,” he said. “You can aim at flags from the spots that I was. You can, but if you’re not perfect, all the good work that you do from the tee you can throw it in the trash in a couple of holes where you’re just a little bit off, and you can struggle to make even bogey here.

“I tried to stay very calm and very committed to what I wanted to do, which was to hit a lot of greens after driving the ball that well and give myself a lot of outside chances for birdie.”

Sergio Garcia putts on the first green during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports

Garcia had just a single birdie on the day, but it was a beauty. Garcia pushed his second shot on the par-5 5th hole into a bunker, but nearly holed out from the sand and tapped in for an easy birdie from inside two feet.

Making his third appearance in an Open at Pinehurst, Garcia is familiar and comfortable with the venue, even if it has a different look in recent years since a renovation from Coore and Crenshaw.

“I’ve always liked it here. I’ve obviously played in 2005 and 2014.  I did very well in 2005.  The course was playing different than it is now,” he said. “I’ve always liked U.S. Opens because I don’t feel like you have to birdie every hole. You’re making a lot of pars, you’re not losing really much ground, other than a couple of venues that we played in the last maybe seven or eight years.”

Since he qualified as an alternate, did Garcia feel any pressure to prove that he warranted a spot in the field? Not exactly.

“I mean, I love what I do, which is playing golf. I’m a competitor. I try to do it the best I can,” he said. “Do I have to prove anything? No, of course not. Would I like to play better and better every day? Of course I would. Who wouldn’t. When it comes down to proving things, I don’t think so. I think I’ve done well enough.”

Poor approach shots, spotty putting highlight Tiger Woods’ opening round at 2024 U.S. Open

An interesting opening round.

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Tiger Woods had a little bit of good, a little bit of bad and a lot of meh during his opening round Thursday of the 2024 U.S. Open.

The three-time U.S. Open champion opened in 4-over 74 on Thursday morning at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, a place his worst finish is T-3 in two previous starts.

Woods made birdie on his first hole and was tied for the lead throughout points of the morning, but struggles approaching the green, and throughout the middle of the round on them, resulted in a string of bogeys that slowly dragged him down the leaderboard.

“This golf course is all about the greens. The complexes are just so difficult and so severe that, I mean, I think 1-under par is only in fifth. There aren’t that many scores that are low,” he said after his round. “It’s hard to get the ball close. In most golf courses you play, you hit shots into where it’s feeding off of slopes into flags, whereas collecting. Here everything is repelling. It’s just hard to get the ball on top of the shelves.

“You know if you miss it short side, it’s an auto bogey or higher. Being aggressive to a conservative line is I think how you need to play this particular golf course.”

U.S. Open: Best Tiger Woods photos | Shot-by-shot analysis of Woods’ round

Woods started on the par-5 10th, and after a brilliant pitch from the native area he buried a birdie putt to begin his day. Then it was a string of five bogeys in seven holes, starting on No. 16, to move him to 4 over thru 13.

However, Woods had an eagle putt on the par-5 fifth before knocking in an easy birdie. He added another bogey on the eighth before a great up-and-down on the par-3 ninth to conclude his opening round.

Woods’ issue Thursday was his approach shots. He hit 12 of 14 fairways and was great off the tee. He hardly gave himself any opportunities for birdie with poor approach shots that often leaked high and right, leaving him constantly grinding for pars. That’s not surprising at a U.S. Open, but plenty of the mistakes seemed avoidable.

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His putting was great to start, struggled in the middle and then at the end was so-so. Competitive rust is likely still a thing, and especially in his first U.S. Open round since 2020 at Winged Foot, there’s no surprise there were some up and downs.

Tiger isn’t out of it. He’ll need to sure up the approaches on Friday and make a few more putts to make the cut, but he’s not far off from what could’ve been an even-par or 1-over performance on Thursday.

“I’m physically getting better as the year has gone on. I just haven’t been able to play as much because I just don’t want to hurt myself pre, then I won’t be able to play in the major championships,” he said. “It’s pick your poison, right? Play a lot with the potential of not playing, or not playing and fight being not as sharp.”

The eagles have landed for Matthieu Pavon — not one but two in the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open

Big birds for Pavon.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Matthieu Pavon tore up the par 5s on Thursday at Pinehurst No. 2 in the opening round of the 124th U.S. Open.

There are just two par 5s on the scorecard this week at the famed Donald Ross layout, which is playing as a par 70, and Pavon eagled them both en route to shooting 3-under 67.

“I made my four best swings of the day on the par-5s and dropped two putts, so it gave me a nice two eagles,” he said. “It gave me a little bit of freedom today.”

The 31-year-old Frenchman opened with four pars on the card before ripping a 338-yard tee shot at the 582-yard fifth hole, ripping a 4-iron from 239 yards to 18 feet and rolling in the putt.

He tacked on a birdie at the par-4 eighth and turned in 32.

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The only par 5 on the back nine is at No. 10, playing a whopping 619 yards. No problem for Pavon. The PGA Tour rookie, who won the Farmers Insurance Open in February, sent a 3-wood from 289 yards to 27 feet. Draino. A second eagle on the day for Pavon and not a bad way to start the championship. That put Pavon at 5 under, which could be a good winning score on Sunday.

Pavon gave one stroke back at the 11th but drilled a nice 15-foot par putt at No. 12 and held an early two-stroke lead during early action of the first round. He made a bogey at 16 and finished two strokes behind Patrick Cantlay among the early wave.

Fifth hole

10th hole

Collin Morikawa’s bunker shot at U.S. Open slides by the hole, rolls off green, ends up 77 feet away

Everyone who told you the greens at Pinehurst No. 2 were going to be brutal wasn’t lying.

Everyone who told you the greens at Pinehurst No. 2 were going to be brutal wasn’t lying.

We saw that in the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open on Thursday, with some golf balls that looked pretty good … until the hard, fast greens chewed them up and spit them out.

That happened to Collin Morikawa on the par-3 ninth hole, playing 186 yards in the first round. He hit out of a greenside bunker and watched as his ball didn’t bite at all.

Instead it rolled. And rolled. And rolled … all the way off the green.

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Here’s Morikawa’s shot that rolled forever.

After his round, he was asked if he was surprised that that happened.

“No. A lot of the bunkers, they’re very different. Some have a lot of sand, like the one on 17 had a lot of sand, the one on nine had less sand. I wasn’t surprised. I hit a bad shot,” he said. “I flew it halfway and I was trying to barely land it on the green are. But that’s just where any other circumstance you feel comfortable if you did fly it that far. This is one of those courses where you literally take your medicine, and if you have eight feet for par, you have eight feet for par, versus making double and I’m 30 yards away from the hole.”

He was 55 feet from the hole in the bunker but 77 feet away after his ball finally came to a stop. A two-putt from there gave him a double-bogey 5 on the hole.

2024 U.S. Open
The shot-by-shot of Collin Morikawa on the par-3 ninth hole during the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open.

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Photos: First round of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2

Check out the scenes from Pinehurst.

The 2024 U.S. Open is now underway as the best players in the world are battling Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. The Donald Ross design last hosted the United States Golf Association’s flagship event in 2014, a tournament won by Martin Kaymer.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler entered the week as the heavy favorite, and for good reason. He’s coming off a win at the Memorial Tournament — his fifth of the season — and has finished inside the top three in his last two U.S. Open appearances.

Pinehurst No. 2 is playing as a par 70 this week at 7,543 yards.

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Here are some of the best photos from the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open.