2016 U.S. Open: Thursday's Birdies & Bogeys

By Golf Digest Staff

June 16, 2016

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Birdie: Andrew Landry

The 28-year-old PGA Tour rookie had golf writers scrambling for their media guides as he became Thursday's surprise leader. We'll give you the broad strokes. No. 624: His status in the Official World Golf Ranking; No. 1: The number of majors he's played in -- including this week. But with nothing to lose, Landry played aggressively all day at Oakmont, including his final approach shot on the ninth hole. Unfortunately, a third weather delay meant he'd have to wait until the following day to post the best round of his life. -- Alex Myers

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Bogey: Weather Delays

When most of the enduring images from Thursday at the U.S. Open are players hanging out indoors, hoisting the Stanley Cup, canoodling with media members or watching a soccer match, you know it’s a forgettable day of major championship golf. Day 1 saw a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes of rain-delay time before play was suspended for good at 4:34 p.m. Only nine players finished their rounds and no one in the afternoon wave teed off. This isn’t quite Bethpage in 2009 (yet), and thankfully, it looks like Thursday’s washout will be the worst of it. A soggy Oakmont won’t play nearly as firm and fast as the USGA would’ve hoped, but at this point, golf's governing body would just settle for uninterrupted play. -- Stephen Hennessey

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Birdie: Bubba Watson

The knock on Bubba Watson coming into the U.S. Open each year is that his game doesn’t suit the demanding USGA setups. Past results (five missed cuts in nine appearances) back that up, but his lone strong finish, a T-5 in 2007, came at Oakmont. And Bubba seems to have brought those good vibes back to the Pittsburgh area. Watson walked off the course one off the lead when play stopped on Thursday -- birdieing five of his first 14 holes -- including three in a row around the turn. His perfectly-paced, 49-foot birdie make at No. 10 was certainly the highlight and seemed to indicate he plans on hanging around Oakmont's leader board once again. -- S.H.

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Bogey: Rickie Fowler

After spending 2014 in constant contention in golf's majors, Fowler, whose play has inspired "Big Four" talk, has been terrible in golf's big four events the past two seasons. That continued on Thursday, when after an opening birdie, Fowler made five bogeys and a double bogey on his next 11 holes. Now, he'll need a big turnaround just to avoid a second consecutive missed cut at a major and a third consecutive missed cut overall. -- A.M.

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Birdie: Fox Sports

A lot of critical eyeballs are focused on the network after getting mixed reviews last year for its first broadcast of the U.S. Open, but Fox deserves credit on Day 1 of Year 2. Despite constant weather delays, the network did a good job keeping fans entertained with a variety of interviews and packages. And when there was play, the additions of Protracers on 13 holes, mikes in the lip of every hole, new camera angles, and of course, Paul Azinger, all added to the coverage. Let's just hope they get to show more golf the rest of the week. -- A.M.

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Bogey: Rory McIlroy

No one in the field was supposed to benefit more from Wednesday night's rain than McIlroy, who has torn up soft golf courses in all four of his major championship wins. However, with a Thursday morning tee time, McIlroy came out with a surprisingly conservative game plan, missing the fairway with irons off the first three tees and quickly falling to two over. By the time the final horn stopped play, McIlroy was four over through 13. On the bright side, Oakmont should be even softer when he finishes his second round on Friday. -- A.M.

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Birdie: Scottie Scheffler

Raise your hand if you predicted the University of Texas sophomore to be the leader in the clubhouse when play finished on Thursday at Oakmont? Yep, didn’t think so. Gray skies and two rain delays couldn’t phase the 19-year-old amateur from Dallas, who shot a one-under 69 and, through the virtue of playing in the first group off the 10th tee, was one of just nine players to finish 18 holes. Scheffler said the toughest part of his round was adjusting to the change in course conditions brought by bad weather. “On my second hole, my ball spun back 50 feet off the front of the green,” he said. “I knew it was going to be different out here.” Scheduler’s reward for figuring it out? He gets to sleep in on Friday. -- Ryan Herrington

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2016 U.S. Open: Thursday's Birdies & Bogeys

Shop This Look

Birdie: Andrew Landry

Bogey: Weather Delays

Birdie: Bubba Watson

Bogey: Rickie Fowler

Birdie: Fox Sports

Bogey: Rory McIlroy

Birdie: Scottie Scheffler