- Live updates from the opening round at Winged Foot
- McIlroy dreams of ending six-year wait at ‘hard but fair’ US Open
- Feel free to email Dave or tweet @DaveTindallGolf
Over on the 214-yard par-3 10th, they’ve completed their first hole. Pars for Greyson Sigg and J.C. Ritchie but, ouch, a double bogey for Daniel Balin.
So, the first tee shot in the 120th US Open has been hit by Brandon Wu. It’s a lovely touch from the USGA (if you call making someone get up at a ludicrous early time a lovely touch) as Wu grew up just 10 minutes from Winged foot Golf Club. He booked his place in the field with a win at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He has luck on his side today, literally. His playing partners are Aussie Curtis Luck and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (son of rugby legend Grant).
US Opens in September are played with tennis rackets not golf clubs but both sets of sporting equipment will be on show this month. The shake-up in the calendar means the 120th edition of golf’s US Open has been switched from its traditional June date although keen history buffs will know this is not unprecedented. The 1913 tournament was also held in September for the first and, until now, only time? Why? That June, five-time Open champ Harry Vardon was busy elsewhere on a tour of the US (presumably golfing rather than doing stand-up) with fellow star swinger Ted Ray. Instead of telling Vardon to get a grip (b’dum tschhh), the USGA decided to postpone the tournament until September so they’d get the big-name duo in the field. It proved justified when Vardon and Ray both reached a play-off but the perfect outcome was kyboshed as the Jersey duo were beaten by American amateur Francis Ouimet. The trio had all shot closing 79s at Brookline to finish at +12 after 72 holes. And you thought this week’s course, Winged Foot, was hard. Well, actually, it is. And seriously so. This is the sixth time the New York track has staged the event and previous winning scores read: +6, +2, +7, -4 and +5. Contrast that with two of the last three US Opens which were won with -16 by Brooks Koepka in 2017 and -13 by Gary Woodland last year. Koepka is absent (knee injury) this time – as is Scottie Scheffler, who had a piece of the lead on day four of last month’s PGA Championship won by Collin Morikawa. Scheffler has tested positive for COVID-19, the reason why we’re here at Winged Foot in September with no spectators allowed.
First-round tee-times …
