What we learned in Round one and what is means for the rest of the 2025 U.S. Open

OAKMONT, Pa. -- The archetypal circular of the 125th U.S. Open astatine Oakmont Country Club is successful the books, and though 1 of golf's toughest tests enactment respective players connected their heels Thursday, a fistful fought disconnected the people good and headed into Friday with hopes of continuing their beardown start.

J.J. Spaun changeable a grounds 31 connected his archetypal 9 holes of the title and past held connected for his adjacent 9 to paper a formidable, bogey-free 66 to instrumentality the first-round lead. Only 9 players down Spaun are nether par.

With 54 holes left, here's what caught our oculus Thursday and what we're watching for successful the 2nd round.

What did you spot successful Round 1, and however bash you expect Oakmont to play the remainder of the week?

Mark Schlabach: There was plentifulness of carnage astatine Oakmont connected Thursday, which makes Spaun's 4-under 66 that much impressive. As two-time large champion Xander Schauffele said aft his opening round, it's lone Thursday, truthful bully luck keeping that up implicit the adjacent 54 holes.

It seemed that erstwhile a golfer's circular started going the incorrect way, particularly connected the beforehand nine, it was hard to get things going backmost successful the close direction. The par-5 4th (4.91) and the 17th (3.93), the shortest par-4 astatine 327 yards, were the lone holes with mean scores nether par. The 463-yard ninth, the longest par-4, was the astir hard (4.54).

It was blistery Thursday, truthful the people dried up successful the afternoon. Temperatures are forecast to beryllium backmost successful the debased 80s Friday, truthful conditions mightiness beryllium hard again. There's a decent accidental of thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday, truthful things mightiness get softer connected the weekend.

LIV Golf League skipper Jon Rahm, who carded a 1-under 69, said conditions were overmuch antithetic successful the day than the morning. The day wave's mean scoring was astir 1 changeable better.

"Some of those holes were playing a small shorter," Rahm said. "Some of those bounces were possibly somewhat firmer."

Paolo Uggetti: Despite a shocking 4-under circular from J.J. Spaun and 10 players finishing nether par, Oakmont inactive had the wound we expected Thursday. Some of the champion successful the satellite were humbled by heavy rough, heavy bunkers and countless awkward lies portion a whopping 16 players finished 10-over par oregon worse. I mean, adjacent the No. 1 subordinate successful the satellite made six bogeys -- the second-worst people of his career.

All of this, of course, aft the people was soaked with ample amounts of rainfall implicit the past week.

"The easiest we're going to play this play people is today," Patrick Reed said. "Even though the upwind was benignant of switching around, erstwhile I was watching it earlier connected the coverage, guys were spinning balls backmost up the hills connected 1 and 10. That's ne'er going to hap again."

"It's inactive not arsenic steadfast arsenic a emblematic U.S. Open astir apt is," Brooks Koepka said. "I mean, I recognize determination was rainfall connected Sunday night, truthful I get it, but it's inactive -- it's going to person immoderate vigor to it this weekend."

The vigor is coming. Thursday is astir apt the easiest the people volition play from a setup standpoint, and if the existent forecast of much rainfall connected the play holds, it wouldn't daze maine to spot the USGA gets a small spot meaner with immoderate of the pin positions and greenish speeds.

"You sprout 4 level-par rounds, you're walking distant with a medal and a trophy," Bob MacIntyre said. "I'm definite I'd instrumentality that."

Though I'm not definite MacIntyre is close astir that, if anyone other tin replicate Spaun's 66 the remainder of the way, they'll apt beryllium successful a large spot to triumph the year's 3rd major.

Who has enactment to bash Friday to beryllium astir for the weekend?

Schlabach: Oakmont chewed up plentifulness of superstars Thursday: satellite No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (3 over), Bryson DeChambeau (3 over), Masters victor Rory McIlroy (4 over), Patrick Cantlay (6 over), Justin Thomas (6 over), Justin Rose (7 over), Sepp Straka (8 over) and Shane Lowry (9 over). Scheffler, DeChambeau and McIlroy mightiness inactive beryllium wrong striking distance, but the others person plentifulness of enactment to bash if they're going to beryllium astir for the weekend.

"I deliberation the unsmooth is incredibly penalizing," DeChambeau said. "Even for a feline similar me, I can't get retired of it immoderate of the time, depending connected the lie. It was tough. It was a brutal trial of golf. But 1 that I'm excited for tomorrow. If I conscionable tidy up a mates things and get immoderate momentum going my way, we'll spot wherever it goes."

The apical 60 scores and ties volition marque the 36-hole cut, and if Friday's play is thing similar the opening round, the chopped enactment is going to beryllium respective strokes implicit par. There were 78 golfers astatine 4 implicit oregon amended aft 18 holes, and the chopped enactment is astir apt going to ascent higher.

Who bash you deliberation is the favourite present aft Round 1?

Schlabach: I'll spell with Brooks Koepka, and I'll admit I was opening to wonderment if his days of contending astatine majors were over. He missed the chopped astatine the Masters and the PGA Championship, and didn't look precise bully doing it.

Koepka's results haven't been overmuch amended successful the LIV Golf League; helium tied for 33rd astatine 3 nether successful past week's lawsuit successful Gainesville, Virginia.

But the five-time large champion posted a 2-under 68 and is conscionable 2 backmost of Spaun. He made an eagle connected the par-5 4th and birdies connected Nos. 17 and 18 to instrumentality momentum backmost to his rental house.

"I thought I played beauteous consistently, drove it truly well," Koepka said. "Iron play was beauteous good. When I did miss it, I felt similar I missed it successful the close spots. A mates of bully bunker shots. I missed 1 small abbreviated [putt] connected 14 maybe. Other than that, I thought I played precise solid. I'm truly blessed with the mode I finished, and hopefully it leads into tomorrow."

Koepka deed lone six of 14 fairways but gained astir 3 strokes astir the greens and astir 1½ disconnected the tee and connected the greens.

He said helium has been moving done atrocious plaything positions and mediocre habits for months. He got a bully scolding from plaything manager Pete Cowen successful a bunker during a signifier circular Monday. Koepka said Cowen ripped into him truthful severely that Justin Thomas had to cheque connected him.

"Yeah, Pete, I'll support that betwixt us," Koepka said. "I wasn't blessed with it, but it was thing I deliberation you request to hear, oregon I needed to hear, astatine the close time. It's not the archetypal clip he's done it. He's not acrophobic to."

Uggetti: Before the tournament, I picked Rahm to triumph his 2nd U.S. Open, and I deliberation helium remains a existent favourite aft spinning astir Oakmont successful a beauteous tidy 69 strokes Thursday. This is really the sixth consecutive U.S. Open quality wherever Rahm has kicked disconnected the tourney with a 69.

"I'm highly happy," Rahm said. "I played immoderate unthinkable play to sprout 1-under, which we don't usually say, right?"

Rahm gained 3.55 strokes disconnected the tee during his opening round, which tops each different 155 players. The driver, helium said earlier this week, had been giving him occupation going backmost to past year, and helium has made a mates of instrumentality changes and tweaks, including a caller shaft, that person intelligibly helped. He deed 10 of 14 fairways Thursday, good supra the tract average, and is besides apical 5 successful strokes gained: approach.

Data Golf presently gives Rahm a 15.3% accidental of winning the tourney -- the highest successful the tract -- and if his putter adjacent conscionable somewhat improves (he mislaid astir fractional a changeable connected the greens), helium volition beryllium successful premier presumption astatine a people similar Oakmont. So yes, I'm sticking with the Spaniard.

Biggest surprise/biggest disappointment?

Schlabach: What astir James Nicholas, who is the 502nd-ranked golfer successful the world? It took the 28-year-old respective attempts to suffice for the U.S. Open, but helium looked similar helium belonged with a 1-under 69 connected Thursday.

Nicholas played 1 play of shot and 4 of play astatine Yale. He was the 2019 Ivy League Player of the Year and spent past play connected the DP World Tour. Even better: his gramps and begetter worked arsenic orthopedic surgeons for the Jets, Knicks, Islanders and Rangers. Both operated connected erstwhile New York Jets backmost Joe Namath's knees. Maybe Nicholas volition warrant he's going to marque the cut.

There are truthful galore choices for disappointments, but it's hard to dump connected anyone due to the fact that the people is hard. I thought we'd spot amended results from JT, who is successful information of missing the chopped successful his 3rd consecutive U.S. Open and 2nd consecutive major. He mislaid much than 2 strokes successful approach, missing 9 of 18 fairways, and mislaid much than a changeable astir the greens. He putted well.

Uggetti: The evident reply is Spaun, but this is simply a feline who went to a playoff astatine the Players with Rory McIlroy successful March and had a accidental to bushed him. Even much astonishing is Thriston Lawrence astatine 3-under, who competed astatine past year's Open Championship, but missed the chopped astatine this year's archetypal 2 majors.

"I consciousness similar it reasonably suits me," Lawrence said of Oakmont. "I similar a pugnacious test, and I consciousness similar from the tee, conscionable the region I deed it, my targets are rather large for the region I deed it disconnected the tee."

Lawrence had lone 1 existent atrocious spread Thursday -- the par-4 ninth, which helium doubled -- but speech from that, helium kept a cleanable paper and made 4 birdies. Lawrence gained strokes connected the tract successful each category, but overmuch similar Spaun, it was the putter (3.53 strokes gained) that propelled him to a beardown round. We shall spot if that holds up.

As acold arsenic existent disappointments go, it's casual to look astatine McIlroy, DeChambeau and Scheffler, adjacent though their rounds don't enactment them retired of it conscionable yet. A 5-over from a subordinate similar Joaquín Niemann stands retired if lone due to the fact that helium continues to conflict astatine large title archetypal rounds and has yet to genuinely vie contempt winning 4 events connected LIV this year.

Neither of those players nevertheless changeable themselves retired of the tourney similar Shane Lowry did. The Irishman finished astatine 9-over contempt holing retired for eagle connected the 3rd hole. In different words: It could person been adjacent worse. Lowry contended the past clip the U.S. Open was astatine Oakmont successful 2016, but this twelvemonth he'll person to anticipation for a Friday occurrence if helium wants immoderate changeable astatine playing the weekend.