Scottie Scheffler has made a surprising start to the US Open, with the world number one sitting T49 after round one.
Scheffler has been backed for US Open contention, but he has a lot of work to do to catch early leader J.J. Spaun.
Spaun sits top of the pile at Oakmont after his opening round four-under 66, with Scheffler carding a three-over 73.
Bryson DeChambeau says Oakmont is the hardest course he’s ever played, and many players struggled to deal with its challenges on day one.
Scheffler is joined by DeChambeau in T49 in the US Open leaderboard, with The Masters champion Rory McIlroy one shot back from the duo in T62.
Rex Hoggard says if he thinks Scottie Scheffler can still win the US Open
But despite an uncharacteristically slow start by the PGA Championship winner, Scheffler has been backed to turn his tournament around.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav, Rex Hoggard said: “I am surprised any time Scottie Scheffler being Scottie Scheffler and the version we have right now shoots three over par, you are always going to be stunned.
READ MORE: Veteran caddies on the PGA Tour agree over whether Oakmont is harder this year or in 2007 or 2016
“I think you need to take a little bit of relevance to this when you consider this golf course is so demanding.
“He played in the afternoon so he probably got the most difficult of the conditions and he didn’t do anything specifically well.
“He didn’t drive the ball well, his irons were not sharp, I think he had 30 putts. It wasn’t like there was one part of his game you could point at and say something was off.
“My guess is that being Scottie Scheffler I am sure he was aggravated and marched to the range with Randy Smith like he always does and I’m sure there was a level of frustration that we usually see out of him but of all the players that struggled on day one, and we can go down and do Scottie, Bryson and JT (Justin Thomas), I still have the least amount of concern for Scottie.
“I don’t know about making up seven shots in one round but I do know that eventually he is going to figure it out, whether that’s tomorrow or over the weekend, whatever the case may be. I am still going to be shocked if he is not in the hunt on Sunday.”
What Ryan Lavner is expecting from Scottie Scheffler in round two of the US Open
Scheffler managed just three birdies during his first round at Oakmont, along with nine pars and six bogeys.
And given the stunning standards he has set himself in recent times, the American will likely be disappointed with his Thursday in Pennsylvania.
But there is every chance that he makes a rapid recovery sooner rather than later, with the entire field likely accepting that a Scheffler charge is now inevitable.
That is certainly the opinion of Ryan Lavner, who concurred with Hoggard: “I am totally with you. He is the king of making adjustments, both he and Randy Smith.
| Stat | Total | Rank |
| Birdies | 3 | T26 |
| Pars | 9 | T97 |
| Bogeys | 6 | T101 |
“It seems like it’s always something small and they just need 25 or 50 balls after a competitive round to tweak something, whether it be posture, set up or grip.
“There’s very small adjustments. There was a bunch of left misses and it certainly cost him on the front nine.
“Both at three and four, uncharacteristic to then see him miss the other way on the opposite side. It seems like it’s a very small adjustment.
“Watching him in practice rounds there was no indication that he is off his game at all so it does seem like a small tweak, would not be surprised if we see a bit better on fresh greens on Friday morning.”
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