Oakmont showed its teeth during the first round of the US Open on Thursday.
And Scottie Scheffler put in a really uncharacteristic performance on the opening day of the 125th US Open.
The three-time major champion bumbled his way around Oakmont and carded six bogeys in a round of three-over par 73.
It was such an un-Scheffler-like round pretty much from start to finish. He ranked 44th in strokes gained off the tee and 79th in approaches to the green.
Before the tournament began, Scheffler was being tipped to win the US Open comfortably.
And while that still may well happen, he is very much behind the eight-ball now.
On Wednesday, Scheffler said his preparation for the US Open has been great, but he didn’t seem like himself at Oakmont on Thursday.
Was that simply a case of the golf course being too difficult though?
Scottie Scheffler delivers verdict on Oakmont after day one of the US Open
Scheffler should be ideally suited to the challenge presented by Oakmont.
However, he never looked comfortable during the first round of the US Open on Thursday.
Scheffler spoke to journalists after he posted a three-over par 73.
First up he was asked whether good shots are being adequately rewarded at Oakmont.
He responded by saying, “Yeah, it’s always on a scale. When you look at the U.S. Open versus other tournaments, it’s just a different type of test. You look at a hole like 12 where a good drive is maybe not getting rewarded as much as it should, but you’re standing there on the tee box, and I know exactly what I need to do to try and give myself a chance at birdie, and it’s just difficult. I mean, the pin out there is on the front of the green, and if the ball — if you’re hitting like a 15-footer — sorry, if the ball on a flat green is going to go 15 feet past the hole there, it’s going to go all the way off the green 40 yards over the back of the green, and that’s just hard. That’s all it is. The greens have a lot of pitch. Yeah, it’s not overly complicated; it’s just difficult.“
Scheffler was then asked whether he was happy with his game-plan on day one of the US Open.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s one of those places there’s not like — there’s not a ton of strategy I would say,“ Scheffler explained. “You just step up on the tee box and go, what club can I get into this fairway, and then try and hit that club in the fairway, and if you don’t, it’s like, how am I going to get out of this rough and get the ball back in the fairway so I can have a shot at the green. It’s not like an overly strategic golf course where you know there’s a lot of club options off the tee and stuff like that. It’s just a golf course where you step on the tee box, look at that fairway and you’re like, all right, get the ball in that thing.“
But was he surprised by the fact that four-under was leading?
The world number one said, “No, I mean, when you play these really difficult golf courses — I think there’s always opportunity for low scoring. That’s why I think — like you look at the U.S. Open especially, you look at a tournament like they had at Shinnecock where guys are barely making the cut and all of a sudden they have one good round and they’re back in the tournament, when you’re playing these types of tests that are this challenging, there’s usually still a way to score. I’m surprised somebody maybe didn’t even shoot a little bit lower today just because there’s opportunity.
“If you’re in the fairway — especially this afternoon. If you’re in the fairway most of the day, you’re going to have — you’re not going to have a 4-iron into every green. You’re going to be able to hit some shots and give yourself some looks. But it’s just really hard to get the ball in play and it’s really hard to get the ball close. Anytime you’re out of position, the golf course just gets really challenging.“
Scottie Scheffler’s US Open day one stats
We are all so used to seeing Scheffler dominate pretty much every single statistical category on the PGA Tour.
However, that wasn’t the case at all on Thursday at Oakmont.
His stats make for fairly concerning reading:
| Statistical category | Scheffler’s rank on day one |
| Strokes gained off the tee | 44th |
| Strokes gained approach | 79th |
| Strokes gained around the green | 69th |
| Strokes gained putting | 82nd |
Looking at those numbers, it’s easy to see why he shot 73.
However, Scheffler is the number one player in the world for a reason, and there’s every chance that he will come out on Friday for day two of the US Open and shoot a round in the 60s at Oakmont.
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