Day 1 at the 2022 US Open
Posted on June 17, 2022
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Thursday at the US Open
Brookline welcomed the pro’s for the first time since 1988 and the course held firm against the influx of supremely talented golfers across morning and afternoon.
The weather played exactly to forecast with significant winds in the afternoon, which battered an already dry course which had been blazed in the sun for the most of the day.
Although the course was tough, it still yielded birdies and eagles, inter mixed with a plethora of doubles! It took an alternate, Hadwin, who was only confirmed to play on Monday, to take the day 1 lead.
Conditions definitely favoured the morning wave, who enjoyed calmer winds and a course not quite as firm. It still played tough with a leading score of 67 posted by 4 players in the morning. Amongst the early leaders was the fans favourite, Rory, who was 4 under until he finished with a scrappy bogey on the last.
It was not all plain sailing for Rory, whose putter had fired throughout the round, with some classic US Open style par saves, as his putter stayed hot.
Although the average score was much higher than the morning run, there were still a few strong scores under par, including the day 1 leader, Hadwin. All the afternoon strugglers will be eager to get out there on Friday morning, to make inroads into the dents suffered on Thursday. Hadwin was superb throughout.
All in all, half the field are within 6 shots of the lead, and all have a chance still. BK was 6 shots adrift after round 1 when he won in 2018.
Round of the Day
Thursday started with a plethora of 67s posted by the morning field, only to be beaten by Hadwin’s 66, which yielded birdies in bunches!
Rory set the excitement going early and the crowds reacted to this as it set the tone for an exciting day - he finally made his lone bogey on his 18th. He did have some moments of frustration within that.
Hadwin posted 6 birdies, with a hot putter supporting his serious iron play for the man who only joined the field this week.
Shot of the Day
The greens were running rapid and so touch had to be exact. Chipping from the fringes was always tricky, but the players managed to turn bogeys into birdies with a few hole outs.
Performance of the Day
The Leaders
The Chasers
The chasers are so thick that they stretch to numerous pages with others also posting 69 and sitting under par.
majorpunter Picks
Top Bucket:
Rory, JT and Cambo dominated at the top - being picked 70% of the time! Only Cambo failed to deliver, though he will be angling towards a low round on Friday morning.
2nd Bucket:
Zala after his near miss as the PGA was the top pick, followed by Fitzy and Xander. Zala’s continued performance in the majors is hard to ignore, despite his lack of professional wins and once again delivered a score in the 60s. Fitzy came into this week with high hopes after his efforts at the PGA and also his 2013 US Amateur win at Brookline and duly delivered.
3rd Bucket: This bottom bucket was a tough one to nail down - and the picks are spread far and wide. JRose received the most love after his coming to form last weekend and stepped up with his 68, probably linked to his new clubs. Next up was Riley who is being tipped as a possible rookie of the year, but came up woefully short. Mito after his close shave at The PGA was also favoured and never blew himself out the water with a solid 70.
Stats:
Bucket 1: Rory 33%, JT 29%, Cambo 9% & Burns 8% (2 are under par)
Bucket 2: Zala 18%, Fitzy 15%, Xander 14% & Lowry 10% (2 are under par)
Bucket 3: JRose 16%, Riley 14%, Mito 13% & Power 10% (1 is under par)
For a full view of the scores head to US Open Leaderboard and
majorpunter leaderboard.
majorpunter Leaderboard:
| Rank | Team | Punter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Dog 5 | Robbie East | -8 |
| T2 | Liv Life | Nick Jay | -7 |
| T2 | La La | Lara Adams | -7 |
| T4 | You only LIV once | James Bisset | -6 |
| T4 | WRPHILLIPS21 (2) | William Phillips | -6 |
| T6 | 🍀 | Kate Rodrigues | -5 |
| T6 | Lilys Boyz | Lilian East | -5 |
| T6 | Boondock Saints | Mike Adams | -5 |
| T6 | LIV and let live | James Bisset | -5 |
| T6 | Brookline 99 | Chris Pf | -5 |
Day 1 is all about keeping yourself in it and not getting too excited in the chase for your first major. There were some good scores for the punters and plenty of scores under par.
Rob Dog 5 sits top with a stellar cast of players (worst score was even) and is being chased by La La and Liv Life who are only 1 shot back.
Nipping at their heels is You only LIV once and WROHILLIPS21 (2).
majorpunter Bottomboard:
| Rank | Team | Punter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| T57 | Dream Drive | Jacquie Hodgson | +3 |
| T57 | Bradthig3 | Bradley Thigpen | +3 |
| T57 | Lobstah | Mike Adams | +3 |
| T57 | St Francis Stingers | Mike Wyliie | +3 |
| T57 | Rambo | Andrew Rowell | +3 |
| T57 | Bradthig1 | Bradley Thigpen | +3 |
| 63 | be the right number today | Bruce Wylie | +4 |
| T64 | Tee time | Claire Botha | +5 |
| T64 | Kranz | Harper Kranz | +5 |
| 66 | To The Trees | Clyde Botha | +6 |
The bottomboard is littered with train wrecks with numerous teams already over par!
To The Trees owns the bottom alone (despite having Rory and is 1 shot behind Tee Time and Kranz.
be the right number today sits another shot back after clearly not being on the numbers!
It’s a long road to go and no one is safe on this course and with major champions in your team, we know they can flip the switch and turn it around.
For more news and information head over to majorpunter.
Looking forward to an attritional 2nd day with so much in anticipation. Keep an eye on the cut-line (currently sitting at +2, but sure to move) and the players finding some form and their grooves for your Substitutions strategy.
You don’t want to miss that Subs deadline, which is 10 mins before the first tee time on Saturday - wherever you may be across the globe.