16.29 BST
Lots of big names playing now and how about this for a three-ball: Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele. Lionel Richie watches and it’s once…twice…thrice a fairway as the trio…actually this gag is ruined by cream. Schauffele and Hovland find the short grass, but Rahm yells “front left” as he pulls his three woodwoods left into tight Bermuda rough. He’s not going to dance on the ceiling about that. Or summarize.
Updated at 4:29pm BST
16.24 BST
Leaderboard update
Suddenly we have a three-way tie at -2 while Morales and Solomon take shots.
-2: O Morales -a- (6), J Solomon (6), D Wu (3)
-1: R Gerard (5), H Buckley (4), S Stallings (4), R Sloan (3), F Molinari (2), K Streelman (2)
Updated at 4:24pm BST
16.19 BST
Bob Dylan played LA’s legendary Whiskey A Go Go In many cases it is perhaps appropriate that the first man to break that tie at -1 is another Dylan. Dylan Wu didn’t manage to screw easy 1st place but racked up shots on 2 and 3 and took the solo lead. Hooray.
The first time, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler strikes first time, but it’s unkempt and trickles into the sand.
Updated at 4:19 PM BST
16.15 BST
This is LA, right, so let’s take it easy that Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion overlooks the 14th hole while golfers can peek inside Lionel Richie’s house on the 4th floor. Jokes write themselves here, but I would certainly be tempted to cut one in Lionel’s garden to… you know the rest.
Updated at 4:15pm BST
16.06 BST
We now have an 11-way tie at the top as 2019 Open Championship hero Shane Lowry birdies at 1. We could be in Norris McWhirter territory soon. To be fair, Los Angeles Country Club designer George C. Thomas has a reputation for giving players an easy opening hole before retaliating right after. The ranking shows that so far in any case. Another player hoping to join this backlog at -1 is 2013 US Open champion Justin Rose. He starts on the 10th but hates his opening shot where he hurls a fairway wood into or near a bunker (the cameraman couldn’t spot him). His playing partner Jason Day doesn’t like that either, because his ball lands on the left side in the deep rough.
Updated 16.06 BST
16.00 BST
There is currently a 10-way tie for the lead at -1! The latest to reach that number is 2018 Open winner Francesco Molinari, who made Los Angeles his base a few years ago when he became a member of nearby Riviera, home of the prestigious Genesis Invitational. He hasn’t been at his best lately, missing cuts at both the PGA Championship and the Memorial Tournament and not making it through the weekend in seven of his most recent tournaments.
Updated at 4pm BST
15.53 BST
Tommy Fleetwood, runner-up at the Canadian Open last weekHe’s still hoping for his first major tournament and even his first win on American soil. His first tee hits sand on the left, but it’s a par 5 and he can still birdie from there. The Englishman has an impressive track record at the event, finishing fourth at Erin Hills in 2017 and runner-up at Shinnecock in 2018 when he finished with a brilliant 63, the tournament’s lowest-ever overall round. He shares that honor with Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Vijay Singh and Justin Thomas, the latter of whom is his playing partner today.
Meanwhile, how about some imagination from amateur Michael Brennan at 3. He’s in the deep rough to the right of the green, floating a chip off the hole and watching his ball hit a slant and trickle back onto the green and into the hole . A touch of tiger at the age of 16 at the 2006 Masters. That leaves Brennan with a -1 lead in a tie.
Updated at 15:53 BST
15.44 BST
Well here is Phil Mickelson giving world No. 2 Jon Rahm a chip lesson! The cynic would say that Rahm (1) has more US Opens than Phil (0), but Mickelson is a six-time runner-up in the matter, has the low tally of six majors and is a short-game genius. Rahm sets off at 16:24 UK time today, while at 20:59 Mickelson begins his latest agonized attempt to win his national championship.
Updated at 15:44 BST
15.38 BST
Today will be slow And as we’re on the west coast of America, UK viewers who want to see Sky Sports coverage until 3am may need help. This press room coffee is pretty neat.
Updated at 15:38 BST
15.32 BST
Los Angeles Country Club hasn’t seen rain in a month, so they’re playing tight and fast. Balls land on the green, bounce forward, and roll and roll. More like an open championship you could say. A bonus for morning starters is the lack of wind; Flags are limp, trouser legs don’t flap.
Updated at 15:32 BST
15.26 BST
Very early, but four players are now underperforming for the round. Here you are:
-1: O Morales -a- (2), M Kim (2), R Gerard (1), S Stallings (1)
Updated at 15:26 BST
15.23 BST
Scottie Scheffler strolls onto the practice field. The 2022 Masters winner has been a paragon of top-notch consistency this season, winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona and the Players Championship in Florida. In 11 other starts he did not finish outside the top 12. That deserves a “wowzer”. From the tee to the green, his numbers on the planet fluctuated. So as the putter heats up, the American will be difficult to stop as he tries to land a second major. Scheffler kicks off at 4:13pm UK time with Collin Morikawa and Max Homa.
Updated at 15:23 BST
15.17 BST
Michael Kim makes an opening birdie, his red number came in 10th place on the short par 4. It’s been 10 years since the former California-Berkeley graduate finished 17th at the US Open in Merion (where Justin Rose won), earning Low Amateur honors. The 29-year-old is yet to quite have the career that many have promised him – in fact, this is his first US Open start since – but he did have a PGA Tour win at the 2018 John Deere Classic, and that Can’t you knock that. With his insights from the course in practice, he also found good followers on Twitter this week.
Thoughts on LACC after playing all 18
-The Greens could go crazy by the weekend
-Fairways are generally wide, but if you miss them, it’s almost an automatic layup unless you’re really lucky with the lie
-Bermuda Rough is no joke, sometimes it’s hard to see the ball unless you’re RIGHT…— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) June 14, 2023
Updated at 15:17 BST
15.10 BST
The hole positions for the opening round can be found here. Do a quick scan.
Updated at 15.10 BST
15.07 BST
So we’re in Los Angeles this week, the first US Open to be held here in 75 years. your city type?
Updated 09/15 BST
15.04 BST
Hello! And we’re already at the 123rd US Open! Omar Morales – a college amateur from nearby UCLA – had the honor of hitting the first ball of this year’s event. The Mexican, 20, is part of a team of three in the first round that also includes South African Deon Germishuys and American Jacob Solomon. Over on the 10th is another three-ball tee: Japan’s Ryutaro Nagano alongside American duo Berry Henson and Hank Lebioda. Not a great start for Hank. He did a double bogey. But Morales made the first birdie of the day and capitalized on the 594-yard par-5 opener after getting his approach to just 20 feet.
Updated at 15.05 BST
14.57 BST
preamble
With Hollywood being just a short drive from the Los Angeles Country Club, it’s perhaps appropriate that there was talk of plot twists and betrayals leading up to this year’s US Open. The PGA Tour’s bombastic decision to effectively merge with rebel organization LIV Golf, a new organization backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has sent golf into a tailspin. Check out the transcripts of this week’s player press conferences. A fleeting “How’s the course playing, John/Scottie?” followed by a flurry of questions about “the big news of the past week.”
The show must go on and this week’s venue – a hefty but strategic 7,423 yard par 70 with five par 3s and three par 5s – looks like an intriguing all-around test. But make sure you find a comfortable chair; We could see some loooong old rounds. With firm and fast conditions, rough described as “brutal” and a layout of holes – long par 3s, driveable par 4s and reachable par 5s – causing congestion and delays, the rounds will be played slow. “I’d be surprised if they were under six hours,” said Padraig Harrington. gulp.
Still, we have a number of storylines to keep us entertained: Will Rory end his nine-year losing streak in the majors? Will Jon Rahm or Brooks Koepka win their second Major of the season? Victory for one of the California natives (Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa)? Matt Fitzpatrick wants to defend his crown? A first major for Viktor Hovland? Will Jordan Spieth’s imagination take flight? And so it continues.
Some of these cats are out early, so let’s tune into Pacific time (eight hours behind the UK), feel the California vibe and watch the film from this year’s US Open. Here are the start times, folks.
Starting at hole one (all times BST)
(* denotes amateur)
14:45 O Morales (Mexico)*, D Germishuys (SA), J Solomon (USA)
14:56 R Gerard (USA), Katsuragawa (Japan), M Brennan (USA)*
15:07 H Buckley (USA), A Svensson (Can), P Larrazabal (Spa)
15:18 C Young (USA), D Wu (USA), R Sloan (Can)
15:29 R Ishikawa (Jpn), K Streelman (USA), M Pavon (Fra)
15:40 S Lowry (Irish), J Thomas (US), T Fleetwood (Eng)
15:51 Sungjae Im (Kor), KH Lee (Kor), JT Poston (US)
16:02 G Woodland (USA), Scott (Aus), C Conners (Can)
16:13 C Morikawa (USA), M Homa (USA), S Scheffler (USA)
16:24 D McCarthy (USA), J Dahmen (USA), A Hadwin (Can)
16:35 M McClean (NI)*, S Power (Irish), R Fox (NZ)
16:46 M Meissner (USA), B Brown (Eng), G Charoenkul (Tha)
16:57 A Yang (HK)*, J Schutte (USA), A Svoboda (USA)
20:15 B Grant (USA), V Norman (Switzerland), C Hoffman (USA)
20:26 S Forsstrom (Sweden), C Ortiz (Mexico), M Moldovan (USA)*
20:37 E Cole (USA), T Lawrence (SA), A Schenk (USA)
20:48 L List (USA), W Nienaber (SA), A Del Rey (Spa)
20:59 A Meronk (Pol), H English (US), J Niemann (Chi)
21:10 A Noren (Switzerland), W Clark (USA), A Eckroat (USA)
21:21 K Kitayama (USA), C Davis (Aus), R Henley (USA)
21:32 C Smith (Aus), S Bennett (USA), M Fitzpatrick (Eng)
21:43 B Horschel (USA), C Kirk (USA), B Harman (USA)
21:54 B Koepka (USA), H Matsuyama (Japan), R McIlroy (NI)
22:05 S. Muniz (Colonel), N. Taylor (Can), T. Montgomery (USA)
22:16 O Browne Jr (USA), D Puig (Spa), K Vilips (USA)*
22:27 C Pereira (USA), I Simmons (USA)*, JJ Gray (Eng)
From hole 10
14:45 B Henson (USA), R Nagano (Japan), H Lebioda (USA)
14:56 M Kim (USA), J Smith (Eng), W Ding (Chn)*
15:07 S Stallings (US), P Summerhays (US)*, L Herbert (Aus)
15:18 J Dantorp (Sweden), P Rodgers (USA), R Armor (USA)
15:29 T Pieters (Bel), A Wise (USA), G Sargent (USA)*
15:40 B DeChambeau (USA), F Molinari (Italy), T Hatton (Eng)
15:51 T Hoge (USA), S Garcia (Spa), S Straka (Aut)
16:02 J Rose (Eng), R Fowler (USA), J Day (Aus)
16:13 P Reed (USA), M Kuchar (USA), SW Kim (Kor)
16:24 X Schauffele (US), V Hovland (Northern), J Rahm (Spa)
16:35 M Kaymer (Germany), S Cink (USA), M Thorbjornsen (USA)*)
16:46 D Horsey (Eng), B Valdes (US), P Barjon (Fra)
16:57 J Gumberg (USA), K Mueller (USA), B Amat (Fra)*
20:15 R Fisher (Eng), N Echavarria (Col), P Haley II (USA)
20:26 N Dunlap (USA)*, N Hardy (USA), S Stevens (USA)
20:37 T Pendrith (Can), N Potgieter (SA)*, R Langasque (Fra)
20:48 A Puttnam (USA), V Perez (Fra), A Ancer (Mex)
20:59 P. Mickelson (USA), P. Harrington (Irish), K. Bradley (USA)
21:10 M Pereira (Chi), E Grillo (Arg), Fernandez de Oliveira (Arg)*
21:21 T Kim (Kor), S Theegala (USA), C Young (USA)
21:32 S Burns (USA), D Johnson (USA), K Mitchell (USA)
21:43 T Finau (USA), J Spieth (USA), P Cantlay (USA)
21:54 D Thompson (USA), MW Lee (Aus), J Suh (USA)
22:05 T Moore (USA), M Hughes (Can), B Carr (USA)*
22:16 P Cover (USA), D Nyfjall (Switzerland)*, F Capan III (USA)
22:27 A Truslow (USA), C Cavaliere (USA)*, A Schaake (USA)
Updated at 14:57 BST