J.J. Spaun sits atop the leaderboard after Day 1 of the U.S. Open here at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday.
Few would have predicted Spaun to lead the field on Day 1. But after a gritty and clinical round at Oakmont, he managed to pull off a bogeyless 66 ahead of South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, South Korea’s Si Woo Kim, and past U.S. Open back-to-back champion Brooks Koepka. He found many fairways early and often. The 34-year-old Los Angeles resident had many great shots throughout the day, starting strong with a hole-out chip shot on the first hole.
"I just tried to kind of take what the course gave me," Spaun said of his performance. "I hit a lot of good shots and tried to capitalize on any birdie opportunities, which aren't very many out here. But I scrambled really well, too, which is a huge component to playing well at a U.S. Open, let alone shoot a bogey-free round."
Spaun was reluctant to celebrate his early success just yet, noting that there's "plenty more golf left."
"This course is only going to get tougher," he said. "I just think I'm trying to feel like I have nothing to lose. That was kind of my mantra at THE PLAYERS when I was playing really well at that tournament and going into Sunday with the lead. It was like, I feel like I have nothing to lose. So, I'm going to roll with that again this week, and hopefully it'll turn out more in my favor."
Spaun has had some ups and downs throughout his long career, turning pro in 2012. This is just his second U.S. Open experience, having last played at 2021 at Torrey Pines (South), where he missed the cut.
Spaun is getting hot at just the right time with already four top-10 performances this season. Once a walk-on on the golf team at San Diego State University, he learned golf from his mom who was a great golfer herself. Spaun had golf clubs in his hands since the age of three years old, when he was hitting balls into a net in his garage. Seems like the hard work paid off.
MORE FROM DAY 1
• Cranberry Township's Matt Vogt finished Round 1 shooting 12 over par.
• High school junior Mason Howell, only 17 years old, shot seven over par.
• Patrick Reed holed out from 286 yards with a 3-wood on the par-5 fourth hole for the fourth albatross in U.S. Open history.
• Bryson DeChambeau after finishing three over par: “I'm looking to shoot under par and give myself a better chance going into this weekend.”
• John Rahm after shooting one under par: “Everything felt good. The thing I would say made it really good was how well I did off the tee."
• Xander Schauffele after shooting two over par: “I did a good job of battling, and if I'm a little sharper tomorrow, I think I can score a bit better.”
• Rory McIlroy shot four over par and Scottie Scheffler shot three over par.
• Only 10 of 156 players find themselves under par heading into the second round.
