OAKMONT, Pa. — Matt Vogt, who has made a name for himself at this 125th U.S. Open by being the only dentist in the field, grew up in the Pittsburgh area and for six years caddied here at Oakmont Country Club. So you can imagine the excitement — and nerves — coursing through him Thursday when he had the honor, at 6:45 a.m., of striking the opening tee ball in this championship.
It did not go well.
Vogt hit his ball hard on the 484 yard par-4 — it traveled 337 yards — but left. Like, way left. Like, left of way left. When Vogt’s ball came to rest, it wasn’t in the left rough, or in the bunkers left of the left rough, or in the rough on the adjacent 9th hole, or even in the 9th fairway. Vogt’s ball had carried all of that real estate and nestled into the rough lining the opposite side of the 9th hole, a full wedge shot from the middle of the 1st fairway and 171 yards from the 1st green.
Literally a rough start, but Vogt refused to let the loose swing undo him. From his gnarly lie on the far side of the 9th fairway, he took a mighty lash with a short iron and landed his ball about 40 yards short of the 1st green. Having looped here for all those summers, Vogt knew that was exactly the shot he needed to play, given the fairway pitches steeply downhill toward the putting surface. (In practice rounds earlier this week, players actually putted from 125 yards out — with impressive results.)
Vogt’s ball touched down, bounced two or three times and then rolled all the way to the front edge of the green, coming to rest 40 feet from the hole. Two putts from there and he had one of the wildest — and grittiest — opening pars you’ll ever see.
As of this writing, Vogt was eight over through 12 holes.
