They say you can’t win a major championship on Thursday — but you sure can lose it.
For the purposes of this column, you can do both!
Here are a selection of U.S. Open overreactions based on Day 1 performances at Pinehurst.
I present your Thursday winners and losers.
WINNER: PATRICK CANTLAY’S START
WHY: He shot the lowest score of the morning wave, which certainly qualifies him for this list. Cantlay’s five-under 65 tied the lowest round in Pinehurst U.S. Open history. It also puts him in prime position to challenge for a major, something he hasn’t done as often as you’d expect when you consider just how well he’s played the last five years.
Cantlay hasn’t played his best golf the last month or so, either, but clearly found something — though he didn’t exactly share his secrets.
“I’ve been working really hard on my game, and usually when you make just a couple changes and you’re working really hard, it’s just a matter of time,” he said.
On Thursday Cantlay was top five in the field in strokes gained on approach and No. 1 in the field in strokes gained around the greens. Keep that combo going on this golf course? He’ll be there at the end.
LOSER: MATTEO MANASSERO’S START
WHY: He made 8 in the first group off No. 10 on their very first hole, showing off Pinehurst’s teeth in the process…
WINNER: SERGIO GARCIA’S 25TH IN A ROW
WHY: He made it into the field, for one thing. He played great, for another. Garcia entered sectional qualifying and played well but lost in a playoff, threatening his streak of consecutive U.S. Opens. No worries: He found his way in as an alternate and took full advantage on Day 1, making 17 pars and a birdie for a round of 1-under 69. After the round he was all smiles.
“I’ve had the pleasure of playing this championship 25 years in a row,” he said. “So, not a lot of people get to do that, so I’m very, very happy to be here, and that’s why I keep trying to qualify and make it here.”
LOSER: PHIL MICKELSON, 25 YEARS LATER
WHY: Mickelson nearly won the 1999 U.S. Open; he was ultimately outdueled by Payne Stewart down the stretch. It is of course wildly impressive that Mickelson is still here all these years later — and on a recent major winner’s exemption, no less! — but any thought that he might channel some of his Kiawah magic vanished early. Mickelson bogeyed his first four holes of the day and nine of his first 13. In all he made nine bogeys and nine pars for a nine-over 79. This won’t be his year.
WINNER: MARTIN KAYMER’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY
WHY: The last time Pinehurst held a U.S. Open, Martin Kaymer won. By eight shots. That was wild. Even more wild? That’s the last time he won anywhere — unless you count his Cleeks’ team victory last week at LIV Houston. But Kaymer has been getting healthier, he said. He’s been playing better. And that showed during Thursday’s opening-round even-par 70. I think he’s among the most fascinating players in this tournament.
WINNER: RORY MCILROY, 10 YEARS LATER
WHY: McIlroy didn’t win the 2014 U.S. Open, but his last major championship win came in 2014 and we’re now staring down a full decade since. It’s tough to imagine him looking much better than he did on Thursday, where he shot a bogey-free 65 to tie Cantlay at the top. They don’t re-pair until Saturday, unfortunately. But golf fans can dream of a Ryder Cup rivalry rekindled on the weekend…
“I think just super conservative with my strategy and my game,” McIlroy said, asked about his approach. “I think with my demeanor, just trying to be super stoic. Just trying to be as even-keeled as I possibly can be. I really feel like that’s the thing that has served me well in these U.S. Opens over the past few years. Just trying to be 100 percent committed to the shots and 100 percent committed to having a good attitude.”
Same.
WINNER: LUDVIG ABERG’S KNEE
WHY: There’d been chatter of a knee issue for Ludvig Aberg, but in his first go at golf’s toughest test — seriously, he’s never played a U.S. Open before — he was sensational. Second in strokes gained off the tee. Second in strokes gained approach. Aberg hit every fairway, made six birdies and shot 66. As for that knee?
“No, I have absolutely no issues whatsoever,” he said.
LOSER: VIKTOR HOVLAND’S SHORT GAME
WHY: Perhaps we were a bit too quick to declare Hovland all the way back? Though he’d struggled early in the season, in a third-place finish at the PGA Championship he looked like the same guy who’d been the hottest player in the world at the end of 2023. But on Thursday he lost nearly three shots to the field around the greens and shot 8-over 78, the highest score of his U.S. Open career.
WINNER: PETTY BROOKS
WHY: First Brooks Koepka got to three under par and took the U.S. Open lead. Then he made three bogeys coming home and shot even-par 70. Then he declined media. But then he did a text interview with Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch, citing a variety of factors including golf media’s questions being boring — and he doesn’t think anyone would miss him anyway.
“It’s more I just don’t care about doing it. Everyone else turns interviews down. I never do. Would rather come back, rest up and spend time chilling. Not angry at all. Hope that’s clear. I declined my press conference too this week.”
You can read the rest here. (For the record, I’m always interested in what Brooks has to say. Had an absolute blast interviewing him for the piece below. Though it’s tough to argue with his “boring questions” gripe.)
WINNER: TIGER’S DRIVER
WHY: Tiger Woods looked pretty good off the tee, which was a part of his game that had him most concerned. He missed just two fairways. He hit it plenty far. He finished in the top 20 percent in strokes gained off the tee. That part was encouraging.
“I thought I did the one thing I needed to do today, which is drive the ball well,” he said. “I did that, I just didn’t capitalize on any of it.”
LOSER: TIGER’S IRONS
WHY: The greatest iron player in the history of golf just hasn’t had his best stuff of late. His irons let him down during a key stretch at the PGA Championship. And they weren’t good on Thursday, either; he lost roughly two shots to the field on approach. He’ll need that to improve Friday to have any chance at playing the weekend after signing for 4-over 74, a score that left him outside the top 80.
“It wasn’t as good as I’d like. I was pretty one-dimensional early in the week, which is interesting,” Woods said. “I was drawing the ball a lot. Now I’m cutting the ball a lot. Welcome to golf.”
WINNER: THE BRYSON SHOW
WHY: After contending at the Masters and coming up just one shot shy of a playoff at the PGA Championship, the crowd-pleasing, fast-swinging, 3D-printing Crushers captain is in the mix at the year’s third major, too. His game looks good, his clubs clearly feel good and he’ll be a joy to watch around this course on the weekend. The world’s greatest YouTube golfer rolls on after an opening-round 3-under 67.
LOSER: JON RAHM’S FOOT
It’s obviously been a strange year for Rahm, who began 2024 by making official his departure from the PGA Tour to LIV. He’s played well there, finishing top 10 every week, though he hasn’t yet won. But Rahm is a guy who values his legacy and his spot in golf history, so his T45-MC-DNS (foot lesion) record in the year’s first three majors is a massive letdown.
WINNER: JON RAHM’S REPLACEMENT
WHY: When Rahm withdrew, Korn Ferry Tour pro Jackson Suber got in off the alternate list. He slid into Rahm’s featured group alongside Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama. And then he shot an opening-round 69, slotting himself inside the top 10.
LOSER: JUSTIN THOMAS’ MAJOR FORM
WHY: Thomas had some high-profile struggles in the game’s biggest events following his 2022 PGA Championship victory — but his eighth-place finish at Valhalla last month suggested a new chapter. On Thursday, though, Thomas struggled with his irons and he struggled with his putter en route to 7-over 77. He’ll need a fierce rally to make the cut.
WINNER: TONY FINAU
WHY: We’ve started to sleep on Tony Finau. Is that the perfect time for him to sneak up on everybody? His opening-round 68 has him in prime position.
LOSER: CARNAGE
Not enough of it, if you ask me. With a few groups remaining there’s only one score higher than 80. The scoring average is just 73.1. For Day 1, that’s probably okay. But let’s crisp up those greens the rest of the week to really see things get spicy.
A final note on the World No. 1: We’re temped to put Scottie Scheffler in the “loser” category, at least by his own standards, after an opening-round 71. But Scheffler has done too much winning to be called any sort of loser, even in a forum as unserious as this one. He’s only six shots back — which means nobody in front of him should feel safe.
Let’s do this again tomorrow and see how things have progressed.
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
