Justin Thomas: Drives U.S. Open With Record First-Round Scores At Winged Foot.
Winged Foot has a notoriety for being one of the most problematic greens on the circuit. However, American Justin Thomas quickly handled the New York seminar on Thursday as he took an early lead of five-under at the U.S. Open.
That is the most reduced score any player has checked on the primary day of the six past U.S. Opens at Winged Foot, with the world No. 3 completing one shot away from Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters and Matthew Wolff and two away from Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.
Thomas, 27, is hoping to add to his sole significant victory at the 2017 PGA Championship. "65 is fun regardless of where you play, particularly at Winged Foot," he told correspondents. "I was in a great attitude, and I was engaged. I was adhering to my everyday practice and playing each shot, instead of losing track of the main issue at hand. "It's one of those rounds where it's the only sort of like, before you know it, you make the putt on 18, you're accomplished for the afternoon."
Thomas set the tone at the U.S. Open with a first-cycle five-under. Excellent conditions implied players appreciated lower scores than many had foreseen at Winged Foot. This course has seen three over-standard winning aggregates at the U.S. Open in the post-war period.
There were gaps in-one on Thursday from Reed and individual American Will Zalatoris on the seventh opening - the 46th and 47th pros in the opposition's history. Reed handled his after one massive skip on the green, while Zalatoris saw his move in a while in transit to a levels finish.
Previous Masters champion Reed was one of 21 players to go under the standard. Not far behind him was 2011 U.S. Open victor McIlroy, who is currently without a significant title for a long time. "First round of a sign you're generally restless to play well, and possibly I've overthought it on occasion," the Northern Irishman said of his great beginning.
Phil Mickelson re-visitations of the area of his most pulverizing rout McIlroy lines up a putt on the seventeenth green.
"I just went out today and just took what was given to me somewhat looser and played pleasantly. "I think at a U.S. Open, on the off chance that you can get off to a decent beginning, you're not pursuing such a lot. Furthermore, when you follow on U.S. Open greens, that is the point at which you can begin to commit errors and exacerbate your blunders.
"To have such a pad, to be somewhat looser about your play, not take on something over the top, have the option to in any case play traditionalist golf, I imagine that is significant here." Tiger Woods, who has battled for structure since golf continued recently, was baffled to finish up his round on three-over after finishing on an intruder and twofold intruder.
"I expected to polish off the round better, and I didn't," he told journalists. Peruse: Brooks Koepka pulls back from U.S. Open through injury PGA Tour 'hopes to produce over $100m' towards racial and social treachery causes over next 10 years 02:23
"As I stated, I made a couple of putts the centre aspect of the round. It appeared as though I wasn't getting anything out of my round from the get-go, and it flipped, and tragically I didn't polish off how I expected to." Woods is attached with world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, a pre-competition most loved having secured the FedEx Cup not long ago. Then, Phil Mickelson's stressed relationship with Winged Foot - where he let slip a U.S. Open lead on the last gap in 2006 - proceeds. He shot a nine-more than 79.