2024 US Open Day 1: Scottie Scheffler’s Tough Luck, A Happy Tyrell Hatton and the Nightmarish Pinehurst No. 2

Some might deem it a forgettable day. Others might want to just etch it onto their memories. The first day of the 2024 U.S. Open lacked no fire throughout the day, with some dishing out an amazing display of golf while others fell short of their own expectations. Even so, there were some moments on the course that, weirdly enough, stood out from others owing to their bizarre nature, be it from PGA Tour Pro Scottie Scheffler or LIV golfer Tyrrell Hatton.

The likes of Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy are currently leading the scoreboard after fighting tooth and nail on the tough Pinehurst Course No. 2. Their showmanship, however, was overshadowed by many peculiar instances on the course, some of which even went on to top the headlines in the community!

Standout moments of the first round at The U.S. Open

1. Unlucky Scottie Scheffler at Pinehurst: One might think the current No. 1 golfer in the world would have dished out yet another scintillating performance. You couldn’t be more wrong. The 2-time major champ finished tied at T34 with 15 other athletes by the end of the first round at the 2024 U.S. Open. The athlete scored a 1-over par 71 while carding just two birdies at the par-3 4th and the par-3 17th.

Fresh off a win at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village, the 2024 Masters champ entered the U.S. Open with the best odds in the field. As per USA Today, Scheffler was the biggest favorite ahead of Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau with odds of +333. One can’t blame the community since the athlete had raked in 12 top-10 finishes from 13 starts with 5 wins.

Scheffler’s odds, however, took a hit following his first-round score. The pro is now at +650 to win, while the likes of McIlroy, who had opened at +1200 to win, overtook him to boast figures of +250 after a bogey-free round of 65. What else can we call the 30-year-old as nothing but unlucky?

2. A cuss-free but joyous Tyrrell Hatton: When one spots the LIV golfer on the greens, they can expect quite a bit of f-bombs to be thrown around, especially if the course comes out a bit tough for the field. The 32-year-old, however, surprised many at the U.S. Open when he dropped his club and kicked at it in rage after his tee shot at the par-3 17th hole, only for the spheroid to end up on the greens, allowing him a birdie. Interestingly enough, he did not utter the F-word once.

But that didn’t stop the Englishman from taking a jab at his fellow athletes on the field at the U.S. Open. The golfer was sporting a smile when mentioning how he preferred this grind over Valhalla: “With it being harder a lot of guys sort of losing their head, it sort of brings them to my level because I just lose my head every week. They can kind of experience what it’s like in my head for a week.” The 1-time PGA Tour champ said so while alluding to his own nasty temper on the course.

At the end of the day, he deserves to sport a smile, seeing as how Hatton managed to finish tied with two others at T6. The athlete scored a 2-under 68, which included a single bogey at the par-4 2nd, followed by three bogeys at the 17th, the par-4 5th, and the par-5 10th.

3. A picturesque, albeit gruesome Pinehurst No. 2: Few believed the defending champion of the U.S. Open when he dubbed the greens as “borderline.” But when the spectators watched the golfers hit shot after shot on the beautiful second hole only for it to fall off the green, all they could do was lament. They witnessed many athletes, including the likes of Hatton, Aaron Rai, Jackson Suber, and Rickie Fowler among others, bogeying the nightmare of a hole.

But a few including the likes of Cantlay and McIlroy, did manage to avoid the dangers. And they were able to play magnificently around the greens. Even the legend of the game, Tiger Woods, expressed how difficult it would be to score low on the iconic course. “This golf course is all about the greens,” admitted the 48-year-old. “The complexes are just so difficult and so severe that, I mean, I think 1-under par is only in fifth. There aren’t that many scores that are low.”

That’s not all. Some even went ahead to dub Pinehurst No. 2 as a course that has a “rollercoaster” nature. The par-4, 4th, became the second toughest hole in relation to par on Thursday, while the par-3, 6th, became the toughest one at the U.S. Open. The former witnessed a stroke average of 4.45, while the latter a meager 3.47. But in the midst of these two was the par-5, 5th the easiest hole of the course, which saw as many as nine eagles out of the total 10 and 60 birdies being carded on the same.

While these are not all of the unique instances that caught the eye, they sure did dominate the headlines after the first day of the U.S. Open. There will, undoubtedly, be many more of the same over the next three rounds in a course as eventful and difficult as Pinehurst No. 2. For those of you eager to catch the moments, tune into the second round of the major on Friday, that is set to tee off at 6:45 A.M.