Big names struggle as U.S. Open gets going after soggy start

After a wet start to the U.S. Open Thursday, the second major of the year finally got going at Oakmont Friday morning with some players trying to squeeze in two full rounds of golf before the final two rounds begin on Saturday at Oakmont.

Players practically needed a row boat during the first round of tournament play at the open Thursday as western Pennsylvania was blasted with nearly a quarter inch of rainfall. Oakmont officials blew the horn three times before finally suspending play at 3:51 pm.

78 of the 156 players competing in this year’s open had yet to tee off for their first round when the tournament was put to a stop. Only nine actually finished their rounds, meaning organizers and players alike would have to scramble to squeeze in two rounds before the final two days of play took place this weekend.

Oakmont, often considered the most difficult course on the PGA tour, played soft and slow for those who could actually make it onto the course. Rickie Fowler (+6) told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Stephen Nesbitt the rain made a significant difference.

“That was probably about as easy as the course was going to play,” Fowler said.

Some players used that to their distinct advantage.

Andrew Landry, a 28-year-old Texan without a single PGA tour win, was one of the few who managed to get in a full round during Thursday’s soggy action. Last week, he’d told his father he was “going to win this tournament.” Through one round, Landry’s play lived up to his own high expectations.

Landry finished his round on Thursday four under par, which prior to the start of his round was good enough to tie for first place with Dustin Johnson (-4).

While those at the top of the leaderboard will look to build on their standing headed into this weekend, some big name players are just hoping to hold on.

World No.1 Jason Day (+6) finished his first round on Friday with an opening round 76, the highest U.S. Open score of his career. Phil Mickelson (+4) faced similar bad luck, scoring five bogeys on the back nine and finishing round one with a disappointing 74. Some of that can be tied to shots that just quite didn’t get there, like this tough shot “lefty” nearly landed on No. 11.

Phil Mickelson … So. Close. #USOpen https://t.co/9wzW2zFhlj

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 17, 2016

Former Master’s Champion Jordan Spieth (+2) seems to still be battling the demons he faced on hole No. 12 at Augusta more than two months ago. At the end of his first round, last year’s U.S. Open winner looked poised to finish at or near even par. However, his approach shot on the 17^th hole went long, rolling into the sand and costing him valuable spots on the leaderboard as the 22-year-old chases his third major win.

World No.3 Rory McIlroy (+7), struggled mightily during his first round and will need a bounce back performance in round two to avoid missing the cut. His eight bogeys in the first round led to a disastrous score of 77.

“I wasn’t able to get into any kind of a rhythm,” McIlroy said. “To be honest, I was struggling with my swing in practice. The hardest thing now is just to stay positive.”

McIlroy and dozens of other hopefuls will need more than good vibes if they are going to come back and compete in this tournament. Only those inside the top 60 by the end of round two will move on to the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday. McIlroy, Day, Mickelson all want to play in those rounds come hell or high water. Well, hopefully not much more of the latter.