The wild theories of potentially humongous scores failed to materialise, as the first round of the 123rd US Open at Los Angeles Country Club – with its beautifully quirky holes and an examination of mental strategy as much as physical execution – was played out in near-perfect conditions of little wind and overcast skies to the extent that Rickie Fowler, still chasing a breakthrough Major win, shot an opening round of 62, eight-under-par.
That his record low round in a US Open – and one which equalled the record in any Major, set by Branden Grace in the 2017 Open – wasn’t sufficient to put him a country mile ahead of everyone spoke volumes for the unexpectedly soft test that players experienced on the first …
- June 16, 2023
