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Rickie Fowler. | Photo courtesy of Brandonlw97/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Southern California natives Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele share a two-stroke lead entering Friday’s second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament following a record-setting first round at the Los Angeles Country Club.
The 8-under 62s by Fowler and Schauffele were the lowest scores in U.S. Open history. Six players had shot 63 at the U.S. Open, most famously Johnny Miller in the final round of the 1973 Open to win the tournament by one stroke over John Schlee after starting the round six strokes back.
Two of the 63s came in the first round of the 1980 U.S. Open by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf.
The most recent 63 came in the final round in 2018 by Tommy Fleetwood, who went from six strokes behind at the start of the round to finishing one stroke off the lead, missing an 8-foot putt on the 18th hole that would have given him the first 62 and forced a two-hole playoff with Brooks Koepka.
The 62s match the lowest score in a major champion, set by Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 British Open.
Fowler, who was born and raised in Murrieta, and Schauffele, who was born and raised in San Diego, both began their rounds on the back nine.
Fowler had 10 birdies, including on the 10th hole, his first, and bogeyed the par-3 11th and par-4 17th.
“It was a great day,” the 34-year-old Fowler said after equaling his lowest round on the PGA Tour, which came in the second round 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open. “Got off to a nice start making 3 on 10 and just never really thought about a score or necessarily what I was trying to do out there.”
Schauffele had no bogeys and eight birdies, including on the 10th, first, second, seventh and eighth holes.
“Just an all-around performance, honestly,” said Schauffele, whose previous best round in a major championship was 65, four times, most recently in the fourth round of the 2021 British Open. “Got lucky, made a really long putt. Hit some really nice iron shots in from distance.”
Fellow Americans Wyndham Clark and Dustin Johnson are tied for third at 6-under 64, two strokes off the lead. It was the 10th time Johnson had shot 65 or better in major championship play, tying the record held by Tiger Woods.
American Brian Harman and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland are tied for fifth at 5-under, three strokes off the lead. McIlroy’s 30 on the front nine matched the best nine-hole score in the 58 major championships he has played.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked men’s golfer and pre-tournament favorite, was among seven players tied for seventh at 3-under 67, five strokes off the lead.
The 62s by Fowler and Schauffele were far from the day’s only records.
The 71.38 stroke average was the lowest first-round scoring average in the 123 U.S. Opens, eclipsing the previous record of 72.29 at Baltusrol Golf Club in 1993, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
It was the first time no player had shot 80 or higher in the in the first round of a U.S. Open.
The six players with rounds of 65 or better during one round of the U.S. Open was also a record. The previous record was four in the second round of the 2009 U.S. Open, played at Bethpage State Park.
The field of 156 golfers for the first U.S. Open to be played in Los Angeles since 1948 will be cut after 36 holes to the low 60 scorers and ties.
