Spaun’s putting performance brings history with the morning swing

When the USGA released the hole locations on each green late last night, it was obvious that at least the first round would end up becoming a putting competition. J.J. Spaun was easily the best putter during the morning swing of the first round of the U.S. Open. 

“I think today was one of my best putting days I’ve had maybe all year, especially inside the makeable range putts, inside 12 feet or so,” Spaun said. “That’s huge for momentum and keeping a round going, and that’s kind of what happens here at U.S. Opens.”

The USGA set up only two pins that were further than eight feet from the edge of the green, forcing players to play it safe when attacking each green and needing to make putts from longer distances. Spaun led the field in strokes gained putting, with +3.94 and only putted 26 times all day, good for No. 14 of the players that went out in the morning.

After the morning swing, Spaun led the field by one stroke, shooting a stellar four under par, which ties the U.S. Open record for best opening round at Oakmont with Andrew Landry. Spaun also had a bogey-free first round, which ties the number of bogey-less rounds that happened in 2016  — one by Dustin Johnson. Thriston Lawrence was the only competitor to finish near Spaun as he finished with a three-under-par first round. 

Best shot around the greens

Besides putting, Spaun was also dialed in around the greens. He started his day with a chip-in on the 10th hole. It wasn’t the most insane shot in the world — only a 20 foot chip-in — but it started a historic round for Spaun. 

“It was a nice little wake-up call at 7:10 in the morning, or whatever it was. It was a nice way to start the day,” Spaun said. “I obviously kind of rode that momentum throughout the day.”

Shot of the morning

Maxwell Moldovan and Shane Lowry both made historic eagles in their morning rounds, so it’s unnecessary to pick between the two. The former made the first ever eagle on No. 1 at Oakmont, which played as the hardest hole in 2016, and the latter made the first ever eagle on No. 3. 

Moldovan’s shot was 189 yards from the pin and downhill, and Lowry’s was 160 yards straight uphill next to the church pew bunkers. Neither Moldovan nor Lowry had a good first round, finishing six over par and nine over par, respectively. The eagles were both of the players’ only under-par holes all day.

Key Stats

Spaun’s first nine holes this morning were the best start in the history of the U.S. Open at Oakmont, finishing with a four under par, good for a 31. The top three players of the morning swing dominated holes 10-18, where Spaun started his day combining for a score of nine under par. Lawrence shot a 32 on the back nine and Si Woo Kim shot a 33.

Quotable

Spaun has only won one PGA Tour event in his career, back in 2022, and he hasn’t won since, but he’s competed with the best of them this year, most notably in The Players Championship when he narrowly lost to Rory McIlroy in a playoff. Today, he beat McIlroy by eight strokes and has a chance to show everything he has learned while playing in those pressure spots against players like McIlroy and win a Major Championship this weekend.

“I can perform on the biggest of stages and handle it with the pressure,” Spaun said. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure this week, too, and hopefully I can rely on those experiences.”