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J.J. Spaun sits atop the leaderboard with Round 2 of the 2025 U.S. Open at Pennsylvania's Oakmont Country Club underway today.
Spaun became only the second golfer this century with a bogey-free U.S. Open round here thanks to his 66 yesterday. Brooks Koepka and Thriston Lawrence are a shot back, with Si Woo Kim in third at 2-under.
Tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler, one under today, defending champion Bryson DeChambeau (both 73s), and Masters champion Rory McIlroy (74) all had disappointing first rounds.
Things can turn around quickly at Oakmont, and you can see that just by checking the scorecard of Sungjae Im.
Through his first 11 holes, he was at 5 under and had moved into the solo lead, jumping J.J. Spaun late in yesterday’s first round.
Since then, Im is 4 over on his past nine holes. He had three bogeys in his final seven holes yesterday and already has a bogey, dropping a shot on No. 2.
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The likes of pre-tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, and Masters winner Rory McIlroy were all at least six shots back of the lead after the first round.
So, touching on Dan Shirley's point earlier about making up ground, what are their chances of bringing it back today and at the weekend to win the competition? Let's take a look, via some numbers from our very own Justin Ray.
Well, 23 of the last 26 U.S. Open champions have been within four strokes of the lead entering the second round. There’s some precedent for slow starters winning at Oakmont, however.
Larry Nelson was six shots back after Round 1 of the 1983 U.S. Open, while John Mahaffey was eight off the lead at the PGA five years earlier.
The average first-round deficit of U.S. Open winners the last fifty years is 2.9 strokes. The largest first-round deficit overcome to win is nine shots by Jack Fleck in 1955.
Jordan Spieth and Russell Henley both on +1 after bogeys today, Sam Burns and Canadian Corey Connors on the same score at -1 for today so far.
In the top 10 (including ties), Viktor Hovland (-1 today) and Jon Rahm (+1 today) are at evens, while Sungjae Im has dropped to tied fifth after bogey on the second hole.
Oakmont strikes again, and we just saw its best (worst?) with Justin Thomas on the par-5 12th hole.
Thomas missed a 3-foot par putt, which wrapped around the hole and ended up 4 feet from the hole. Then he missed that one too, and it wrapped around the hole as well.
Thomas is 9 over after a double-bogey 7 right after he bogeyed No. 11. He has plenty of golf to play, but it doesn’t look like he will be playing on the weekend.
Seriously, how much ground can be picked up on this course?
Justin Thomas +3 for the day after he goes par, bogey, double bogey to start the (easier) back nine.
A seven on the gettable 12th where Brooks Koepka just had a shout for eagle!
If you find yourself in the rough, as Thomas did, you are just in so much trouble.
That will do nicely.
Brooks Koepka sinks a birdie on the 647-yard 12, his second in a row, and is now in joint second with Thriston Lawrence.
After a 358-yard drive and a booming 276-yard second stroke, he had a 26-footer for eagle. Nonetheless, you can't turn your nose up at birdies at Oakmont!
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A big part of Oakmont's difficulty is the uniquely shaped sand trap with ‘church pew’-like grass islands which sit between the third and fourth fairways
Our Gabby Herzig dug into (OK, not literally) just what makes one of golf's most famous bunkers so lethal for those with the misfortune to hit one in its trap.
Enjoy.
GO FURTHER
What is Oakmont’s church pew bunker? History behind distinctive U.S. Open course feature
Justin Thomas just threw everything into a wild swiping hack into some tall grass.
The ball moved about half a yard.
For all the (understandable) worry about the thick, penal rough and treacherous bunkers, many will be focusing predominantly on their approach play.
Still, the stuff on the green shouldn't be forgotten. Scottie Scheffler's round was let down by a cold putter on the dance floor and, as Justin Ray pointed out, leader J. J. Spaun's putting helped his fantastic first day.
Spaun, who had averaged -0.24 strokes gained putting in his previous 12 major rounds, was excellent on the greens Thursday (+4.19 strokes gained putting, second-best in the field).
While South African Thriston Lawrence, in second a shot behind Spaun, holed 114 feet of putts on the day, nearly 50 feet more than the field average. Reading the quick and undulating greens will be such a crucial skill this week.
Some bright and early birdies for Scottie Scheffler, now T32 at two-over, Brooks Koepka (now even par through the first two after bogeying the first), Matt Wallace on No. 2, and Hovland, as Dan mentioned.
Justin Thomas bogeyed 11, while Dustin Johnson bogeyed the first after that errant tee shot.
At the other end of the scorecard, poor Will Chandler has quadruple-bogeyed the par-four third. He is eight-over through just three holes today and now in joint-last place at +16. Ouch.
Viktor Hovland is as talented as anyone in the world, and he’s so much fun to watch. We saw some of that yesterday with three straight birdies on Nos. 9, 10 and 11. And he had two more birdies. But he had six bogeys to finish at 1-over 71.
Hovland is rocking and rolling early with a perfectly played 10th hole for another birdie, and he’s back to even par.
Hovland was under the radar some, but he’s a player who could go low today (whatever that is at a U.S. Open).
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Jon Rahm drove the ball brilliantly in his opening round 69 – the fifth consecutive time he’s started a U.S. Open with exactly that score.
Rahm hit 10 of 14 fairways and ranked in the top five in distance, good for the top spot Thursday in strokes gained off the tee (+3.36). His 14 greens in regulation were bettered by just two players on the day, as well.
The Spaniard, the 2021 champion at Torrey Pines, was tied for fifth and two off the lead after Round 1 that year. He’s T6 and three shots behind Spaun entering Round 2.
No player from Europe in the last century has won the U.S. Open multiple times.
GO FURTHER
U.S. Open 2025: What to know about J.J. Spaun and the rest of the Round 1 leaders
Russell Henley is seventh in the world, and he was coming off his best year as a pro last year, especially in the majors. And then he claimed the fifth win of his career at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a signature event.
But Henley hasn’t played well in the majors this year, missing the cut at the Masters and the PGA Championship.
He had a solid round yesterday with one birdie and one bogey for an even-par 70. This is Henley’s 12th U.S. Open, coming off a T7 last year, his best finish in the tournament.
Keep an eye on him today.
That was certainly not the start that Brooks Koepka wanted after his strong finish yesterday.
Starting on the back nine, Koepka was right off the tee and then short of the green on his second shot. He missed the 13-foot par putt and dropped a shot to fall three back of J.J. Spaun.
Koepka hasn’t been sharp in the majors this year, missing the cut in both, and you have to wonder about his form coming into this event.
OAKMONT, Pa. — My goodness, Robert MacIntyre was delighted. Chuffed, even. He drove it as well as he can drive a golf ball. He found fairways and avoided the thick stuff. He converted his tough putts at a steady rate. The 28-year-old Scot played golf as well as he believes he is capable of playing Thursday.
“That’s up there in the top 10 of any rounds that I’ve played,” he said. He shot even par.
The U.S. Open is back at Oakmont Country Club this week, meaning the U.S. Open is back to being the toughest test in golf. Superstars threw clubs and duffed chips in Round 1.
Rory McIlroy turned a first-nine 33 into a 41 on the way in. Sixteen golfers shot in the 80s on a par-70 setup, and the only past major winners still under par are Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm.
So don’t make the mistake of looking at a U.S. Open leaderboard with a 4-under leader in Round 1 — and 10 total golfers under par — and think you’re being robbed of Oakmont’s potential to inflate scorecards.
Read more about yesterday's Round 1 below.
GO FURTHER
U.S. Open 2025: Oakmont might be a slow burn, but high scores are still coming
I’m so intrigued by Jordan Spieth’s round today. Yes, he’s recovering from a wrist injury, but it has been a while since he has been in the mix at a major.
And it feels like every step forward is followed by three steps back from round to round and hole to hole.
Spieth’s start was not good. He’s left off the tee, and it looks like he’s in the deep stuff. Even though he shot an even-par 70 yesterday, I won’t be shocked by anything that happens today.
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It's go time for Jordan Spieth, the 2015 U.S. Open champion.
He's on the tee, level par in the first round. What can he do today in Pennsylvania?
Alongside him, the 2021 winner of this competition, Jon Rahm, who is only three shots back of leader Spaun at -1.
It's a champion-filled playing group, with 2016 champion Dustin Johnson, 40, the third of three to tee off.
On the fourth hole Thursday, Patrick Reed holed out on a 286-yard approach shot to make an albatross. It was just the fourth albatross made in recorded U.S. Open history, and the first since Nick Watney made one at The Olympic Club 13 years ago.
The former Masters champion stumbled down the stretch, making a triple bogey on the last hole to card 73.
The fourth was one of just two holes that played under par in Round 1. The field scoring average of 74.63 was four-tenths of a shot higher than it was in the first round in 2016, but not quite as painful as ’07 (75.32).
The most difficult hole Thursday was the ninth, yielding a mere eight birdies and an average score of more than half a stroke over par.
And not the good kind, like in basketball.
The 27-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, double-bogeys both one and two at Oakmont.
He's four-over today, +12 overall, tied for 147th alongside Englishman Sam Bairstow, amateur and dentist Matt Vogt, and Matt McCarty.
