Spaun carves out flawless 66 to be unlikely US Open leader
OAKMONT—JJ Spaun could not escape the talk about how punishing a setup Oakmont Country Club is. And while that left him plenty nervous, the unheralded American with Filipino descent felt the threat of danger at every turn helped power him to the first round lead in the US Open on Thursday.
Three years removed from his lone win on the PGA Tour, Spaun did not just outplay the game’s biggest stars in the opening round of the year’s third major, but carded only the eighth bogey-free round in a US Open at Oakmont.
After signing for a four-under-par 68 that left him with a one-shot lead over South African Thriston Lawrence, Spaun admitted to feeling uneasy going into only his second US Open.
“I was actually pretty nervous,” Spaun said. “But I actually tried to harness that, the nerves, the anxiety, because it kind of heightens my focus, makes me swing better.
“I kind of get more in the zone, whereas if I don’t have any worry or if I’m not in it mentally, it’s kind of just a lazy round or whatever out there.”
Despite being nervous, Spaun was a picture of calm as he made his way around a course that has a reputation for being kick-your-teeth-in tough, given the dense rough that lines the skinny fairways which lead to super-slick greens.
Spaun, who began his day on the back nine, left his approach at the par-four 10th in thick rough beside the green but calmly chipped in from 20 feet away and never looked back.
“It was a nice little wake-up call at 7:10 in the morning or whatever it was,” said Spaun, who added three more birdies before the turn and then parred each hole on his inward nine. “It was a nice way to start the day, and I obviously kind of rode that momentum throughout the day.”
“Even for a guy like me, I can’t get out of it some of the times, depending on the lie,” said defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who makes a living on overpowering golf courses and gouging out of the thick stuff. “It was tough. It was a brutal test of golf.”
DeChambeau was at even par when he nuked his second shot over the green and into the rough in back of the 12th green. The grass opened up his club face on the third and rifled the ball into more rough. He needed two more shots to advance the ball from there to the fringe. He also shot 73 like world N0. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
