Liguori: Pair Of Unknowns Light Up Soggy First Round At Oakmont
By Ann Liguori
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OAKMONT, Pa. (CBSNewYork) -- It was a rookie playing in his first major championship and an amateur who survived a grueling six-man playoff to qualify for this U.S. Open who most impressed during the abbreviated first round at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday.
Relentless thunderstorms delayed play three times. Play was suspended for the day at 4:35 p.m.
Andrew Landry from Texas, the aforementioned rookie, stole the spotlight. He started on the 10th hole and recorded five birdies before back-to-back bogeys on the 7th and 8th. At 3-under, Landry will have a one-shot lead over Bubba Watson and Danny Lee when the opening round resumes on Friday morning.
Landry will have one hole left to complete. He set himself up with a 10-foot birdie opportunity on the par-4 9th before play was called for the day.
The 28-year-old admitted it was a challenge to stay focused with so many weather interruptions.
"It was tough," Landry said. "Just kind of kept to myself, went to the locker room, stayed by myself, talked with my caddie a little bit, and turned my phone off. I had my phone off the whole time. It was good to just kind of be by myself and just take it all in."
Landry could be the first player since Brendon de Jonge (first round in 2010) to hold a lead at the end of a round in his first U.S. Open.
Scottie Scheffler, a 19-year-old amateur standout from the University of Texas, shot an impressive 1-under 69. Scheffler is the first amateur to break 70 at Oakmont since Vinny Giles shot 69 in the second round of the 1973 U.S. Open.
Scheffler was one of only nine guys who finished play on Thursday.
Defending champ Jordan Spieth will resume on Friday at 1-over through 11 holes. Rory McIlroy, at 4-over through 13 holes, and Ricky Fowler, at 6-over through 12 holes, have some work to do.
On a soggy, nasty day reminiscent of the Thursday on Bethpage State Park's Black Course at the 2009 U.S. Open -- when no players finished their round due to thunderstorms -- two unfamiliar names lit up this historic place.
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