Tag: U.S. Open Men's Golf Championships

So far, so good for Naomi Osaka and her new coach at the US Open

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NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka is back in the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time since 2021, the year after she won her second championship at Flushing Meadows.

She’s playing rather well at the moment, too, under the guidance of a new coach. Just don’t expect Osaka to weigh in on whether she feels as if she is ready to make another deep run at the place.

“Honestly, I don’t really know. I don’t make it my business to know anymore. I kind of just leave it up in the air,” the 23rd-seeded Osaka said after eliminating Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 in the second round in just 70 minutes Thursday. “For me, I realize that I’ve done everything that I could. I’ve trained really hard. I practiced really hard. If it happens, it happens.”

Osaka’s four Grand Slam trophies all arrived on hard courts: two at the U.S. Open, two at the Australian Open. Since her 2020 title in New York, her trips there have gone this way: losses in the third round in 2021, first round in 2022, second round last year.

The surface tends to favor the big serves and powerful, first-strike tennis Osaka is best known for, and something she displayed against Baptiste, of course, although she also demonstrated a willingness to vary speeds and spins.

The other talent Osaka is using to great effect so far this week is returning that gets an opponent on the defensive. Osaka already has won 11 of the 18 return games she’s played so far, including during a 6-3, 6-4 win over Greet Minnen in the first round.

After her third-round exit at Wimbledon last month, Osaka split from coach Patrick Mouratoglou and began working with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who used to be part of Iga Swiatek’s team.

One key, Osaka said: Wiktorowski has encouraged her to focus more on the placement of her shots “and not necessarily going for winners most of the time.”

They appear to be making quick progress — and Osaka said her impression of him changed quickly.

“Honestly, I didn’t know him, I thought he was very scary, because he’s very tall and he didn’t smile,” she said. “Now that we’re working together, I see that he smiles often. He has a very friendly smile, and it’s very nice. That’s my little fun fact about Tomasz.”

Venus Williams earned her first win in a U.S. Open women’s doubles match since 2014 — and this time, her partner wasn’t younger sister Serena but Leylah Fernandez. The 45-year-old Williams, who recently returned to the tour after a 16-month absence, and Fernandez eliminated the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Wimbledon champions Swiatek and Jannik Sinner both won — his victory was much more straightforward than hers. Swiatek had some trouble before getting past Suzan Lamens, a Dutch player ranked 66th who’d never appeared at a Grand Slam tournament until this year, by a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 score. Sinner was just fine in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Alexei Popyrin, who beat Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open a year ago.

Carlos Alcaraz, the 2022 men’s champion, and Jessica Pegula, the 2024 women’s runner-up, play their third-round matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium during the day session. Djokovic, owner of 24 Grand Slam titles, meets Cam Norrie in Ashe at night, followed by American Taylor Townsend — who got into a back-and-forth with her opponent, Jelena Ostapenko, after their second-round match — against No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, an 18-year-old from Russia.

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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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August 28, 2025
Bryson DeChambeau wins another U.S. Open with a clutch finish to deny Rory McIlroy

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PINEHURST, N.C. — Bryson DeChambeau climbed back into the most famous bunker at Pinehurst No. 2, this time with the U.S. Open trophy instead of his 55-degree sand wedge, filling the silver prize with grains of sand to commemorate the best shot of his life.

Rory McIlroy wanted to bury his head in the sand.

DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open title on Sunday by getting up-and-down from 55 yards in a bunker — one of the toughest shots in golf — to deliver another unforgettable finish at Pinehurst and a celebration just as raucous as when his hero, Payne Stewart, won with a big par putt in 1999.

“That’s Payne right there, baby!” DeChambeau screamed as he walked off the 18th green.

This was nothing like DeChambeau winning at Winged Foot in 2020, when there were no fans and no drama. This was high suspense that ultimately came down to a trio of short putts.

McIlroy, who for so much of the final round looked certain to end 10 years without a major, had a one-shot lead until missing a 30-inch par putt on the 16th hole. Tied for the lead on the 18th, with DeChambeau behind him in the final group, McIlroy missed a par attempt from just inside 4 feet.

He was in the scoring room watching, hoping, for a two-hole playoff when DeChambeau got into trouble off the tee as he had done all day. But then DeChambeau delivered the magic moment with his bunker shot to 4 feet and made the par putt for a 1-over 71.

“That bunker shot was the shot of my life,” DeChambeau said.

Moments later, McIlroy was in his car, the wheels spinning on the gravel to get out of Pinehurst without comment. There wasn’t much to say. This one will sting.

“As much as it is heartbreaking for some people, it was heartbreak for me at the PGA,” said DeChambeau, who a month ago made a dramatic birdie on the 18th hole at Valhalla, only for Xander Schauffele to match him with a birdie to win the PGA Championship.

“I really wanted this one,” DeChambeau said. “When I turned the corner and saw I was a couple back, I said, ‘Nope, I’m not going to let that happen.’ I have to focus on figuring out how to make this happen.”

True to his form as one of golf’s great entertainers, he put on quite the show.

The par putt wasn’t as long or as suspenseful as Stewart’s in 1999. The celebration was every bit of that. DeChambeau repeatedly pumped those strong arms as he screamed to the blue sky, turning in every direction to a gallery that cheered him on all week.

As much as this U.S. Open will be remembered for DeChambeau’s marvelous bunker shot, McIlroy played a big part. He not missed a putt under 4 feet for 69 holes on the slick, domed Donald Ross greens. And then with the U.S. Open on the line, he missed two over the final three holes for a 69.

McIlroy had the look of a winner. He ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. He was a model of cool, the opposite of DeChambeau’s exuberance. He walked confidently to the 14th tee with a two-shot lead as the chants grew louder.

“Ror-EE! Ror-EE!”

DeChambeau could hear them, and he pounded a 3-wood on the reachable par-4 13th — the tees were moved forward to 316 yards — to the middle of the green for a birdie to stay close.

McIlroy took bogey from behind the 15th green, but he stayed one ahead when DeChambeau, playing in the group behind him, had his first three-putt of the week on the 15th when he missed from 4 feet.

And that’s where this U.S. Open took a devasting turn for McIlroy.

He missed a 30-inch par putt on the 16th hole to fall back into a tie. On the 18th hole, McIlroy’s tee shot landed behind a wiregrass bush. He blasted out short of the green and pitched beautifully to 4 feet. And he missed again.

DeChambeau kept fans on the edge to the end. He pulled his drive to the left into an awful lie, with a tree in his back swing and a root in front of the golf ball. The best he could manage was to punch it toward the green, and it rolled into a front right bunker.

“One of the worst places I could have been,” DeChambeau. But he said his caddie, Greg Bodine, kept it simple.

“G-Bo just said, ‘Bryson, just get it up-and-down. That’s all you’ve got to do. You’ve done this plenty of times before. I’ve seen some crazy shots from you from 50 yards out of a bunker,’” DeChambeau said.

During the trophy ceremony, the shot was replayed on a video screen.

“I still can’t believe that up-and-down,” DeChambeau said.

Since he won the U.S. Open at Congressional in 2011, McIlroy has seven top 10s in this championship without a victory — it’s been more than 100 years since anyone did that well without going home with the trophy.

DeChambeau becomes the second LIV Golf player to win a major, following Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship last year.

An image of Stewart’s famous pose was on the pin flag at the 18th, and DeChambeau put on a Stewart-inspired flat cap during the trophy presentation, later replacing it with his “Crushers” cap from LIV.

He finished at 6-under 274.

Patrick Cantlay lingered around this duel all afternoon, unable to get the putts to fall at the right time until he missed a 7-foot par putt on the 16th hole that ended his chances. He closed with a 70 and tied for third with Tony Finau, who matched a Sunday best with 67 without ever having a serious chance of winning.

This is not the same DeChambeau had become such a polarizing figure — a target of heckling for slow play and his spat with Brooks Koepka. In the sandhills of North Carolina, he had thousands on his side. He signed autographs during his round, he engaged with fans and he delivered one hell of a show.

And when it was over, he looked at the double-decker grandstands around the 18th and thousands circling the 18th green and invited them to his party.

“I want all of you guys somehow,” he said, pointing at them in every direction, “I want you guys to touch this trophy because I want you to experience what this feels like for me. You were a part of this journey this week, and I want you to be a part of it for the after party.”

DeChambeau wasn’t flawless. He hit only five fairways, the fewest in the final round by a U.S. Open champion since Angel Cabrera at Oakmont in 2007. He couldn’t escape the trouble on the 12th, leading to a bogey that dropped him two shots behind. He had his first three-putt of the week at the worst time, on the 15th to briefly fall behind.

But he showed the mettle of a two-time U.S. Open champion at the end.

“What’s most impressive about Bryson is not that he hits the ball far. Everybody knows it,” said Matthieu Pavon, who played with DeChambeau and shot 71 to finish fifth. “I was amazed by the quality of the short game on 18. It’s a master class.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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June 16, 2024
Gary Woodland to have surgery to remove a lesion on his brain

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Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland says he is having surgery to remove a lesion discovered on his brain

ByThe Associated Press

August 30, 2023, 12:29 PM

FILE – Gary Woodland reacts on the 14th green during the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club on Sunday, May 7, 2023, in Charlotte, N.C. The former U.S. Open champion announced Wednesday, Aug. 30, he will have surgery on Sept. 18 to remove a lesion found on his brain. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

The Associated Press

Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland said Wednesday he will have surgery to remove a lesion found on his brain.

Woodland, a four-time PGA Tour winner, announced on social media he was diagnosed with the lesion a few months ago and has been trying to treat the symptoms with medication.

“After consulting with multiple specialists and discussing with my family, we’ve made the decision that surgery to remove the lesion is the best course of action,” Woodland wrote. “I’m in good spirits with my family and team by my side and so thankful for the love and support of everyone.”

Woodland, 39, failed to reach the PGA Tour postseason for the first time since 2012, finishing at No. 94 in the FedEx Cup in a year when only the top 70 advanced.

Woodland, a three-sport star growing up in Kansas, won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2019 by holding off Brooks Koepka in the final round with a pitch he played from one end to the other of the fabled 17th green.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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August 30, 2023
Fowler, McIlroy, Scheffler headline final round in a US Open full of possibilities

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LOS ANGELES — At the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard there are two players each going for their first major title. That’s about all they have in common.

Rickie Fowler has contended in majors, won nine tournaments across the globe and has long been one of golf’s most recognizable players. Wyndham Clark is playing in only his seventh major and, no matter how he plays Sunday, this will mark the first time he’s finished better than 75th.

“It’s a little surreal to be in this situation,” Clark said.

In a way, the player one shot behind them, Rory McIlroy, feels the same. He is trying to break a nine-year drought without a major. He starts the day one shot behind the leaders. Does the fact he’s won four of these, including the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, give him an edge?

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve done it.”

McIlroy is paired with Scottie Scheffler, who trails the leaders by three. With a win, he would join Tiger Woods as the only other player to win the U.S. Open while ranked No. 1.

On Saturday, Scheffler holed out for an eagle from the 17th fairway, and followed that with a birdie to put a deep dent in what had been a seven-shot deficit. It was a remarkable stretch, especially considering this is the U.S. Open, a tournament traditionally won with par saves, not fireworks.

But Los Angeles Country Club is a different sort of U.S. Open venue. It has produced two record scores of 62, four nine-hole scores of 30 and one other 29. It is getting mixed reviews from the players.

“I’m not a big fan of this golf course, to be honest,” Viktor Hovland said.

When the sun goes down Sunday, at least one player will love it.

Some things to watch for Sunday:

RICKIE FOWLER

Back in 2014, Fowler finished in the top 5 in all four majors. He won The Players Championship a year later and moved as high as fourth in the rankings. Two years ago, he had fallen to No. 185.

He would be taking the lead by himself into the final round were it not for a three-putt bogey on No. 18. That, plus Clark’s birdie on the same hole drew them into a tie heading into the last 18 holes.

“It really doesn’t matter,” Fowler said of his late slipup. “Having the lead, being one back, two back. You’re going to have to play good golf tomorrow.”

RORY’S BIG CHANCE

McIlroy hasn’t won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, which followed his British Open title at Hoylake that year. It was hard to imagine he would go some nine years without another.

McIlroy was tied for the 54-hole lead last summer at the British Open and he two-putted all 18 greens (16 pars, two birdies) for a 70 that allowed Cameron Smith to blow by him and capture the claret jug.

McIlroy hasn’t exactly shined the last two weeks when he had a chance to win. He was tied for the 54-hole lead at the Memorial and shot 75 to finish four back. And then last week in the Canadian Open, he was two shots behind going into Sunday and shot 72 to finish five back.

TRICKY NO. 6

The most excitement at LA Country Club comes on the par-4 sixth, which plays downhill at about 300 yards. Some players are choosing to go for the green, but that involves hitting a blind tee shot over a tree that blocks the view of the green and getting the ball to land on a putting surface that measures only about 12 paces across.

The green is surrounded by LACC’s famous barranca — a sandy gully that runs across the course and is populated by ball-entangling grasses. A layup here gives these players a better chance at birdie. The hole ranks third-easiest through three rounds.

THE BIG FINISH

The front nine has two par 5s and has played nearly two shots easier than the back nine at LACC. Barring the exception — Scheffler’s eagle-birdie finish comes to mind — the final three holes are all about hanging on.

The closing three holes average 518 yards and all play as a par 4.

Scheffler, Fowler and Clark are all under for the week on that three-hole stretch. McIlroy has played them in 2-over par.

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AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 18, 2023
Fowler, Clark share the US Open lead with major champs chasing them

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LOS ANGELES — Rickie Fowler only had 3 1/2 feet left for par on what should have been his last shot Saturday in a U.S. Open round filled with far bigger moments. At stake was his first 54-hole lead in a major. Shockingly, he missed and slipped into a tie with Wyndham Clark.

Fowler wasn’t the least bit bothered.

He knows what to expect by looking ahead at a final round on a Los Angeles Country Club course getting tougher by the minute, and by looking behind at some of the players chasing them — Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson.

“It would be nice for that one to go in,” Fowler said. “Really doesn’t matter — having the lead, being one back, two back — you’re going to have to play good golf tomorrow. Bummer to have that one slip away, but tomorrow is a whole new day.

“That’s kind of when the tournament really starts.”

Fowler brought the buzz to the U.S. Open with a 70-foot birdie putt only to lose the lead with a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole, which turned into a two-shot lead and a tie for the lead when Clark boldly took on a tight pin he could barely see for a closing birdie.

Clark’s birdie put him — and not McIlroy — in the final group. And he knew it.

“I wanted to be in the final group. Every shot matters out here,” Clark said.

For all the drama over the final hour — big putts, Scheffler’s eagle-birdie finish, Xander Schauffele going from a crash to a recovery to another crash — McIlroy played a steady hand with one birdie and one bogey over his final 14 holes.

He had a 69 that left him one shot behind, poised to end nine long years without a major.

“It’s nice to be in the hunt,” McIlroy said.

Fowler had to settle for an even-par 70. Clark escaped big trouble from the barranca right of the 17th green with a 6-foot bogey putt to stay close, and then boldly took on a tight left pin at the 18th for a 6-foot birdie and a 69.

They were at 10-under 200.

The final hour brought a surprise at every turn. A long day of blazing sunshine baking the North course at Los Angeles Country Club gave way to the infamous marine layer that brought out some sweatshirts late in the day.

Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, never looked to be in the mix until he closed out his round of 68 by holing a 7-iron from 196 yards on the 17th hole and making a 20-foot birdie putt that put him in the penultimate group with McIlroy.

For so many others, it didn’t take much to lose ground.

Schauffele began his round by taking three shots to get out of a fairway bunker, making three bogeys in five holes, only to get it all back before losing ground at the end with a series of poor drives. He was at 73, five shots back.

Harris English kept pace with the leaders until he missed short putts, big drives and ended his day with a chip shot from the deep collar around the 18th green that didn’t move the ball. His fourth bogey of the back nine gave him a 71, leaving him four shots behind.

The final hour saved what had been a stale atmosphere among the glitz of LA, with just about everyone playing a part. The five players within five shots of the lead included three major champions who have been No. 1 in the world — McIlroy, Scheffler and Johnson (71).

This is the third time Fowler has been in the final group at a major. This is only the third time Clark has played in the final round of a major. He showed plenty of mettle, following consecutive bogeys with a birdie on the 13th — right after Fowler wowed the gallery with his 70-footer — and smartly took a penalty drop on the 17th before a closing bogey.

There was a lot going on at the end.

“I felt like I handled all of it really well,” Clark said. “I felt like I handled all the adversity, and I feel like my best round is still out there.”

McIlroy had a chance to end his major drought last summer at St. Andrews when he shared the lead going into the final round at St. Andrews, only for Cameron Smith to blow past him. He has been in position twice in the last two weeks, at the Memorial and Canadian Open, only to turn in a dud of a final round.

The stakes are enormous this time, on this stage. And he has the experience, though he wasn’t sure to make of that.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve done it,” said McIlroy, whose last major was at the PGA Championship in 2014. “I’m going out there to try to execute a game plan, and I feel like over the last three days I’ve executed that game plan really, really well. And I just need to do that for one more day.”

Scheffler is suddenly in the mix, all because of one remarkable shot and one big putt. He has been the model of consistency this year, even in the majors — a tie for 10th at the Masters, a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship.

“I’m standing there on 17 tee and just made another bogey, and I think I was probably 4 under for the tournament and I’m looking up at the board and I’m seven shots back and I’m thinking maybe I can steal one shot coming in,” Scheffler said.

He stole three and now is well within range.

The marine layer blocking the sun had kept LACC’s greens receptive and scoring ridiculous, at least by U.S. Open standards. The sunshine made it a stronger test, and perhaps offered a preview of what’s to come.

The scores don’t indicate this is the toughest test in golf. It’s likely to feel like way for the players chasing the silver trophy — Fowler and Clark going for their first, McIlroy hopeful of a win that will take attention away from what has been keeping him from another.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 17, 2023
Fowler, Clark share the US Open lead with major champs chasing them

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LOS ANGELES — Rickie Fowler brought the buzz to the U.S. Open with a 70-foot birdie putt only to lose the lead by missing from 3 1/2 feet on the final hole Saturday, giving him a share of the lead with Wyndham Clark and setting up a Sunday filled with possibilities.

Right there with them was Rory McIlroy. He played a steady hand — one birdie and one bogey over his last 14 holes on a course that finally started to play like a U.S. Open. McIlroy had a 69 that left him one shot behind, poised to end nine long years without a major.

“It’s nice to be in the hunt,” McIlroy said.

Fowler had to settle for an even-par 70. Clark escaped big trouble from the barranca with a 6-foot par putt on the 17th to stay close, and then boldly took on a tight left pin at the 18th for a 6-foot birdie for a 69 that allowed him to catch Fowler.

The final hour brought a surprise at every turn. A long day of blazing sunshine baking the North course at Los Angeles Country Club gave way to the infamous marine layer that brought out some sweatshirts late in the day.

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, never looked to be in the mix until he closed out his round of 68 by holing a 7-iron from 196 yards on the 17th hole and making a 20-foot birdie putt that put him in the penultimate group with McIlroy.

For so many others, it didn’t take much to lose ground.

Xander Schauffele began his round by taking three shots to get out of a fairway bunker, making three bogeys in five holes, only to get it all back before losing ground at the end with a series of poor drives. He was at 73, five shots back.

Harris English kept pace with the leaders until he missed short putts, big drives and ended his day with a chip shot from the deep collar around the 18th green that didn’t move the ball. His fourth bogey of the back nine gave him a 71, leaving him four shots behind.

The final hour saved what had been a stale atmosphere among the glitz of LA, with just about everyone playing a part. The five players within five shots of the lead included three major champions who have been No. 1 in the world — McIlroy, Scheffler and Dustin Johnson (71).

This is the third time Fowler has been in the final group at a major — and the first time he doesn’t have anyone in front of him, and he was so close to being the one to chase.

“Just a bummer. It would be nice for that one to go in,” Fowler said about his short miss. “Really doesn’t matter — having the lead, being one back, two back — you’re going to have to play good golf tomorrow.”

While this is Fowler’s third time in the final group of a major, for Clark it’s his third time playing in the final round of a major. He has been on the rise this year, winning at Quail Hollow last month for his first PGA Tour.

He didn’t drop a shot until the par-3 11th hole, and then Clark started to lag behind. He looked to be in big trouble on the 17th when hit approach peeled off to the right and into the barranca. Clark wisely took a penalty drop instead of going for the hero play, chipped to 6 feet and escaped with a bogey and a two-shot deficit.

And then came a two-shot swing.

McIlroy had a chance to end his major drought last summer at St. Andrews when he shared the lead going into the final round at St. Andrews, only for Cameron Smith to blow past him. He has been in position twice in the last two weeks, at the Memorial and Canadian Open, only to turn in a dud of a final round.

The stakes are enormous this time, on this stage. And he has the experience, though he wasn’t sure to make of that.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve done it,” said McIlroy, whose last major was at the PGA Championship in 2014. “I’m going out there to try to execute a game plan, and I feel like over the last three days I’ve executed that game plan really, really well. And I just need to do that for one more day.”

Scheffler is suddenly in the mix, all because of one remarkable shot and one big putt. He has been the model of consistency this year, even in the majors — a tie for 10th at the Masters, a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship.

“I’m standing there on 17 tee and just made another bogey, and I think I was probably 4 under for the tournament and I’m looking up at the board and I’m seven shots back and I’m thinking maybe I can steal one shot coming in,” Scheffler said.

He stole three and now is well within range.

Fowler and Clark were at 10-under 200, one shot off the 54-hole record for the U.S. Open set by McIlroy at Congressional in 2011.

The marine layer blocking the sun had kept LACC’s greens receptive and scoring ridiculous, at least by U.S. Open standards. The sunshine made it a stronger test, and perhaps offered a preview of what’s to come.

The scores don’t indicate this is the toughest test in golf. It’s likely to feel like way for the players chasing the silver trophy — Fowler and Clark going for their first, McIlroy hopeful of a win that will take attention away from what has been keeping him from another.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 17, 2023
Rickie Fowler, a fan favorite, takes center stage for the weekend at the US Open

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LOS ANGELES — A fan favorite. An underdog. A comeback story.

All those storylines are in play heading into the weekend at the U.S. Open.

And, as luck would have it, they are all wrapped up in the same player — Rickie Fowler.

One of the sport’s most popular personalities has been emerging from a three-year slump, and now he’s heading into the weekend at Los Angeles Country Club with a one-shot lead and as good a chance as he’s had in a while to capture his first major championship.

“This is where I want to be,” Fowler said as he spoke with about a dozen reporters in a media tent usually reserved for players in the hunt. “It’s nice to be back in here.”

As much as his round — an eight-birdie, six-bogey, 2-under 68 roller coaster that left him one shot ahead of Wyndham Clark — Fowler was asked about his struggles of the past few years and how he managed to make it through that rough patch without sacrificing his everyman, and everykid, persona.

“I feel like I’ve always been myself, and I don’t try and do anything different or be anyone else,” he explained. “I sure hope I come off as genuine. I feel like I’m just me being myself out here and love what I get to do.”

Whether he’s posting pictures from spring break to his millions of social media followers or rushing out to the 18th green to be the first to congratulate one of those friends, Fowler is a favorite both inside and outside the ropes.

“Golf’s better when Rickie’s playing well,” top-ranked Scottie Scheffler said.

When Fowler rose to fame, he seemed destined for big-time success, potentially headed to the same level as his friends, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. He finished in the top five in all four majors in 2014, a string of great play that made it seem all but sure he’d break through soon.

He won The Players Championship the next year, vaulted as high as fourth in the world rankings and cashed in as among the first in his sport to truly embrace the direct connection to fans that’s available through Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and the rest.

He wore colorful clothes, that trademark flat-billed hat and spawned a legion of Rickie Fowler lookalikes in the galleries, often dressed head-to-toe in neon orange, sometimes even sporting a Fowler-esque moustache to complete the look.

He wrapped up his last win in 2019 at the most fitting setting imaginable — on Super Bowl Sunday in Phoenix, in front of as raucous a crowd as there is in golf.

About a year later, and without much warning, Fowler’s game imploded at around the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

He sunk to as low as 185th in the world. This is only the third major he’s qualified for over the last two years. It’s the first time he’s been in the U.S. Open since 2020. He switched caddies and reunited with his previous coach, Butch Harmon.

“I think you’d be lying if you say you haven’t been through a tough time, especially if you play golf,” Fowler said.

But off the course, his life got better. He’s married with a daughter now.

“I just feel like I have a lot more going for me than I did then,” he said.

The golf part is looking up, too. Now more than ever, he knows how fickle that part can be.

“Definitely appreciation, gratitude, knowing it’s a very humbling sport,” Fowler said when asked how it felt to have his mojo back. “There is some relief that that three years is behind us. But like I said, appreciate the good times because you never know when things are going to go south.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 17, 2023
Dustin Johnson makes a crazy 8 at the US Open but crawls back into contention

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LOS ANGELES — Dustin Johnson’s summary of the quadruple bogey he made that could be the difference between winning and losing the U.S. Open was succinct, matter-of-fact and, of course, ugly.

“Chunked my bunker shot and then chunked the next one. Skulled the next one,” he said. “Everything that you could do wrong, I did wrong.”

That 8 he took on the second hole Friday was as bad as it gets. The 4-under par he shot over the next 16 holes was a reason he could smile at least a little.

Even with the snowman, Johnson shot an even-par 70 and finished the day at 6-under 134. When he left the course with the afternoon players just getting started, he was only three shots out of the lead held by Wyndham Clark.

“I just tried to focus on, there were a lot of holes left,” Johnson said. “You just don’t try to push it. You know this course is tough, but if you can drive it in the fairway, be aggressive when you can, you can have some shots at birdie.”

Johnson made five of them, to be exact, and in what might be viewed as a promising sign, three of those came on the back nine, which was playing more than 1.2 shots harder through the first 200-plus rounds completed at Los Angeles Country Club.

The rally in its entirety is a sign, to Johnson, that his swing is coming around after a less-than-ideal start to his major season. He tied for 48th at the Masters and 55th at the PGA Championship, sandwiching those results around a LIV Golf Series victory in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He is seeking his second U.S. Open title and his third major, though Johnson is one of those players who might be known as much for what he hasn’t won as what he has. His close calls have included ugly numbers and ugly episodes.

In the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, it was grounding his club in a bunker he didn’t know was a bunker on the 72nd hole that cost him a spot in a playoff.

Months earlier in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, he came into the final round with a three-shot lead, only to watch it sail into the Pacific with a triple bogey on 2 and a double on 3.

A 2-iron out of bounds on the 14th hole in the final round of the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George’s dropped him out of contention after trailing by two.

His three-putt from 12 feet at Chambers Bay on the 72nd hole cost him the U.S. Open title in 2015.

He won the U.S. Open the following year at Oakmont, then added his second major at the Masters in 2020.

That this crooked number from Johnson came on a Friday, not a Sunday, was good news simply because there’s plenty of time to make it up. If he ends up falling a shot or two short, though, he’ll remember one hole.

It started when he pulled his tee shot on the 497-yard second, leaving it in a bunker on the left side. He had an uphill lie there and didn’t make clean contact, leaving himself a 100-yard shot out of deep rough, over the barranca and onto the green.

He made poor contact there and hit it into the junk. His drop for shot No. 5 was into a clean lie in the fairway, but Johnson caught it thin, and the ball landed in tangled rough behind the green. One chip and two putts later, he had gone from 6 under to 2 under.

Johnson called “skulling a chip shot” the worst moment of that nightmare.

His best shot of the day?

“Hitting a good shot and just getting settled back down after making an 8,” Johnson explained. “Definitely wasn’t too thrilled with myself walking off that green.”

He made a birdie on No. 3 after that good drive, then four more as the day went on.

“I really feel like I’m swinging it really well, driving it good,” he said, “so looking forward to this weekend.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 16, 2023
Live updates | Zut Alors! Pavon makes hole-in-one at US Open

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LOS ANGELES — Follow along for live updates on the opening round of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

___

HOLE-IN-ONE

Matthieu Pavon of France made short work of the shortest hole at the U.S. Open.

Pavon hit wedge on the 124-yard 15th hole at Los Angeles Country Club that had enough spin and rode the slope right into the cup for a hole-in-one.

That put him back to even par, still plenty of ground to make up on Rickie Fowler, who was at 6-under par as he was finishing up his final five holes.

Pavon is the first Frenchman to make an ace at the U.S. Open. The last French player with a hole-in-one at any major was Thomas Levet at Turnberry in the 2009 British Open.

___

WHAT TO KNOW:

— US Open a source of uncertainty on and off the course

— US Open raises prize money to $20 million with $3.6M to winner

— Chaos rules the day as US Open comes to the glitz of Los Angeles

— US Open barranca offers beauty, danger at LA Country Club

— Scottie Scheffler arrives at US Open looking to solve putting problems

— PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan recovering from medical issue, cedes day-to-day control

___

FOWLER BIRDIES 4 STRAIGHT TO TAKE LEAD

Rickie Fowler made birdies on four straight holes to jump to the top of the leaderboard early in the first round.

Fowler, who didn’t qualify for the last two U.S. Opens, was at 6-under par through 12 holes. He started on the back nine in a grouping with Justin Rose and Jason Day.

Fowler bogeyed the par-4 17th before run of birdies on the par-4 18th, par-5 first, par-4 second and par-5 third. He had birdies on eight of the first 12 holes but also two bogeys.

Xander Schauffele was two shots back.

Fowler is still in search of his first major and hasn’t won a tournament since the 2019 Phoenix Open. He had plummeted to 185th in the world golf rankings last September but is currently 45th.

Fowler missed the cut in last month’s PGA Championship, but has finished in the top 10 in his last two tournament.

___

XANDER TAKES EARLY LEAD

Xander Schauffele opened his U.S. Open by making a 40-foot birdie putt and kept going from there, getting to 3-under par and the top of the leaderboard early in the first round.

Schauffele, ranked sixth in the world and in search of his first major title, was tied with Jacob Solomon and Dylan Wu.

Rickie Fowler, who didn’t qualify for the last two U.S. Opens, briefly joined them in the lead before a bogey on the rugged par-4 17th dropped him a shot back at 2 under.

A fine mist was falling early in the day at Los Angeles Country Club, softening the course. With the entire morning wave on the course, there were 36 players at even par or better.

___

COLLEGE GOLFER IMPRESSES

Omar Morales, who attends college just up the way at UCLA, has grabbed an early share of the lead in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

The 20-year-old sophomore went around the front nine in 3-under 32.

The Bruins have access to LACC about twice a month, and Morales, who went through local qualifying to make the 156-man field, estimates he’s played it about two dozen times in his two years at UCLA.

He had the first tee time of the day, along with another local qualifier, Jacob Solomon, who got to 3 under after 10 holes to share the lead with Morales.

Morales is just the fifth amateur over the last 30 years to shoot 3 under over his first nine holes of a U.S. Open. The last two to do it — Davis Thompson and Kevin Yu — both missed the cut three years ago at Winged Foot.

Elsewhere, Xander Schauffele opened his day with a 40-foot birdie putt and was 2 under through three holes.

___

OPENING SHOT

Golf’s second-oldest championship has started with words never heard amid the glitz and glamor of Beverly Hills: “Welcome to the 123rd United States Open.”

The USGA chose UCLA sophomore Omar Morales to hit the opening tee shot, a beauty against a cloudy sky right toward the Beverly Hilton on the horizon. He opened with a birdie at the par-5 first in what figures to be one of the easier holes to score.

All week, so much of the chatter has been on the surprising commercial agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s Saudi backers, which followed a year of acrimony over the antitrust lawsuit and the threat of Saudi money in the game.

Now it’s about birdies and bogeys — bogeys far more common at the U.S. Open.

Among early starters are Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, the top two players in the world. PGA champion Brooks Koepka plays in the afternoon.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 15, 2023
U.S. Open a source of uncertainty on and off the course

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LOS ANGELES — Uncertainty off the course. Uncertainty on it.

The U.S. Open was set to tee off into uncharted territory Thursday, with the golf world perplexed by the recent shakeup-makeup between Saudi golf interests and the PGA Tour and 156 of the sport’s best players taking on a course hardly anyone has seen.

Pretty much every question heading into the 123rd playing of America’s national championship dealt with one or the other of those issues. Los Angeles Country Club is a beautiful mystery, the first course in LA to host the Open in 75 years.

It’s known for its runway-wide fairways — they average 43 yards across — but many of those expanses are heavily canted, built to reject tee shots into the healthy, spongy Bermuda rough or into the native, scrub-dotted and unpredictable sandscapes called barrancas that wind through this urban oasis.

There is a reachable par 4 — the sixth hole — that will, at times, play shorter than the downhill par-3 seventh. There’s the par-3 15th hole that can play anywhere from 80 to 135 yards, with tee boxes positioned at multiple angles.

Legend has it that the great Ben Hogan, when playing LACC for the first time, asked for an aiming point off the fifth tee box. His caddie pointed to four palm trees in the distance and said to hit toward them. Hogan’s response: “Which one?”

A wide-open course that demands precision and that hardly anyone — outside of Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and their 2017 Walker Cup teammates — has played under tournament conditions: Who knows what to expect?

“The most frequent question I’ve received in the last couple of years leading up to this championship, ‘What is the winning score going to be?’ USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer said. “I can genuinely say, more than any other Open, ‘I don’t know.’”

There is some risk in not knowing.

More than others that run the majors, the bosses at USGA have the most history of not wanting the tournament to be about them, but often missing that mark.

That’s usually because of the way the golf course is set up. The last handful of years, including stops at The Country Club outside Boston and Torrey Pines down the highway in San Diego, have been relatively drama free. The last time the USGA took its biggest show into uncharted territory was in 2017, to Erin Hills, the wide-open expanse formed by ancient glaciers in Wisconsin.

The wind that serves as that layout’s best defense never materialized. Brooks Koepka pulverized it, winning the first of his five major titles with a score of 16-under par.

The USGA didn’t overreact the way it did, say, back in the 1970s when Johnny Miller’s 5 under at Oakmont led to Hale Irwin’s win the next year at “The Massacre at Winged Foot” at 7 over. But 16 under tied the lowest U.S. Open score in relation to par in history. It was hardly the show the USGA expected.

Koepka is certainly part of this week’s story, too. He is four weeks removed from his third PGA Championship and comes to Los Angeles seeking his third title in this one, as well.

He is also a member of LIV Golf. His win at Oak Hill largely punctured the idea that all those who left the PGA Tour for the money provided by the Saudi-backed tour did so because they didn’t have the game to compete at the highest level.

While Koepka’s win wasn’t likely the driver of the end of the hostilities, the timing sure felt keen.

“The more chaotic things get, the easier it gets for me,” Koepka said as he, like all the other big-name players, was slammed with questions about the uncertain future of golf. “Everything starts to slow down and I am able to focus on whatever I need to focus on while everybody else is dealing with distractions, worried about other things.”

In many ways, this year feels a lot like last year. When the U.S. Open returned to The Country Club for the first time in 34 years, it came a mere week after LIV’s first tournament and with rumors swirling about who might defect next.

Then, they started playing.

More than the Saudis or LIV headliner Phil Mickelson (who is in Los Angeles this week, playing it very low key) or anybody’s paycheck, Matt Fitzpatrick’s 9-iron from a fairway bunker on the 72nd hole is what most golf fans will remember about that U.S. Open.

Chances are, this Sunday will produce another history maker. After that, the players will have all the answers they sought about a golf course most of them hadn’t seen. Then they’ll head down the road, still in the dark about what comes next.

“Even though I guess it is confusing,” Fitzpatrick said, “it’s pretty clear that nobody knows what’s going on apart from about four people in the world.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 15, 2023
Beverly Hills-adjacent golf club opens doors to world with U.S. Open

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LOS ANGELES — For much of the past century, the Los Angeles Country Club was quite literally a hidden gem.

While Los Angeles grew from a warm-weather outpost into a global metropolis, this picturesque golf club sat in one of the city’s most dazzling settings — 325 acres of multibillion-dollar real estate adjoining Beverly Hills, a few miles from the Pacific. Yet its two courses were rarely seen by anyone except its wealthy members, who cherished privacy and exclusivity over anything the outside world could provide.

This diamond in the (surprisingly playable) rough has gradually revealed itself to eager eyes in the 21st century, and its gleam will be fully on display when it hosts the 123rd U.S. Open that starts Thursday.

It’s the first U.S. Open in 75 years in Los Angeles, a thriving golf town that finally gets an event worthy of its status. The world’s best players and a global audience will see what’s been hiding among Holmby Hills’ mansions to the north and the Century City skyline to the south, just a short walk from Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive shopping district.

Rory McIlroy is among the pros eager for the unveiling.

“I can’t wait,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s going to be one of the best U.S. Opens there’s been for a while.”

The club was founded in the 19th century, and the North Course has been a respected, coveted venue since 1911. The Open marks the LACC’s debut as a major host, and U.S. Golf Association tournament director Charlie Howe thinks everyone will be as impressed as he was when he moved to town in January 2022 to lead preparations for the event.

“I was blown away the first time I stepped foot on this property,” Howe said. “Just how beautiful this is, where it sits, you just kind of have that moment. You have vibes of being in a major city, but then you have this beautifully landscaped golf course that gets to have eyes on it for really the first time. It’s just an inspirational moment for the community here and for the future of the game.”

After decades as a bastion of exclusivity, the club is now hosting golf’s most democratic event. The club’s attitude changed with the generations, and the LACC’s opening began with smaller events like the Pac-12 championship in 2013 — won by LA-area native Max Homa with a North Course-record 61 — and the 2017 Walker Cup.

Players won’t need any Maps to the Stars to see famous homes on this trip to LA. Scottie Scheffler is among the pros who heard about the LACC’s neighbors during the Walker Cup.

“Some pretty expensive real estate in there,” Scheffler said. “It’s like a country club in the middle of town, but it’s a world-class golf course. And it’s in Beverly Hills. You’ve got Lionel Richie’s house right there. It was wild. The Playboy Mansion is back there by the 14th tee. We had local caddies that told us this stuff.”

But the vintage setup comes with challenges for a modern audience. The Open is more frequently staged on suburban courses with plenty of room — not right off heavily trafficked Wilshire Boulevard and near the perpetually car-choked 405 freeway.

Jon Rahm visited the club in Los Angeles around the time the Open date was announced in 2015, and he recalls two immediate thoughts: “How the heck are they going to fit anything around here, and second of all, how are we going to get around the traffic in this place?”

“Golf course-wise, yeah, the golf course is very high quality,” Rahm added. “The golf course could host any event you want. But it’s just logistically, to me, it was the hardest part to understand, especially after playing U.S. Opens and seeing everything that comes to it. But they do have a second 18, so I’m guessing they’re going to take a lot of that room. Is it weird? No. Is it exciting? Yes.”

Howe and his team say they have overcome the logistical problems presented by the tight setting, from parking to crowd control to amenities for the Open’s corporate sponsors and regular fans alike. The USGA proved the Open could work under similar circumstances when it staged the 2013 event at Merion Golf Club, the compact institution in Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs. Shortly afterward, the LACC secured the 2023 event.

“We’ve always been enamored with this golf course, and hold it in the same level of the American golf clubs like Shinnecock Hills, Oakmont Country Club, Pebble Beach and the other iconic venues,” Howe said. “We just hadn’t had the opportunity recently to consider a site like this because of the challenges of where it sits within Los Angeles, and it being kind of landlocked, and (to) think about getting people here, the logistics, all of those things that go into hosting a major event.”

Los Angeles can be an intimidating market for event organizers, both for its large population and its big-city red tape and regulations, according to Kathryn Schloessman, the President and CEO of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission.

Her organization helps events to cut through those barriers, and she thinks Los Angeles was long overdue for this spotlight. The Riviera Country Club has long coveted an Open, but the USGA has wanted the LACC for decades.

“LA has always been a place people love to come out and play golf, but we had such a drought for so long without major championships,” Schloessman said. “We tried for many, many years to get (the Open) here. I don’t know if they just didn’t understand LA, but it’s just it’s nice to see the change in perception by the USGA of Los Angeles.”

The Open is a golf breakthrough for Los Angeles, and more big events are following: The Riviera will host the golf competition at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and the Women’s U.S. Open will be at LACC in 2032 before the men return to the same course in 2039.

But the Open next week heralds the official return of big-time golf to the nation’s second-largest city, and Los Angeles is ready.

“You always want to have an event come back with a big splash,” Schloessman said. “I think that’s why they’re continuing to bring more events out here and really recognizing that they missed the boat for a number of years in LA, and this is a great golf market.”

___

AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 10, 2023
Beverly Hills-adjacent golf club opens doors to world with U.S. Open

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LOS ANGELES — For much of the past century, the Los Angeles Country Club was quite literally a hidden gem.

While Los Angeles grew from a warm-weather outpost into a global metropolis, this picturesque golf club sat in one of the city’s most dazzling settings — 325 acres of multibillion-dollar real estate adjoining Beverly Hills, a few miles from the Pacific. Yet its two courses were rarely seen by anyone except its wealthy members, who cherished privacy and exclusivity over anything the outside world could provide.

This diamond in the (surprisingly playable) rough has gradually revealed itself to eager eyes in the 21st century, and its gleam will be fully on display when it hosts the 123rd U.S. Open that starts Thursday.

It’s the first U.S. Open in 75 years in Los Angeles, a thriving golf town that finally gets an event worthy of its status. The world’s best players and a global audience will see what’s been hiding among Holmby Hills’ mansions to the north and the Century City skyline to the south, just a short walk from Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive shopping district.

Rory McIlroy is among the pros eager for the unveiling.

“I can’t wait,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s going to be one of the best U.S. Opens there’s been for a while.”

The club was founded in the 19th century, and the North Course has been a respected, coveted venue since 1911. The Open marks the LACC’s debut as a major host, and U.S. Golf Association tournament director Charlie Howe thinks everyone will be as impressed as he was when he moved to town in January 2022 to lead preparations for the event.

“I was blown away the first time I stepped foot on this property,” Howe said. “Just how beautiful this is, where it sits, you just kind of have that moment. You have vibes of being in a major city, but then you have this beautifully landscaped golf course that gets to have eyes on it for really the first time. It’s just an inspirational moment for the community here and for the future of the game.”

After decades as a bastion of exclusivity, the club is now hosting golf’s most democratic event. The club’s attitude changed with the generations, and the LACC’s opening began with smaller events like the Pac-12 championship in 2013 — won by LA-area native Max Homa with a North Course-record 61 — and the 2017 Walker Cup.

Players won’t need any Maps to the Stars to see famous homes on this trip to LA. Scottie Scheffler is among the pros who heard about the LACC’s neighbors during the Walker Cup.

“Some pretty expensive real estate in there,” Scheffler said. “It’s like a country club in the middle of town, but it’s a world-class golf course. And it’s in Beverly Hills. You’ve got Lionel Richie’s house right there. It was wild. The Playboy Mansion is back there by the 14th tee. We had local caddies that told us this stuff.”

But the vintage setup comes with challenges for a modern audience. The Open is more frequently staged on suburban courses with plenty of room — not right off heavily trafficked Wilshire Boulevard and near the perpetually car-choked 405 freeway.

Jon Rahm visited the club in Los Angeles around the time the Open date was announced in 2015, and he recalls two immediate thoughts: “How the heck are they going to fit anything around here, and second of all, how are we going to get around the traffic in this place?”

“Golf course-wise, yeah, the golf course is very high quality,” Rahm added. “The golf course could host any event you want. But it’s just logistically, to me, it was the hardest part to understand, especially after playing U.S. Opens and seeing everything that comes to it. But they do have a second 18, so I’m guessing they’re going to take a lot of that room. Is it weird? No. Is it exciting? Yes.”

Howe and his team say they have overcome the logistical problems presented by the tight setting, from parking to crowd control to amenities for the Open’s corporate sponsors and regular fans alike. The USGA proved the Open could work under similar circumstances when it staged the 2013 event at Merion Golf Club, the compact institution in Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs. Shortly afterward, the LACC secured the 2023 event.

“We’ve always been enamored with this golf course, and hold it in the same level of the American golf clubs like Shinnecock Hills, Oakmont Country Club, Pebble Beach and the other iconic venues,” Howe said. “We just hadn’t had the opportunity recently to consider a site like this because of the challenges of where it sits within Los Angeles, and it being kind of landlocked, and (to) think about getting people here, the logistics, all of those things that go into hosting a major event.”

Los Angeles can be an intimidating market for event organizers, both for its large population and its big-city red tape and regulations, according to Kathryn Schloessman, the President and CEO of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission.

Her organization helps events to cut through those barriers, and she thinks Los Angeles was long overdue for this spotlight. The Riviera Country Club has long coveted an Open, but the USGA has wanted the LACC for decades.

“LA has always been a place people love to come out and play golf, but we had such a drought for so long without major championships,” Schloessman said. “We tried for many, many years to get (the Open) here. I don’t know if they just didn’t understand LA, but it’s just it’s nice to see the change in perception by the USGA of Los Angeles.”

The Open is a golf breakthrough for Los Angeles, and more big events are following: The Riviera will host the golf competition at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and the Women’s U.S. Open will be at LACC in 2032 before the men return to the same course in 2039.

But the Open next week heralds the official return of big-time golf to the nation’s second-largest city, and Los Angeles is ready.

“You always want to have an event come back with a big splash,” Schloessman said. “I think that’s why they’re continuing to bring more events out here and really recognizing that they missed the boat for a number of years in LA, and this is a great golf market.”

___

AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 10, 2023
DeChambeau resurfaces at Oak Hill and leads PGA Championship

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PITTSFORD, N.Y. — So much talk about this PGA Championship has been the restoration project of Oak Hill. Equally astonishing Thursday is the restoration of Bryson DeChambeau.

That incredible bulk who won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2020? DeChambeau has shed some 40 pounds by cutting out food to which he was allergic.

“I took a Zoomer peptide test, which essentially tells you what inflames your blood when you eat it,” he said. “Pretty much everything I liked, I couldn’t eat.”

The guy who tried to smash it as far as he could and have wedges into the green? Now he’s happier finding fairways, and he was happy to share what led to the improved accuracy.

“It’s being more … how do I explain this easy? I’m just in a place where I’m more ulnar,” he said, leaving everyone to wonder what would have been the more complicated explanation.

The place that matters is his name high on the leaderboard. DeChambeau still lashed away with speed and strength, off the tee and out of the rough. That carried him to a 4-under 66 and the lead among those who finished an opening round delayed nearly two hours by frost.

Thirty players didn’t finish because of darkness and were to return Friday morning. That included Eric Cole, the 34-year-old PGA Tour rookie who was 5 under with four holes left.

DeChambeau matched his low score at the PGA Championship and led by one over Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson and Corey Conners.

“It’s a fantastic round of golf at Oak Hill,” DeChambeau said. “It’s a prestigious place, very difficult golf course. As I was looking at it throughout the week, I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t know how shooting under par is even possible out here on some of the holes.’ But luckily, I was able to play some really good golf.”

So did Johnson, the two-time major champion who is coming off a playoff win last week in Oklahoma in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League. Johnson went from a fairway bunker to deep rough left of the 18th green and missed a putt just inside 15 feet for his only bogey.

Fairways covered with a thin layer of frost gave way to magnificent weather with little wind.

“Today was probably the easiest conditions we’ll see all week,” said Scheffler, who took advantage with his first bogey-free card in 51 rounds at a major.

Masters champion Jon Rahm failed to take advantage, making five bogeys in a six-hole stretch around the turn and finishing with a 76, his highest start at a major since the 2018 U.S. Open. Jason Day, coming off a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson, and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick also were at 76.

Scheffler challenging for the lead was not a surprise. Last year’s Masters champion has six wins in the last 15 months, and he hasn’t finished worse than 12th this year. Johnson, who led the LIV points list last year, had a slow start to the year but is starting to hit his stride.

As for DeChambeau, he practically vanished from golf’s elite over the last year.

He injured his hip in early 2022, attributing it to slipping on marble tile playing ping-pong in Saudi Arabia. He had surgery on his left wrist after the Masters last year. And then he joined LIV, where his tie for fifth last week in Oklahoma was his only top 10 in six events this year.

“The emotions have definitely fluctuated pretty high and pretty low, thinking I have something and it fails and going back and forth. It’s humbling,” DeChambeau said. “Golf, and life, always has a good way to kicking you on your you-know-what when you’re on your high horse.

“It’s nice to feel this today.”

His only big miss came on his approach to the 17th out of rough. It sailed to the right toward the 18th tee and plunked club pro Kenny Pigman, who shook it off and then shook hands with an apologetic DeChambeau.

This isn’t so much a transformation as a restoration. His goal is no longer to create a new way to approach the game, rather to find what brought him success when he won eight times in a span of three years, including a U.S. Open title at Winged Foot.

Gone are the days when he consumed some 5,000 calories a day in a bid to build a body — he was called the “Incredible Bulk” — that could tolerate him swinging as hard as he could to overpower golf courses.

He began a diet that reduces inflammation (he estimates his daily calorie intake at 2,900) and tried to find his way back to 2018, when he felt he was at his best.

“I want to be just stable now,” he said. “I’m tired of changing, trying different things. Yeah, could I hit it a little further, could I try and get a little stronger? Sure. But I’m not going to go full force.

“It was a fun experiment,” he said, “but definitely want to play some good golf now.”

Scheffler has been doing that all year, and the opening round of the PGA Championship was no exception. He made a stressful golf course look stress-free, except for a few holes.

One of them was the second hole, his 11th of the round, when he went over the green and faced a scary chip up a steep slope to a back pin. He pitched up to 7 feet and saved par. He also got out of position on the par-5 fifth hole, getting up and down from a bunker for par.

“It was a grind today,” Scheffler said. “No bogeys is pretty solid.”

For so many others, Oak Hill was the grind they expected. Jordan Spieth felt fit enough with an injured left wrist to pursue the final leg of the career Grand Slam, only to struggle with his putting. He shot a 73.

Rory McIlroy looked as though he might be headed to another early exit from a big event. He was 3 over after nine holes and in trouble at No. 2 when he was over the green in three, some 35 feet away with a steep slope between him and a back pin.

He holed it with his putter for a most unlikely par, made birdie on the next two holes and salvaged a 71.

“It was massive,” McIlroy said. “Depending on what happens over the next three days and what I go on to do, I may look back at that shot as being the sort of turning point of the week.”

The forecast was for warmer weather and a little more wind. The forecast for the PGA Championship also includes DeChambeau now.

“Golf is a weird animal. You can never fully have it,” DeChambeau said. “You always think you have it one day and then it just leaves the next. Just got to be careful.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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May 18, 2023