U.S. Open Golf 2017: Rickie Fowler Ties Major Record In Round 1, Round 2 Updates

by Pablo MenaJune 16, 2017, 12:36 pmDaily Digest, News, Z-Home Slider >

Rickie Fowler amazed on Thursday at Erin Hills Golf Course in Wisconsin in the opening round of the 117th U.S. Open.

Rickie Fowler Ties U.S. Open Round 1 Record with 7-under 65

The 28-year-old Murrieta, California native finished at seven-under 65, which equalized the record for the tournament’s lowest first-round score.

“It’s always cool to be part of some sort of history in golf,” Fowler said. “But I’d rather be remembered for something that’s done on a Sunday.

“There are a lot of really good players out here that haven’t won a major. So it would be nice to get rid of that at some point. I’m not saying that this is the week or isn’t the week but I like the way this golf course suits me.”

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Since the beginning of 2017, Fowler has won the Honda Classic in Florida in February and secured five top-ten finishes. On Thursday, he recorded seven birdies and 11 pars.

Fowler has missed qualifiers in the U.S. Open four times, including each of the past two years. His aggregate score in the five Open rounds prior to Thursday was 27 over par.

Nevertheless, the American knows how arduous attaining this score was. “You don’t get many rounds at the US Open that are stress-free,” Fowler said. “I just did a good job. I knew I needed to drive it well; from there I was able to hit good shots and roll a couple of putts in. So, it was a simple day when you look back on it, and how we kind of pieced our way around the golf course, but it is a lot easier said than done.”

He continued: “The first thing is getting off to a good start Thursday, keeping that rolling and getting ourselves in contention Sunday. There’s a lot of golf to be played but I’m ready to be out there contending.”

Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman all recorded 67s at five-under par to finish tied for fourth. Little-known American Xander Schaufelle finished tied for second with Englishman Paul Casey with 66s at six-under.

The world’s best five golfers, meanwhile, all disappointed on Thursday as they were unable to break par.

Dustin Johnson finished 75. Jordan Spieth recorded 73, Jason Day scored 79, Rory McIlroy had 78, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, 74. There aggregate score in Round 1 was a whopping 19 over par.

For McIlroy, Thursday marked his second competitive start since the Masters due to the rib injury that has hindered his season.

“I didn’t hit a fairway after the 10th,” the Northern Irishman said. “You cannot play this golf course if you are not in position off the tee. I paid the price for that today.

“I feel fine, I was hacking around in the rough and didn’t feel the injury one bit. My timing was just a little bit off.”

Round 2 at Erin Hills began at 7:45 am EST on Friday.

Here are the full tee times for the second round:

2017 U.S. Open tee times, pairings for Friday

Tee No. 1

7:45 a.m. — Wade Ormsby, Oliver Bekker, Kyle Thompson
7:56 a.m. — Brandon Stone, Troy Merritt, Chris Wood
8:07 a.m. — Satoshi Kodaira, Daniel Summerhays, Alexander Levy
8:18 a.m. — William McGirt, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Na
8:29 a.m. — Brad Dalke, Wesley Bryan, Brendan Steele
8:40 a.m. — Nick Flanagan, Richie Ramsay, Bryson DeChambeau
8:51 a.m. — Daniel Berger, Roberto Castro, Bill Haas
9:02 a.m. — Adam Hadwin, Emiliano Grillo, Cheng-Tsung Pan
9:13 a.m. — Scott Piercy, Shane Lowry, Jim Furyk
9:24 a.m. — Matthew Fitzpatrick, Peter Uihlein, Ben An
9:35 a.m. — Kevin Chappell, Maverick McNealy, Bernd Wiesberger
9:46 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, Trey Mullinax, Cameron Champ
9:57 a.m. — Sam Ryder, Alex Smalley, Andy Pope

1:30 p.m. — Ted Potter Jr., Daniel Chopra, Whee Kim
1:41 p.m. — Shugo Imahira, Matthew Wallace, Ryan Palmer
1:52 p.m. — Charley Hoffman, Jason Dufner, Hideto Tanihara
2:03 p.m. — Jeunghun Wang, Thomas Aiken, Bradley Dredge
2:14 p.m. — Scott Harvey, Jamie Lovemark, Michael Putnam
2:25 p.m. — Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood, Bud Cauley
2:36 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm
2:47 p.m. — Lee Westwood, Ross Fisher, Graeme McDowell
2:58 p.m. — Danny Willett, Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera
3:09 p.m. — Matt Kuchar, Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed
3:20 p.m. — Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson
3:31 p.m. — Joaquin Niemann, Stephan Jaeger, Joel Stalter
3:42 p.m. — Daniel Miernicki, Sahith Theegala, Tyler Light

Tee No. 10

7:45 a.m. — Jack Maguire, Corey Conners, Ben Kohles
7:56 a.m. — Eddie Pepperell, Chan Kim, Gregory Bourdy
8:07 a.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Yuta Ikeda, Sean O’Hair
8:18 a.m. — Andrew Johnston, Brian Stuard, George Coetzee
8:29 a.m. — Marc Leishman, Pat Perez, Si Woo Kim
8:40 a.m. — Russell Henley, Scottie Scheffler, Harris English
8:51 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia
9:02 a.m. — Henrik Stenson, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen
9:13 a.m. — Jimmy Walker, Justin Thomas, Paul Casey
9:24 a.m. — Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy
9:35 a.m. — Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Roberto Diaz
9:46 a.m. — Ryan Brehm, John Oda, Jonathan Randolph
9:57 a.m. — Mason Andersen, Derek Barron, Roman Robledo

1:30 p.m. — Jordan Niebrugge, Talor Gooch, Kevin Dougherty
1:41 p.m. — Andres Romero, Brice Garnett, Davis Love IV
1:52 p.m. — Yusaku Miyazato, J.T. Poston, Aaron Rai
2:03 p.m. — David Lingmerth, Paul Dunne, Haotong Li
2:14 p.m. — Stewart Hagestad, Chez Reavie, Gene Sauers
2:25 p.m. — Brandt Snedeker, Alex Noren, Tyrrell Hatton
2:36 p.m. — Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Thomas Pieters, Brooks Koepka
2:47 p.m. — Gary Woodland, J.B. Holmes, Jason Kokrak
2:58 p.m. — Russell Knox, Scott Gregory, Martin Laird
3:09 p.m. — Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel, Branden Grace
3:20 p.m. — Webb Simpson, Ernie Els, Lucas Glover
3:31 p.m. — Tyson Alexander, Christopher Crawford, Max Greyserman
3:42 p.m. — Matthew Campbell, Garrett Osborn, Walker Lee

According to Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker, Schauffele, 23, moved into a tie with Fowler at seven-under for the lead Friday morning at around 11:30 am with a birdie on Hole No. 5. Thus far, he’s recorded four pars and a birdie.

Meanwhile, Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia — the 2017 Masters champion —sits at three under after nine holes. So far, he’s recorded six pars, two birdies and a bogey.

There’s also this update:

HARTFORD, WI – JUNE 13: Rickie Fowler of the United States tees off during a practice round prior to the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills on June 13, 2017 in Hartford, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)