The 123rd U.S. Open, which is being played at the Los Angeles Country Club in California, has officially started. The competition is being held at this location for the first time.

 

Additionally, it's the first major competition following the announcement of cooperation between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and the LIV Golf, which is supported by Saudi Arabia. The groups are one of the more intriguing plot line of the game as one of them pairs PGA Championship winner and LIV golfer Brooks Koepka with Rory McIlroy, who has become one of the most outspoken LIV detractors.

 

Xander Schauffele 

 

With a record first round, Xander Schauffele ties Rickie Fowler for the lead on the leaderboard.In the U.S. Open, Xander Schauffele made a big impression and tied Rickie Fowler with a score of 62. The pair are in first place with a score of -8.

 

According to Schauffele, he "pretty good flow throughout the round." Compared to Fowler's 10 birdies and 2 bogeys, he tied the record with 8 birdies and no bogeys.

 

 

"I was looking at Rickie up on the board all day so every time I made a birdie, it said I was still in second place," said Schauffele following the opening round. I just felt like "If he was doing it, why can't I?"

 

The U.S. Open, one of the four major tournaments, has never had a first-round score lower than this one. Only twice and three times, respectively, in all majors since 1983, has a player recorded a score of 62. According to the PGA Tour, Branden Grace's score during the third round of the 2017 British Open was the only prior outing.

 

 

Rickie Fowler 

 

 

The first round of the U.S. Open went without a hitch for Rickie Fowler. He played so effortlessly that, with a score of 62, he recorded the lowest round total ever recorded for the competition.

 

The American golfer shot a score of -8 and finished first after making 10 birdies on the day at Los Angeles Country Club. He is the only golfer in tournament history to make 10 birdies in the opening round.

 

On the USA broadcast, he added, "I thought it was close, but I wasn't sure the exact number. "I made a lot of good swings, but all I was really trying to do was keep going forward." It was satisfying to sink many mid-range putts because it had been a long time since I had done so. I persevered in placing myself in advantageous situations as I navigated the course”.

 

Subsequent swing resulted in a stroke since he whiffed the ball after landing in the rough. He chipped the ball onto the green and made a 15-foot putt to avoid making bogey and regain some of the momentum he had lost earlier in the round.  With his sixth birdie of the first round and first on the back nine, Rory McIlroy climbed up the leaderboard on the par-3 15th. Through 15 holes, McIlroy has hit 15 greens without recording a bogey.

 

Two shots behind co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele, McIlroy is tied for third with American Dustin Johnson and Wyndham Clark at -6.

 

Phil Mickelson finished the 2023 Masters in a tie for second place. After 14 holes, he was up at -3, but he struggled on the last three holes on the back nine. He had back-to-back bogeys on holes 6 and 7, dropping him to a score of -1. At this time, he holds down the 24th spot.

 

The six-time major champion has won all but the U.S. Open, where he has placed second six times in the years 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2013.

 

Rory McIlroy and Brooks Keopka 

 

In the opening round of the U.S. Open, Brooks Koepka struggled to get going. He hit par on hole 7, keeping his total at a pitiful +3. Currently, he shares 114th place.

 

On the preceding hole, he came up just short of making par with a short putt and had to settle for a bogey.

 

The American golfer is grouped alongside Rory McIlroy, who has a score of -3 and is currently tied for sixth place.

 

In his career, Koepka has won five major championships, most recently the PGA Championship last month. He was one of the athletes who signed up for LIV Golf, and his triumph made him the first LIV golfer to win a major.

 

Hole by hole scoreboard

 

 

Check the livescore - https://4moles.com/livescore-us-open-golf-2023-LA#