One day after parading through the streets of Pittsburgh, the newly crowned Stanley Cup champion Penguins marched into Oakmont Country Club.
Select members of the team, including captain Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel, made appearances at the U.S. Open, bringing their new friend Lord Stanley with them and participating in the “Epic Putt Challenge.”
Thunderstorms delayed the initial putting competition, as the team entered the Hospitality Tent at Oakmont to eat lunch while fans posed with the Stanley Cup.
As the storm temporarily receded, players finally began to shuffle out to the practice putting green, and various Penguins walked up to caddie Adam Robison to choose their putters.
Robison, 21 from Apollo Township, particularly was impressed with winger Connor Sheary. Robison saw the rookie sink a long putt on his second shot, and then glanced over and saw him nail another putt at a different location.
“He hit really nice,” Robison said. “He [impressed me].”
Gerry Dulac looks back on a rain-soaked first day at Oakmont. (Video by Matt Freed)
Robison, who stood at the hole to help the Penguins line up their strokes, said some of the players hit the ball a little too hard, while Crosby had a couple lip in and out.
The Penguins putted for about 10 minutes in total before returning to shelter in preparation for another storm cell. Fans watching the champions surrounded them behind a fence.
One of those supporters was Nick Lloyd, 31, a fan who Wednesday decided to make his way down to Oakmont to watch the final practice rounds of the U.S. Open rather than witness the Penguins victory parade, noting that he watched every playoff game.
Luckily, attending the first round Thursday satisfied both of Lloyd’s fandoms.
With the two different sports converging, Lloyd said that it’s exciting see Pittsburgh shift focus from winning a championship to staging another.
“Two championships in one week,” Lloyd said. “It’s the city of champions.”
Break from the action
While their pursuits of a U.S. Open title were on delay thanks to weather, Englishmen Lee Westwood and Luke Donald were stuck in the media dining tent watching their the England national soccer team play in Euro 2016.
Westwood, 2-under par at the time of the break, was camped out in front of a TV as England attempted to break out of a 1-1 tie with Wales in the second half. His girlfriend, model Helen Storey, and caddie, Billy Foster, were on each side of him. Westwood was laughing and joking around.
Donald was roaming around the dark room in his vibrantly colored striped shirt, chatting with people and paying less attention to the game. Photographers were surrounding them all and snapping photos, because how often are major golfers just hanging out and watching sports like them?
In the 92nd minute, Daniel Sturridge scored the eventual winning goal to pull England ahead. The dining area erupted. Westwood stayed seated but broke out cheering and clapping.
Keeping score
Outside of the golfers, a group of teenagers and 20-somethings will be the most-watched people on the course throughout the weekend.
They’re the ones following the golfers holding portable scorecards, helping people figure out who is in what group and how they are doing.
While the scorecards are constantly being watched, the people holding them might as well be invisible.
Most of them are tied to Oakmont in one way or another. Many are the children of members. Some are caddies or hold other jobs. Others just know somebody who knows somebody who set this up.
Such as Charlie Henry, 15, from Sewickley. His friend set him up with an application and it worked out. Much as many other scorecard holders, he was interested in meeting the players and being close to the tournament.
And Jake Livingston, 17, from Fox Chapel. He’s a member, and his father signed him up. He talked about how cool it is seeing the players interact with each other and how kind they are, signing autographs for fans. Golfer Mark Anguiano even gave him a golf ball.
Or Nathan Williams, 19, from Sarver. Williams has caddied for six years at Oakmont and took the opportunity to be involved with the Open in one way or another. It became a family affair, as his father Tom, 59, and mother, Laurie, 55, also took roles as volunteers.
“Yesterday, he was upset because he didn’t get to hold for anybody good,” Laurie said. “This morning he was upset because he didn’t think he had a good group.”
Williams ended up holding the scorecard Thursday for the group of Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer, a fairly star-studded group.
Holding the scorecards themselves can be taxing. Henry said it’s difficult, and Williams told his mom he would rather carry a golf bag.
“It’s not too heavy,” Livingston said. “But when you start carrying it around all day you start feeling it in your arms and back.”
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