Rain halted play three times the opening day of the U.S. Open, and the USGA’s decision to send golfers back on the course without a chance to warm up after the first rain delay upset several competitors.
In their view, playing at Oakmont is challenging enough. Doing it without a chance to get loose again is even tougher.
“We sat in a cabin for an hour and 10 minutes behind the 7th tee without being given a chance to hit any balls or do anything,” said Danny Willett, who was 4-over-par after 12 holes, according to a USGA transcript. “You’re in a U.S. Open. They don’t give you a chance to even hit a few balls.”
Former USGA president Tom O’Toole defended the move, pointing out it was reasonable, considering the tournament was already behind schedule.
But after the second rain delay, which lasted more than two hours, players were allowed a warm up.
“It’s a challenge not being able to warm up, too, going out there and trying to hit tee shots at the U.S. Open, but it is what it is,” said Jordan Spieth, who was 1 over after 11 holes.
The USGA eventually suspended play for the day shortly after 4 p.m., which will create wide gaps in the amount of golf remaining for the players today.
Only half of the 156 qualifiers teed off Thursday, and just nine players finished their first rounds. The group made it through about 40 percent of the 2,808 holes that will ultimately complete the first round.
Of the seven players who were under par when play was suspended, only amateur Scottie Scheffler was in the clubhouse. The remaining players were Andrew Landry (3 under with one hole remaining), Bubba Watson (2 under with four left), Danny Lee (2 under with five left), Kevin Streelman (1 under with two left), Lee Westwood (1 under with five left) and Harris English (1 under with six left). Lee was the only member of that group who has yet to bogey. Watson was the only player to have birdied the eighth hole.
Landry was on the ninth green, his last of the day, when the third and final horn of the day sounded. Watson was through 14 holes and was tied for second.
“Obviously, I wish I could finish so I could watch the game all the way through tonight,” Watson said, apparently referring to Game 6 of the NBA Finals. “But it will be some good rest and just get ready and play the last few holes, and hopefully we can get the golf in tomorrow as well.”
The course was pummeled with 1.14 inches of rain Wednesday. An additional 0.22 inches fell on Thursday until the final air horn sounded at 3:51 p.m., although the storm continued thereafter.
Gerry Dulac looks back on a rain-soaked first day at Oakmont. (Video by Matt Freed)
Relaxing delay
While the rain forced a lot of people to stop and start their rounds — some of them multiple times — Tyler Raber was never even able to get into his full warm-up routine.
Raber, a 26-year-old pro from El Macero, Calif., was scheduled to be the final group to tee off Thursday. Instead he never came close to teeing off and had, what he called, a more “relaxing” day than he anticipated at his first U.S. Open.
“I was technically never within 2½ hours of my tee time with the way the delays worked out,” he said. “So I never really got into like full on warm-up mode or starting to focus and all that stuff.”
Today, however, will be a different story. Having played zero holes Thursday, Raber could possibly play 36 today.
But that’s not entirely a bad thing, he said.
“That’s the way it goes, you know,” he said. “But I kind of like the idea of being able to just start fresh [today]. I’m not picking up where I left off or anything. I’m just kind of starting with a clean slate. So I kind of like that.”
Tough start
Rickie Fowler is in the same generation as golf’s top-ranked trio of young studs. At No. 5 in the world, he is only a couple of slots behind them. But even he’ll tell you he’s not on quite on the same level as Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy.
“I think there’s a bit of a gap right now,” he told the New York Post recently. “I’ve got a little way to go. They’ve won majors. So I’ve got some catching up to do.”
Fowler, 27, certainly wouldn’t mind if his first major championship came this weekend at Oakmont, where he is grouped with McIlroy and Willett in the first and second rounds of the U.S. Open. But things could be going better for the Jupiter, Fla., resident. Through 12-plus holes before play was suspended, he was 6 over and tied for 56th place.
“Not the start I wanted, that’s for sure,” he said. “But I’ll go get a little bit of rest, come back out early, and see if we can get some back coming in. I have a par putt on 13. It would be nice to roll that in and kind of get a couple things going, make a couple birdies coming in.”
Fowler, a popular player known for his colorful style and flat-billed hats, has three PGA Tour victories. He won the Players and Deutsche Bank championships last year and played on Ryder Cup teams in 2010 and 2014.
But he has struggled of late. Fowler missed the cuts at this year’s Masters and Players Championship, losing the chance to defend his title in the latter.
Oakmont’s feisty greens might pose another challenge for the golfer, who is ranked 47th in the PGA Tour in the Strokes Gained-Putting statistic, an advanced putting metric.
Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com. Maya Sweedler: msweedler@post-gazette.com.
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