US OPEN: Oosthuizen, Henley lead after fog-interrupted opening day
Russell Henley and Louis Oosthuizen lead the US Open Championship at 4-under par but it’s all a little unclear at the moment after play was suspended on day one due to darkness.
A 90-minute delay earlier in the day meant this US Open was running late before it even started forcing many players to finish their first rounds on Friday before going back out again to play round two.
And there is no guarantee fog won’t again be an issue tomorrow either.
Russel Henley can rest up tomorrow morning. Despite an opening bogey at the first hole, Henley finished his 4-under par opening round well before play was suspended, affording him a relaxed Friday morning.
“Very annoying start, and then after that I feel like I just kept playing solid, hitting fairways, giving myself birdie looks, and felt good with the putter,” Henley said.
“Felt like I was reading the greens well and hitting my lines. Just hung in there.”
Louis Oosthuizen, looking for his first professional victory on American soil managed to jump up the leaderboard late in the day to finish at 4-under par through 16 holes.
“The last few holes, as well, you can attack it a little bit more,” Oosthuizen said after his round.
“You can feel the firmness of the greens. It’s getting a little firmer. But yeah, I played nicely, putted nicely and hopefully just keep the momentum going.”
In addition to Henley and Oosthuizen’s great start, the other big talking points included the return of Francesco Molinari to the top of the leaderboard with an opening-round 3-under 68. Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama finished their rounds two shots behind Henley at 2-under par.
If we’re talking opening round disasters then Webb Simpson’s 8-over par, Justin rose’s 7-over par (thru 14) and Jordan Spieth’s 6-over par would start the conversation.
The best of the Australians was Adam Scott who despite a rocky start that included two bogeys in his first three holes, rallied late to make birdies on the two closing holes to get in the clubhouse at 1-under par.
