Live updates | Zut Alors! Pavon makes hole-in-one at US Open
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Follow along for live updates on the opening round of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
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HOLE-IN-ONE
Matthieu Pavon of France made short work of the shortest hole at the U.S. Open.
Pavon hit wedge on the 124-yard 15th hole at Los Angeles Country Club that had enough spin and rode the slope right into the cup for a hole-in-one.
That put him back to even par, still plenty of ground to make up on Rickie Fowler, who was at 6-under par as he was finishing up his final five holes.
Pavon is the first Frenchman to make an ace at the U.S. Open. The last French player with a hole-in-one at any major was Thomas Levet at Turnberry in the 2009 British Open.
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WHAT TO KNOW:
— US Open a source of uncertainty on and off the course
— US Open raises prize money to $20 million with $3.6M to winner
— Chaos rules the day as US Open comes to the glitz of Los Angeles
— US Open barranca offers beauty, danger at LA Country Club
— Scottie Scheffler arrives at US Open looking to solve putting problems
— PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan recovering from medical issue, cedes day-to-day control
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FOWLER BIRDIES 4 STRAIGHT TO TAKE LEAD
Rickie Fowler made birdies on four straight holes to jump to the top of the leaderboard early in the first round.
Fowler, who didn’t qualify for the last two U.S. Opens, was at 6-under par through 12 holes. He started on the back nine in a grouping with Justin Rose and Jason Day.
Fowler bogeyed the par-4 17th before run of birdies on the par-4 18th, par-5 first, par-4 second and par-5 third. He had birdies on eight of the first 12 holes but also two bogeys.
Xander Schauffele was two shots back.
Fowler is still in search of his first major and hasn’t won a tournament since the 2019 Phoenix Open. He had plummeted to 185th in the world golf rankings last September but is currently 45th.
Fowler missed the cut in last month’s PGA Championship, but has finished in the top 10 in his last two tournament.
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XANDER TAKES EARLY LEAD
Xander Schauffele opened his U.S. Open by making a 40-foot birdie putt and kept going from there, getting to 3-under par and the top of the leaderboard early in the first round.
Schauffele, ranked sixth in the world and in search of his first major title, was tied with Jacob Solomon and Dylan Wu.
Rickie Fowler, who didn’t qualify for the last two U.S. Opens, briefly joined them in the lead before a bogey on the rugged par-4 17th dropped him a shot back at 2 under.
A fine mist was falling early in the day at Los Angeles Country Club, softening the course. With the entire morning wave on the course, there were 36 players at even par or better.
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COLLEGE GOLFER IMPRESSES
Omar Morales, who attends college just up the way at UCLA, has grabbed an early share of the lead in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
The 20-year-old sophomore went around the front nine in 3-under 32.
The Bruins have access to LACC about twice a month, and Morales, who went through local qualifying to make the 156-man field, estimates he’s played it about two dozen times in his two years at UCLA.
He had the first tee time of the day, along with another local qualifier, Jacob Solomon, who got to 3 under after 10 holes to share the lead with Morales.
Morales is just the fifth amateur over the last 30 years to shoot 3 under over his first nine holes of a U.S. Open. The last two to do it — Davis Thompson and Kevin Yu — both missed the cut three years ago at Winged Foot.
Elsewhere, Xander Schauffele opened his day with a 40-foot birdie putt and was 2 under through three holes.
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OPENING SHOT
Golf’s second-oldest championship has started with words never heard amid the glitz and glamor of Beverly Hills: “Welcome to the 123rd United States Open.”
The USGA chose UCLA sophomore Omar Morales to hit the opening tee shot, a beauty against a cloudy sky right toward the Beverly Hilton on the horizon. He opened with a birdie at the par-5 first in what figures to be one of the easier holes to score.
All week, so much of the chatter has been on the surprising commercial agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s Saudi backers, which followed a year of acrimony over the antitrust lawsuit and the threat of Saudi money in the game.
Now it’s about birdies and bogeys — bogeys far more common at the U.S. Open.
Among early starters are Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, the top two players in the world. PGA champion Brooks Koepka plays in the afternoon.
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