BROOKLINE, Mass. — Wellesley amateur Michael Thorbjornsen and Holden native Fran Quinn hit the first shots of the 122nd U.S. Open off the first and 10th tee, respectively, Thursday morning.
They each would make par at their opening holes, but the rounds went downhill quickly from there for the duo.
Thorbjornsen, the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, made a double bogey at the third and a bogey at the fourth on his way to a 7-over 77.
Quinn briefly had a share of the lead after dropping an 11-foot birdie at the drop shot par-3 11th, but dropped shots at No. 13, 14, 16 and 17 to make the turn at 3-over and repeated the four-bogey, one-birdie performance on the front for a 76.
Keegan Bradley of Woodstock, Vt., turned in an even-par 70. The only mark on his first nine was a bogey at the 17th, when he left his third shot in the bunker. The lone birdie came at the short par-4 fifth, hitting his tee shot into the back right bunker and hitting his sand shot to 6 feet, and successfully converting.
“I didn’t drive it my best, but putted really well,” Bradley said. “I’m pretty happy with that round. It’s a lot of buildup, so even par in a U.S. Open is really good.”
A bogey-bogey finish gave Worcester-born Scott Stallings a 74, while Caleb Manuel, an amateur from Topsham, Maine, struggled to an 83.
Not very welcoming
Defending champion Jon Rahm hit his tee shot on the 18th hole into the left rough, near the merchandise tent. When he got there the ball was nowhere to be found.
It turned into a souvenir.
“I’m pretty sure I know who it was. I recognized the two kids that were running the opposite way with a smile on their face,” Rahm said laughing. “I am 100 percent sure I saw the two kids that stole it.”
Because it was clear that it was a victim of theft as opposed to being lost, Rahm did not have to return to the tee to play his third shot, and was given a drop, and then was given relief from a tent.
He proceeded to hit his second shot from 135 yards to pin high, 21 feet right of the flagstick and made the putt for birdie to finish up a round of 69.
“I’m just really happy somebody spotted the ball first,” Rahm said. “We knew exactly where it was.”
By the numbers
The opening round saw 25 players finish in red numbers and another 16 at even par, a touch more than a quarter of the 156-player field at par or better.
The average score was 72.773 on the par-70 layout with the back nine playing about a shot harder than the front. The back side featured the three hardest holes on the day with Nos. 12, 15 and 10.
The 468-yard, par-4 12th ranked as the hardest at 4.474, but the opening hole yielded the fewest birdies with just three.
It was not much of a surprise that the two par 5s played as the easiest holes, the 548-yard eighth played to an average of 4.641 and accounted for six of the nine eagles on the day. The 310-yard fifth was the only other hole to play under par at 3.865.
