The first round of the 126th U.S. Open kicked off on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island, with several big storylines making pre-tournament headlines.
A win for world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler would secure the career Grand Slam, literally on his 30th birthday. Rory McIlroy, after securing the Grand Slam himself in 2025, already has another Masters win under his belt in 2026. A second major win this year would give him seven for his career and put him alongside even more impressive historic company. Only Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen and Harry Vardon have ever won exactly seven majors. And would put him behind just Tom Watson, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, Walter Hagen, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus all time.
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The field has one of the best amateur groups in recent history, with NCAA Men’s Division I Champion Preston Stout, 17-year-old Miles Russell, and Auburn star Jackson Koivun.
Shinnecock is also widely viewed as one of the toughest tests in golf, and the forecast for extremely high winds led the USGA to put out a statement on their intention to “syringe” the greens with water to ensure the course doesn’t get away from them.
And yet, with all those narratives and top players to track, the golfer with the wildest day was undoubtedly … Keith Mitchell?
Mitchell started his day on the 10th hole, and promptly made double bogey after pulling his drive into the rough. He then made bogey on the 11th hole. And the 13th. And 14th. And then the 16th too, for good measure. All told through his first nine holes, the back nine at Shinnecock, he was six over par with a 41. Sounds like a recipe for a missed cut, right?
Except after making the turn to the front nine, Mitchell transformed into peak Tiger Woods. He birdied the first hole, then birdied the third. And the fourth. On the par-five fifth, Mitchell made one of just two eagles on the day. Then he finished out the front nine with yet another birdie on the 479-yard par four. Six shots over par on the back nine, then six under par on the front nine.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER TELLS ONE TRUTH AND A LIE AHEAD OF WHAT COULD BE A HISTORIC US OPEN AT SHINNECOCK HILLS
That’s a 41-29 card for an even-par 70. One of the wildest rounds in U.S. Open history.
Incredibly, of all the many thousands of rounds played in the U.S. Open, it was just the seventh time in tournament history someone carded a 29 over nine holes. According to The Athletic’s Justin Ray, it was the first time ever that a player had a round in the 40s and 20s in a U.S. Open.
And you can see the toll it took on Mitchell by the way his hair looked after removing his trademark visor.
As for the other big names, Scheffler had an atypical roller coaster of a round. Four bogeys and a double bogey, to go with four birdies for a two over 72. McIlroy bogeyed 18 to finish at one under, squarely in the hunt, considering the tough conditions limited scoring.
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“I think with the conditions today, anything under par or anything around even par is a good score,” he said after the round. “It was a day to really just keep yourself in the tournament and not shoot yourself out of it.”
But former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who missed the cut at the PGA Championship, only to win a week later, has shockingly jumped out to a four-shot lead by going six under through 16 holes. A remarkable accomplishment, considering the difficulty of the course.
If there’s one thing we know from major championship golf, though, it’s that things can change quickly. And as Keith Mitchell’s Thursday showed, expect the unexpected.
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