Justin Thomas tames Winged Foot in first round of U.S. Open

Winged Foot was supposed to be difficult, but no one appears to have told Justin Thomas

Thick, penalizing rough and lightning-fast greens? No problem for Justin Thomas so far this week at Winged Foot.

Thomas did on Thursday what so many failed to do over the years: make Winged Foot look easy. He shot a five-under 65 in the first round of the 120th U.S. Open, the lowest score ever recorded in a U.S. Open held at this iconic course just north of New York City.

The first hole was the most difficult when the tournament was last held here in 2006. Thomas, though, played it perfectly, his approach shot catching the ridge in the center of the green and funneling toward the hole for an easy, tap-in birdie. He made three birdies on both the front and back-nines, finishing his round in style. Faced with a 25-foot, left-to-right breaking, downhill birdie putt on the 18th green, Thomas cooly rolled it in to take the early lead.

Thomas’ five-under is the best opening round of a U.S. Open at Winged Foot since Bobby Jones shot three-under in 1929 when the course played as a par-72. He called it “probably the hardest golf course I’ve ever played” earlier this week. In 2006, no one shot better than 68 in any round; champion Geoff Ogilvy failed to break par the entire tournament.

Fuzzy Zoeller had the last round of 66 at Winged Foot, in the second round in 1984 on his way to a playoff victory over Greg Norman. Zoeller is the only player to finish a U.S. Open here under-par; Ogilvy shot five-over, while Hale Irwin won at seven-over in the infamous “Massacre at Winged Foot” in 1974.

Patrick Reed tied Zoeller’s mark with a four-under round and sits a shot behind Thomas after Thursday’s morning wave. Reed was two-over on his round after a double-bogey on the fifth hole before making birdie on the driveable par-four sixth hole. At the 165-yard, par-three seventh, Reed’s approach shot took one bounce on the green before bounding right into the cup for a hole-in-one, his first in a competitive round since 2015.

Tiger Woods, playing in the same group as Thomas, birdied three holes in a row making the turn but finished with a double-bogey on the 18th to shoot a three-over 73. Rory McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, shot 67, while PGA champion Collin Morikawa struggled to a six-over 76.

Thomas has the early lead, but there are plenty of players left who can catch him by the end of the day. The afternoon wave features World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm. The course is unexpectedly playable on Thursday; seven players have already shot under-par rounds after there were only 12 recorded here 14 years ago.