Collin Morikawa Shares 11th Place After 1st Round at the U.S. Open

On a day when only 10 of 156 golfers broke par at Oakmont Country Club, Cal grad Collin Morikawa finished the opening round of the 125th U.S. Open at even par and part of a nine-way logjam for 11th place.

Morikawa birdied the 18th hole to finish with a 70 and climb into the 11th spot, shared by the likes of Jordan Speith and Russell Henley.

The 28-year-old is four strokes off the lead, held by J.J. Spaun, who shot a back-nine score of 31 on his way to a 4-under 66. South African Thriston Lawrence, ranked 90th in the world, survived a double bogey to finish alone in second place at 67.

Morikawa, ranked fourth in the world, overcame back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13 to stay within striking distance. A two-time major champion, Morikawa is hoping to win the U.S. for the first time after four straight top-15 finishes.

Oakmont promised to be challenging and golfers vying for a share of the $21.5 million total purse will earn their money. 

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is tied for 49th place after an opening-round 73 and second-ranked Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters last month to complete the career grand slam, is one stroke back of him at 73 and tied for 62nd.

No. 3 Xander Schauffele and No. 6 Ludvig Aberg each shot 72 and share 33rd place defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, while No. 5 Justin Thomas posted a 76 and is tied for 99th.

Patrick Reed, a 34-year-old American, recorded one of golf’s rarest achievements with a double-eagle 2 — also known as an albatross — on the par-5 fifth hole. It was just the fourth double eagle at the U.S. Open over the past four decades. 

But Reed gave it back those gains with a triple-bogey 7 on the 18th and wound up tied for 49th at plus-3.

It was a rough day for two other former Cal golfers.

Byeong Hun An was lodged in 91st place until closing with a birdie and a par to record a 74 and a tie for 62nd place. Michael Kim had bogeys on five of his final 11 holes to finish at 75 and tied for 79th.

Sixteen golfers shot 10 over or worse, including George Duangmanee, a 23-year-old American rookie pro, who had seven bogeys, three double bogeys and a triple bogey on the way to an opening-round 86.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

Recent articles:

Austrian tight end commits to Cal's 2026 recruiting class

Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 41 Steve Bartkowski

Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 41 Steve Bartkowski

World-recordholder Mykolas Alekna chases his first NCAA discus title