US Open: Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy in an argument after a postponed first day at Torrey Pines. |. | Golf news

Russell Henley is leading the club after 67 and Louis Oosthuizen four below with two holes to finish after the fog delayed the start of the US Open in Torrey Pines. Watch the action on the second day live at Sky Sports Golf from 3:30 p.m.

Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka ominously started at the 121st US Open while Rory McIlroy finished the long opening day at just three minutes ahead of the Torrey Pines.

Rahm and McIlroy just managed to make the first rounds after the start of the tournament was delayed by 90 minutes due to fog, while Louis Oosthuizen was tied at the top with club leader Russell Henley when the game was interrupted due to darkness.

Henley’s 67 was the best in the morning wave, and 2018 Open champion Francesco Molinari returned to form with 68, while Koepka gave himself a solid platform to fight for a third US Open title as he fired double below 69 – a result that Rahm matched in the late evening darkness.

McIlroy cruised to a two-meter turn and produced one of the shots of the year when he threw an amazing birdie out of the thick rough on the seventh, but carded three excavators on the last nine before the 18th shone in the dim light and closing with a birdie to return 70, and better than partner Dustin Johnson.

Henley, without a win in more than four years, scored six birdies as he set an early target just ahead of Molinari and Rafa Cabrera Bello, who was the only player to complete 18 holes without an excavator on a lone birdie card and a top chip-in for eagle 18.

Molinari mixed five birds with two excavators to eclipse his older brother Edoard, who fired a deserving 70, while Koepka put his constant quarrel with Bryson DeChambeau in the back of his mind as he ran to four below, before slipping with two excavators back in its last seven holes.

Koepka’s score coincided with Xander Schauffele and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, whose 69 were four goals better than DeChambeau’s playing partner, while Rahm ticked the clock to join the draw for fifth, while looking to atone for his devastating disappointment. at Memorial, when he led six after 54 holes before having to retire due to a positive test for Covid-19.

But while Rahm and McIlroy managed to avoid an early alarm on Friday morning, Oosthuizen was not so lucky as he marked his ball on the eighth green when he equalized and will lead a 35-foot bird bat when he returns to the south course.

Oosthuizen recovered from an early 11th error with a birdie at 12 and then three in a row from 16th, and picked up another on the front nine, keeping further stains on the card to boost hopes for the long-awaited first career win in the United States.

“I just enjoy playing really tough golf courses,” the 2010 Open Championship champion said. “I think I kind of focus a little better when I attend those courses, knowing that the limit for error is really small.

“Especially around this place, you have to drive it well, you have to run it on the waterway and you’re going to have problems if you miss the waterway around this golf course, and I’ve been really driving it well lately.”

British Masters champion Richard Bland, who appeared only for the second time in this tournament at the age of 48, reached three fewer when the 12th threw a huge blow, but then made a back-to-back fool before continuing to parry . limited to 70 to match the earlier efforts of Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick.

McIlroy was the last player to enter the house one below, when he eventually defied the dark and opened fifty yards for the birdie, confirming his vow to enjoy a better Thursday in the main event after a disappointing opening at the Masters (twice) and last month’s PGA Championship.

“It was good,” the 2011 champion said. “First I started very well with the bird and I played well, played solidly. I didn’t miss the green until the seventh hole and I managed to jump in, which was a bonus.

“But that’s the key here, you can get away with some awkward shots off the shirt, which I did today, but I managed to recover well and hit the greens. And if you can just keep hitting the greens like that, it’s a name game and I’m fine performed.

“The birdie at 18 is great. I mean, that putt was like, ‘I think it’s straight, I’ll hit straight and we’ll see.’ But it was nice to finish, sleep an extra hour tonight and that was a bonus for the birdie.”

World No. 1 Johnson threw 16 pairs, one birdie and an excavator in his steady 71, while DeChambeau made six excavators – including three in a row of 11 – before reaching a lively finale with birds at 14 and 18, returning him to two done.

Much of the pre-tournament focus was on local hero Phil Mickelson’s last attempt to finish a Grand Slam career in major tournaments, but the PGA champion fought until 75, the day after his 51st birthday and will probably need a round on Friday just to cut it in half times.

Oosthuizen is among the 36 players who will finish their rounds – if the fog allows – on Friday morning, and the game will continue at 6:50 am local time, 14:50 BST.