DeChambeau in mix after 3-under 67 on Day 1 of U.S. Open

PINEHURST, N.C. – Bryson DeChambeau left his yardage book in the courtesy car before Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open. He thinks it fell out of his pocket when he got out to start his round on the 10th tee.

Luckily, the situation did not escalate into a crisis. Caddie Greg Bodine, after all, has a backup. And then officials retrieved the original.

While DeChambeau is not superstitious, he did acknowledge that having his yardage book is “a bit of a comfort thing.”

The Crushers GC captain seemed quite comfortable in his first 18 holes at Pinehurst No. 2, shooting a 3-under 67 that leaves him tied for fourth behind co-leaders Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy going into his early-morning tee time for Friday’s second round.

Actually, being comfortable at Pinehurst may be impossible. Consider DeChambeau’s description of his four-birdie, one-bogey round: “From a mental exhaustion perspective, this was probably the most difficult that I’ve had in a long, long, long time. I can’t remember the last time I mentally exerted myself that hard to focus on hitting fatter parts of the green instead of going for flags.”

For the first 15 holes (he started his round on the 10th tee), DeChambeau played bogey-free golf. At the par-4 18th, he chipped in for birdie, something that seems to becoming a regular habit at majors. Using a 60-degree wedge, he turned the face down, toed it slightly, and forced it into the ground “kind of like Jordan Spieth a bit,” and bumped it into the slope.

“I was very fortunate to get that one in the hole,” he said. “I was trying to get it up there close and it happened to drop. Three feet out, I was like, oh, that might be short. Luckily it trickled out and went in.

“So I'll take that. In front of the gallery, it's always fun to excite them.”

He was hoping to remain bogey-free – there were two such rounds on Thursday, by McIlroy in the afternoon and Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia, who shot a 69 in the morning. But he jinxed himself while standing on the 7th fairway, his 16th hole of the day.

“I was actually thinking about it, unfortunately,” DeChambeau said. “Usually when you start thinking about it, you make whatever you're thinking about happen.”

He failed to get up-and down from the backside of the green, his 9-foot par putt running out of steam.

Still, the 67 was a solid start and continues the momentum he’s built up in the major season this year, with a tie for sixth at the Masters and a solo second at last month’s PGA Championship when he shot 20 under.

More pertinent to Pinehurst was his ability to manage long putts without having them roll down off the other side of the green. His 67-footer on the sixth hole left him with a 6-foot par putt. And his 41-footer on his final hole, the ninth, left him with a 4-foot par. Both had dangerous implications if he putted them too aggressively.

“Those greens, oh, my gosh, they can get away from you, especially on 9,” DeChambeau said. “I had that 40-footer straight down the hill. If you hit it 2 feet past the hole, that thing is back up the green chipping up 40 yards.

“It's really diabolical out there. It was a testament to the patience I had, G-Bo helped provide me. I was very pleased to get it in that 3-under and hopefully some softer conditions can help tomorrow. We'll see where that leads.

“But I'm certainly excited for the next few days.”

Photo Credit: USGA/Logan Whitton