18:18
McIlroy with a strong putt
Rory McIlroy cheers with his birdie putt on the seventh hole. With this, the Northern Irishman closes the gap to the two leaders with -3. The 33-year-old still has two holes to play today.
18:15
Other players begin their daily work
Now Justin Thomas starts his round. The PGA Championship winner is of course one of the favorites here in Brookline. Incidentally, Sergio García and the second German Yannik Paul have also become active in the meantime.
18:10
Bogey for tailors
Marcel Schneider keeps losing feathers. There is also a bogey on the 4. The 32-year-old slips down to position 56 with +5. Sepp Straka is still seven shots above the standard. The Austrian is 72.
18:06
It’s time for NeSmith
Now Matthew NeSmith says goodbye to the clubhouse with another good result of the day. The American plays par on the 18 and has three birdies and a bogey today. That’s 68 strokes in total, which results in shared 3rd place for the moment. Patrick Rogers ends the day with a birdie, tied for ninth with -1.
18:03
Below course standard
On this demanding course, staying under par at all is already a strong achievement. Only twelve of the 78 players who have appeared in the ranking so far can do this. Although everything is close together, there is comparatively little movement at the top.
17:58
Schauffele gropes his way forward
Xander Schauffele is working his way forward. After a birdie on the 5th, a par follows on the following hole. The Olympic champion is now one shot above the course standard, which means a shared 25th place. Incidentally, the American has always finished in the top 10 at the last five US Opens.
17:54
Tarren with a tour of the clubhouse
The second flight ends its day’s work. And there are two professionals with very strong performances. At the end, Callum Tarren plays par again on the 9, claiming -3 and the shared lead. Hayden Buckley does the same here, finishing the day with a 68 (ie -2). That means shared 3rd place.
17:49
Schneider loses
Marcel Schneider allows himself his third bogey of the day on the 3. This means that German soil is lost. The shared 51st place is the result. By the way, the first flight has just finished its round. Michael Thorbjornsen, Erik Barnes and Matt McCarty are on their way to the clubhouse. The latter two Americans do that with a 71, a shot above the course standard.
17:44
Cream falls back
Meanwhile, Jon Rahm gets his third bogey of the day on the 15th, slipping onto Even for a tied 13th place. Shortly thereafter, Rory McIlroy saves the par on the 4 after his bunker mishap with a strong putt and remains tied third.
17:40
movement at the top
With a bogey on the 12, Stewart Hagestad loses the lead and has to be content with a shared 3rd place from now on. Instead, Callum Tarren catches up with leader David Lingmerth. The Englishman manages an eagle on the 8.
17:34
Trouble for McIlroy
Rory MacIlroy is standing in a bunker on the 5, with the ball also lying in the long grass at the edge of it. A demanding task! The Northern Irishman aims for the green with the driver, but the shot fails. The ball lands in the next bunker. Full of frustration, the 33-year-old plows over the sand of the bunker with a few furious punches.
17:27
double lead
Erik Barnes joins the named player in position 40, who succeeds in making an eagle on the 17. At the same time, another name is right at the front. David Lingmerth fabricates a birdie on the 5. The Swede was certainly not expected to be as high up the field as Stewart Hagestad. Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy consistently lie in wait with a shot behind.
17:21
Tailor in good company
Equal to Marcel Schneider in currently shared 40th place are such well-known names as Olympic champion Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth.
17:17
Hagestad now ahead
Events are already unfolding. While Hagestad birdied on the 11, Matthew NeSmith misplaced the putt to par on the 15 and allowed himself his first bogey. There is a change of leadership and the amateur player is suddenly alone in front.
17:14
Strong amateur
As the top of the 15 qualified amateur players, Stewart Hagestad makes a strong impression. The 31-year-old American has birdied three times and is -2, tied for second place with the likes of McIlroy and Morikawa.
17:10
Straka far back
The Austrian starter Sepp Straka should not go unmentioned. But the 29-year-old got off to a bad start in his second US Open. With +7, the Viennese is right at the end of the classification in shared 77th place.
17:07
What happened until now
The game started at 12:45 p.m. Matthew NeSmith is currently leading with 3 under par. Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa needed a shot more in tied 2nd place. Jon Rahm had to make one more attempt (-1). Marcel Schneider is also on his way, is two shots above the standard in 43rd place. None of the players has finished their round yet.
17:03
Woods not there
Incidentally, Tiger Woods will be absent. The 46-year-old is currently in no condition to play another major. Most recently at the PGA Championship, the Californian had to retire before the final round due to severe pain in his right leg
16:58
Two German participants
As the 2014 winner, Martin Kaymer has a ten-year right to start at the US Open. However, the 37-year-old – also one of the LIV supporters – canceled due to an inflammation in his wrist. Two Germans are still on the tee today. Marcel Schneider and Yannik Paul have qualified through the European Tour and can therefore play their first major tournament.
16:53
Bans by PGA
This is a thorn in the side of the PGA, who sees their regulations violated and made good on their threats. Competitors at the first LIV event at London’s Centurion Club were promptly banned from PGA tournaments, including Phil Mickelson, Sergio García, Dustin Johnson and Lee Westwood. But the US Open is organized by the USGA (United States Golf Association) – and they don’t go along with it. So the renegades are in on Brookline. But even among the players, two camps have formed. Therefore, an attempt was made to put together the flights on the first two days in such a way that the worst opponents do not go on the round together.
16:43
Division of the golf world
The US Open is currently overshadowed by the squabbling over the competing Saudi Arabian golf tour called LIV Golf, also known as the Super Golf League. This attracts the professionals with significantly higher prize money. Just for the signature and the commitment to participate in the series, which includes eight tournaments a year, stately sums, sometimes in the hundreds of millions, were paid. So it’s not surprising that one or the other professional got weak.
16:33
Prize money, defending champions and favourites
A total of $17.5 million in prize money is at stake. 3,150,000 will be distributed to the winner alone. Last year it was 2.25 million. On the par 70 course, 156 golfers strive for the checks, who have to cope with a total of 7,264 yards on the 18 holes, if they make the cut. The defending champion is Jon Rahm. Favorites include world number one Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy.
16:23
The Country Club
This year, the event is taking place at Brookline’s Country Club – for the fourth time after 1913, 1963 and 1988. In particular, the high roughs and the comparatively small greens are a hallmark of this course. Accordingly, precision and distance control are even greater Importance for hitting the greens and ultimately being able to keep the ball there.
16:13
Welcome
Welcome to the US Open of Golfers! After being held for the first time in 1895, the tournament is now being held for the 122nd time. Beginning today through Sunday, we’ll be following what’s happening in Brookline, Massachusetts. At around 5:00 p.m. CEST we will get into the action live.