We knew we have been in for a deal with when Zach Johnson’s birdie putt at No. 1 blew six ft previous the flagstick earlier than it gave into gravity, turned 180 levels and lazily dunked itself. Since you hardly ever see pictures like that outdoors of miniature golf programs.

However that is a U.S. Open at Winged Foot for you: 7,400-plus yards of slimmed down fairways, flanked by three-months-gnarlier-than-usual tough and a handful of greens that could possibly be lined in a single day with asphalt and transformed into serviceable skateboard parks by morning.

Not coincidentally, the massive query heading into Spherical 1 was whether or not the century-old course would show too powerful even for the world’s greatest golfers. The quick reply isn’t but. The query popping out of it’s how a lot more durable the U.S. Golf Affiliation will get to cease one other explosion of pink numbers throughout the leaderboard like we noticed Thursday.

In 5 earlier Opens performed at Winged Foot, solely two gamers have ever completed the event beneath par. However a complete of 21 limboed beneath that bar on opening day, led by one of many golfers who fearful most about being embarrassed and responded with among the finest rounds of his life.

That will be Justin Thomas, whose 65 left him one shot forward of Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters and Matthew Wolff, and two away from one other pursuing trio led by Rory McIlroy. Thomas did it the old school method, hitting fairways (9 of 14, plus three different tee pictures that settled into the comparatively benign first minimize of tough) and greens (14 of 18) and making all the things he checked out from 5 ft in (12 of 12).

”It is useful with three days left, however it’s not even remotely near being over,” Thomas mentioned. ”As nice of a spherical and enjoyable because it was, it is over with now, and I have to recover from it.”

No kidding. There was simply sufficient carnage – of {the golfing} selection – to justify Thomas’ worries, and followers who get a kick out of watching escape pictures get wedged in bushes or delicate chips that roll again to a golfer’s sneakers have a weekend’s value of fabric already.

Tiger Woods offered a few of that on the finish of an up-and-down day, bogeying 17 and doubling 18 after a failed flop shot rolled off a steep shelf fronting the ultimate inexperienced.

”I didn’t end off the spherical like I wanted to,” Woods mentioned a half-dozen occasions afterward.

Nonetheless, his 3-over 73 will need to have appeared good to Phil Mickelson, the sport’s different fast-aging famous person who shot 79 and completed the spherical solely as a result of he needed to.

”I am so sick of this,” Mickelson mentioned, doubled over after his 5-wood from the ninth fairway turned thus far left that it landed on the primary tee field.

A couple of of the sport’s youthful stars felt the identical method. Dustin Johnson, who completed 30 beneath to win the Northern Belief simply final month and got here in because the betting favourite, shot 73. So did Jordan Spieth and Daniel Berger. Defending champ Gary Woodland opened with a 74, joined by Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick. Simply-minted main champion Collin Morikawa shot 76.

All of them know the USGA is crunching these numbers, attempting to steadiness the necessity to get gamers on and off the course whereas working with two much less hours of sunshine – a consequence of transferring the Open again from its conventional spot on the calendar in June. None of them count on the set-up to get any simpler going ahead, particularly after Woodland took benefit of calm climate at Pebble Seaside final yr to submit a profitable rating of 11-under.

We’ll discover out whether or not, and the way a lot, the USGA feels stung by the assault on par starting with Spherical 2. Even when the climate refuses to cooperate, a number of strategically misplaced water hoses might translate into sooner fairways and firmer greens. And there is loads of spots left on these quick greens the place a clown’s mouth would truly be a welcome distraction.

”The pins are, for essentially the most half, is simpler places than they are going to be,” mentioned Spieth. ”They actually have been trying to have the bottom scores (within the first spherical), given the situations that we’ve got as nicely.

”However because the course companies up and the pins get thrown somewhere else,” he added, ”beneath par goes to be an outstanding rating.”