ERIN, Wis. — The Latest on the U.S. Open (all times local):
6:12 p.m.
Adam Hadwin has matched a U.S. Open record with six consecutive birdies.
Hadwin's run started on the par-5 18th. He then birdied Nos 1-5 before he bogeyed the 252-yard, par-3 sixth that was playing as the most difficult hole in the first round. The Canadian had a chance for the record by himself, but skirted the right side of the cup on a long putt and then missed the comebacker.
George Burns (1982) and Andy Dillard (1992) also strung together six straight birdies at the U.S. Open, both at Pebble Beach.
The 29-year-old Hadwin has shown the ability to go low before. He shot a 13-under 59 at La Quinta Country Club earlier this year. He was 3 under after 15 holes at Erin Hills.
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5:48 p.m.
Bernd Wiesberger made four straight birdies to vault up the leaderboard.
The birdies on Nos. 17, 18, 1 and 2 put him at 4-under par, tied for sixth, and three shots behind leader Rickie Fowler.
The record for consecutive birdies at the U.S. Open is six, and belongs to George Burns and Andy Dillard, who each accomplished the feat at Pebble Beach.
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5:30 p.m.
Erin Hills' long famous fescue is having its way with some of the world's best players in the U.S. Open.
Pat Perez swung and missed completely in the tall grass behind the 15th green. He finished with a triple-bogey 7 to drop back to 5-over par.
Jason Day, ranked No. 3 in the world, also had his issues with the long fescue during an awful first round. He had two triple bogeys on his card and was at 7 over through 11.
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5:02 p.m.
Henrik Stenson caught a break with a perfect shot. Gregory Bourdy was not so lucky.
Stenson's shot from 152 yards went straight into the hole for an eagle on the par-4 11th. Unsure of exactly what happened, Stenson held his hand in the air and made a sinking motion as if he was asking if it went in.
It did, and the British Open champion was at 2 over.
Not so lucky was Bourdy, whose tee shot on the par-3 16th hit the flagstick and bounced off the front of the green. He departed with a bogey.
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4:37 p.m.
Kevin Na is getting along quite well with Erin Hills at the moment.
Na recorded five birdies in a seven-hole stretch to get to 4 under in the first round of the U.S. Open.
The 33-year-old Na caused a bit of a stir this week when he posted a video to his Instagram account complaining about the thick fescue at Erin Hills.
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3:25 p.m.
Jason Day had a nightmare on the fourth hole at the U.S. Open.
He had a triple-bogey at the par-4, 451-yard fourth.
The misery started after his second shot from 178 yards landed just off the green, about 29 feet from the hole. He needed another two shots to get on to green.
The triple-bogey left the world's third-ranked player at 2 over early in his round.
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2:45 p.m.
Paul Casey is in the red through his first two holes at the U.S. Open.
Casey eagled the par-5, 613-yard No. 1, just like Masters winner Sergio Garcia in a group just before his threesome. Unlike Garcia, Casey followed his eagle with a birdie on the par-4, 330-yard second. The Englishman is ranked 14th in the world.
Rickie Fowler is the early leader in the clubhouse at 7-under 65.
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2:10 p.m.
Hello there, Sergio Garcia.
Garcia eagled the par-5, 613-yard No. 1 with a long, twisting putt on his first hole of the U.S. Open. Garcia, who won the Masters in April for his first major title, then parred No. 2.
Garcia has 10 top-25 finishes in his 17 U.S. Opens. He tied for fifth last year at Oakmont.
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1:06 p.m.
Rickie Fowler is off to a great start in pursuit of his first major title.
The 28-year-old Fowler closed out a 7-under 65 with par on the tricky No. 9 at Erin Hills, playing at just 150 yards but with plenty of trouble lurking around the green. Brian Harman and Tommy Fleetwood each had a 67, and Brooks Koepka also is tied for second at 5 under.
Fowler had seven birdies and no bogeys.
Ernie Els and Patrick Reed are tied for fifth at 4 under.
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12:44 p.m.
An official with the company operating an advertising blimp at the U.S. Open says the pilot is "OK" after the craft crashed, but he is being taken to a hospital.
Justin Maynard, a sales manager for Florida-based AirSign, says the company's operations team on the ground reported on the pilot's status.
He says he has no additional information on the crash that happened during the tournament's opening round.
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12:31 p.m.
A blimp has crashed about a half mile from Erin Hills, and the USGA says the pilot is being treated for "unknown injuries." No other people were involved, and authorities are investigating.
A sales manager for AirSign, the advertising company that operates the blimp, says the pilot was the only person on board the craft.
Several fans attending the U.S. Open posted video online of the blimp going down.
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12 p.m.
It looks as if the first day of the U.S. Open will be a dry one. But the forecast for the weekend is more tentative.
There is at least a 40
Helped by the dry weather, the USGA says the entire course was mowed Wednesday night. The greens at Erin Hills were double cut and rolled Thursday morning.
The course is playing at 7,845 yards for the first day.
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11:13 a.m.
Twenty years after he won his second U.S. Open, Ernie Els is getting in the mix again.
The Big Easy played his front nine at Erin Hills at 4-under 32 and is only two shots behind Rickie Fowler. Els' highlight shot came on the par-3 ninth where he landed his tee shot about 6 feet from the hole. He made the birdie.
The 47-year-old South African has struggled this year; he hasn't finished better than 35th.
The timing could be perfect. The five-year exemption he received for winning the 2012 British Open runs out after this year.
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11 a.m.
Rickie Fowler is making Erin Hills look like something other than a brutal U.S. Open course.
Dustin Johnson is making it look every bit as tough as advertised.
Fowler has made six birdies through his first 11 holes to take the lead at 6-under par.
Johnson has spent lots of time in the knee-high fescue. He hasn't made the turn but is already nine shots behind the leader.
The defending champion hacked out of the tall grass on 14 en route to a double-bogey, then had to step into it twice on 17, but managed to save bogey there. He is 3-over par.
Fowler is one shot in front of Tommy Fleetwood, with Brian Harman and J.B. Holmes another shot back at 3 under.
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Nine holes into their rounds, Rickie Fowler and Brian Harman share the lead at the U.S. Open.
Both have made four birdies and no bogeys, and played the back nine at Erin Hills in 4-under 32.
Harman birdied both par-3s on the back nine. Both he and Fowler made birdies on the 637-yard par-5 18th, which is playing downwind. Early on, No. 18 had surrendered 11 birdies and was playing as the easiest hole on the course.
Charley Hoffman and J.B. Holmes are in a group of four at 3 under.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson, starting on the back nine, made double-bogey on 14 and followed with a bogey on 15 to fall to 3 over.
Jordan Spieth is 1 under after his first six holes.
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10:15 a.m.
Dustin Johnson found the fescue at Erin Hills. It did not end well.
The defending U.S. Open champion made double-bogey on the par-5 14th after pulling his second shot into the knee-high grass off the fairway. His third shot hooked into gnarly rough in an awkward stance above a bunker. He hit that shot onto the green, but needed three putts to get down.
The double put Johnson at 2-over par for the day, five holes into his round.
Brian Harman played his first nine holes in 4-under 32 to take the lead.
One shot behind are Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka and Charley Hoffman.
It's shaping up as a sweltering day on this course, located about 40 miles from Milwaukee. Temperatures are expected in the high 80s with little chance of rain.
Knowing a weather delay was unlikely, Phil Mickelson officially withdrew. He'll be attending his daughter's graduation in California and can't make it back for his 2:20 p.m. tee time.
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9:45 a.m.
Hideki Matsuyama produced some early magic at Erin Hills, holing out from the fairway on the par-4 15th for the first eagle of the U.S. Open.
It took him to 1-under par after his first six holes — two shots off the lead.
Matsuyama was in the
Brian Harman made birdies on both the par-3s on the back nine to get to 3 under, and shares the lead with Rickie Fowler.
There's a group of six, including Whee Kim and Talor Gooch, at 2 under.
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9:20 a.m.
Early on, Erin Hills is giving Jon Rahm fits.
The Spaniard, 10th in the World Golf Ranking and a popular pick at the U.S. Open, is 3-over par through his first five holes and has yet to hit a green in regulation.
He's in a group with Rickie Fowler, who has made three birdies and is in the lead at 3 under.
On the par-5 14th hole, Rahm hit his drive into the knee-deep fescue, punched out and hit his third shot from 220 yards. It hit the green, but spun backward into the first cut of rough, and Rahm made his third bogey of the day.
Talor Gooch, Thomas Aiken and Tommy Fleetwood are all at 2 under early in their rounds — one shot behind Fowler.
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8:50 a.m.
Dustin Johnson is on the course at Erin Hills to start the
He opened with a tricky par save on the par-4 10th hole, getting up and down from a sliver of tangled rough after he hit his approach past the green.
He is playing with the 2014 and 2015 titlists, Martin Kaymer and Jordan Spieth. Kaymer opened with birdie and Spieth made par.
Johnson is trying to become the first player to go back-to-back at the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange in 1988-89.
Rickie Fowler is among a group of five players sharing the early lead at 2 under. Talor Gooch got to 3 under but bogeyed the par-5 seventh to fall back into the tie.
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7:45 a.m.
Phil Mickelson was a long shot to play in this U.S. Open, and the odds got even longer with a forecast of no chance of rain Thursday.
He notified the USGA a little after 7 a.m. that he was withdrawing. Mickelson was replaced by Roberto Diaz of Mexico.
Lefty already had missed the U.S. Open in 1993 when he lost in playoff at sectional qualifying. He missed the Masters in 1994 while recovering from a broken leg suffered in a skiing accident. And he most recently missed the British Open in 2009 to be with his wife as she was starting treatment for breast cancer.
This also is the first major without Mickelson or Tiger Woods since the 1994 Masters.
Mickelson was out with a broken leg. Woods was in high school.
The Associated Press
