Fowler fires first 62 in US Open history, Schauffele matches to share lead

Los Angeles: Rickie Fowler fired 10 birdies in a US Open record low round of 62 on Thursday (Friday in Manila) and Xander Schauffele matched it minutes later to share the lead at Los Angeles Country Club midway through the first round.

Fowler, fighting out of a slump that saw him miss the past two US Opens, had 10 birdies and two bogeys in his eight-under effort and surpassed the previous record low round of 63.

That had been achieved six times in the US Open, most recently by Tommy Fleetwood in a seven-under round at Shinnecock in 2018.

Schauffele, the 2021 Olympic champion playing two groups behind Fowler, had eight birdies without a bogey. He had a 27-foot birdie putt at his final hole, the par-three ninth, but left it four feet short.

Rickie Fowler of the United States plays his shot from the eighth tee during the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on Thursday, June 15, in Los Angeles, California (Friday, June 16, in Manila). PHOTO BY EZRA SHAW / AFP

“I knew it was close, I wasn't sure of the exact number,” Fowler said of the low-round record. “I just tried to keep moving forward.”

Both Fowler and Schauffele matched the lowest round recorded in any major championship — Branden Grace's 62 in the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

With afternoon starters including Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy on the course, the eight-under-par leading duo were five strokes clear of a group led by world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler was joined on 67 by former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, South Korean Kim Si-woo and France's Paul Barjon. Barjon, playing in his third US Open, was four-under through 17 holes but bogeyed his final hole, the ninth.

Fowler, a former world number four who fell to as low as 185th after missing 18 cuts in 28 events in 2021 and 2022, got his charge going early with a six-foot birdie at the 10th hole.

He bounced back from a bogey at 11 with birdies at 12, 14 and 16, rolling in putts of 18, 11 and 13 feet. After a bogey at 17, he birdied four straight, launching the run with a 15-footer at the 18th.

He got up and down for par from a greenside bunker at the fourth before a birdie at the sixth, and birdied the par-five eighth despite hitting into the barranca — the scrub-lined gully — winding along below the right side of the fairway.

“I knew down there that it had a chance of having a lie and being able to at least get it out and move it forward, in a way a lot better than hitting it left and being in that left rough,” said Fowler.

He landed it safely in the fairway, then gave himself a 13-foot birdie putt.

“(I) knew with where that pin was, I could get a wedge close,” Fowler said. “Stuck in the ground a bit, but I'll take it. We ended up with a good look and walked away with four.”

Overcast skies and intermittent mist greeted early starters on LA Country Club's North Course, which is hosting the US Open for the first time.

The benign conditions made for some impressive scoring, but Schauffele admitted he wasn't thinking 62 when he set out.

“It's not what you expect playing a US Open,” the world number six said. “But monkey-see, monkey-do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was in front of me.”

Schauffele has five top-10 finishes, including a tie for third in 2019, in six prior US Open starts.

All-around performance

The seven-time PGA Tour winner also teed off on 10 and birdied 10, 12 and 14. He rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the first hole and a 60-footer at the fifth.

“Just an all-around performance, honestly,” said Schauffele, who added his last two birdies at the seventh and eighth. “Got lucky, made a really long putt.

“Made a long one on one, hit some really nice iron shots in from distance.

“I think the only place we were able to get away with a few mis-hits would be off the tee. Coming into greens you need to be pretty clean. When I wasn't, I was still able to make birdie because I made some long putts so probably try and clean that up as the days go on.”

While Schauffele said the damp weather made the fairways and the greens a bit more forgiving, the morning was not without its frustrations.

Masters champion Jon Rahm, struggling to build momentum, battled his way to a one-under-par 69 that included three birdies and two bogeys.

France's Matthieu Pavon aced the 124-yard par-three 15th on the way to a one-over 71.