Not one but two 62s were posted in the first round of the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club; the second coming courtesy of Xander Schauffele. The world No. 6 went around the par 70 in a bogey-free fashion on Thursday carding eight birdies against 10 pars to become the second man in U.S. Open history to sign for a 62.
Schauffele joined not only Fowler but also Branden Grace from the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale as the only men to card 62s in major championship competition. It took over 100 years of major championship golf for someone to post a 62, and it took just 20 minutes for two more to join the rarefied air.
"It's not really what you expect playing a U.S. Open," said Schauffele. "But monkey see, monkey do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front of me."
Schauffele's chase began immediately as he connected from just under 40 feet for birdie on his first hole of the day, the par-4 10th. Additional birdies soon followed on the 12th and 14th to get him to 3 under in the early proceedings of the championship.
Maneuvering his way through the more difficult back nine of LACC, Schauffele successfully navigated the inward half blemish free. The 29-year-old hit all seven fairways and all nine greens in regulation before he made the turn towards the more accessible side.
His patience paid off on his second nine as Schauffele received a poor break off the tee on the par-5 1st. Finding the fescue lining the fairway bunker, he was forced to lay up before hitting his approach inside 20 feet. He would once again connect as the comfort on his native California ground began to shine.
A dart was thrown on the difficult second immediately after Viktor Hovland holed out from the fairway for an eagle. A birdie there got him to 5 under as Fowler a few groups ahead began to go into overdrive. Schauffele kept pace with an unlikely birdie bid from just off the green on the par-4 5th before the stickiest situation of the round arose on the drivable sixth.
Five birdies. No bogeys. @XSchauffele moves to solo second. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/NNYkAyDeZG
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 15, 2023
Hitting his tee shot into the native area lining the front of the green, Schauffele was looking to put his second somewhere close to the pin. At the advice of his caddie Austin Kaiser, he played away from the pin to secure par. While he may have let a scoring chance slip through a crack, he immediately got rewarded when his tee shot on the 258 yard par-3 7th settled inside 6 feet.
When Schauffele got up-and-down from in front of the green on the par-5 8th for birdie, he went to his last with a chance to make history. A birdie would have seen him become the first man to sign for a 61 in major championship history, but like Fowler, Schauffele settled for a two-putt par and a shared spot in the history books.
"[It was] just an all-around performance, honestly," said Schauffele. "Got lucky, made a really long putt. Made a long one on 1. Hit some really nice iron shots in from distance. It's kind of a mixed bag. 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's score of 62 was surprising, his performance was not. Notching six straight top-20 finishes to begin his U.S. Open career, he was already a member of rare company when his first five resulted in top-10 efforts -- a feat only Bobby Jones can also claim.
Schauffele rode eight straight top-25 finishes and five straight top 20s in major championships into Los Angeles. He has been in this position before but has yet to come through on the grandest stage. He understands a major championship can be lost on Thursday but cannot necessarly be won.
"It's just Thursday," said Schauffele. "It's literally just the first day of a tournament. It's a good start."
