With only 15 players breaking par on Thursday in the first round of the 124th US Open Championship at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Casey Jarvis would have been pleased with his opening round of three-over-par 73.
But for a triple-bogey seven on the tough seventh, he would have been even happier with his two birdies and two bogeys he made during the rest of his debut round in a major championship, and relatively pleased with his share of 65th.
While there is work to be done to ensure he can stick around for the weekend by making the cut, he will feel that short-term goal is within reach.
On the seventh, he fell victim to the slopes around the upturned greens typical of Pinehurst after he took an aggressive line for his approach and missed the green right. His first attempt at chipping on saw the ball rolling back to his original position. He chipped right over the green for his fourth, and left himself just under 18 feet when he finally got his ball on the green with his fifth shot. He two putted from there.
He was the second-best of the four South Africans in the field: Christiaan Bezuidenhout opened with a two-over-par 72 for a share of 50th, Dean Burmester had a four-over 74 for a share of 86th, and Erik van Rooyen had a six-over 76 for a share of 120th.
Rory McIlroy sank a birdie putt from just inside 20 feet at the 18th hole to complete a five-under-par 65 first round and match Patrick Cantlay for the lead.
World number three McIlroy, chasing his first major victory since the 2014 PGA Championship, delivered a bogey-free round at Pinehurst, defying its dome-shaped greens, sandy waste areas and wiregrass.
“I’m delighted with the start,” McIlroy said. “As the week goes on the golf course is going to get a bit faster and a bit fiery, but right now, there’s opportunities out there and thankfully I was able to take advantage of them.
“I think more so this championship than the others, getting off to a good start is really important to try to keep yourself up there. Because you need to give yourself as much of a cushion as possible knowing what’s lurking around the corner.”
