Rose Leads the Way After Record Day at Pebble Beach

What happened on Thursday at Pebble Beach?

Justin Rose tied the US Open first round scoring record at Pebble Beach as he birdied the last three holes to lead the way with a sparkling 65.

The Englishman, who won this trophy in 2013 at Merion, matched Tiger Woods’ famous round 19 years ago to forge a shot clear of a quartet of players.

He birdied three holes on his way to an outward 32, and made six straight pars on the back nine before finishing with some fireworks.

That flourish capped a remarkable day at a major usually regarded as the sport’s toughest – with 39 players in red numbers.

Behind Rose at the top of the leaderboard is a four-way tie. Xander Schauffele is making just his 10th major start.

He already has four top 10s, might have won a couple, and finished his round in style with an eagle to come home in 31. That matched the efforts of his countrymen Rickie Fowler and Aaron Wise, as well as South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen.

Brooks Koepka’s bid to capture three straight US Opens remains intact after he posted a 69. The American, who picked up the PGA Championship last month, began in ominous fashion with four birdies in his first six holes – his opening tee shot found a divot but that didn’t stop him – before the course took a bit of a hold on his progress.

As for the other major champion in 2019, Woods battled his way to a 70 after some uncharacteristic ordinary iron play but his short game was spot on. Last week’s winner in Canada, Rory McIlroy, was out early on and he made the most of the benign conditions, opening up with a 68.

Graeme McDowell, the champion here in 2010, didn’t drop a shot in his 69.