Tiger Woods reveals he’s ‘pain free’ in his ankle after surgery
For the first time in months, Tiger Woods will play professional golf in the Hero World Challenge. In a press conference, Woods reveals how he’s feeling since his ankle surgery.
The 2024 U.S. Open begins Thursday at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 course in North Carolina.
Temperatures are expected to get into the 90s this weekend at golf’s third major of the year and the competition should be just as hot. Pinehurst is hosting the men’s U.S. Open for the fourth time in 25 years, most recently the 2014 tournament that was won by Martin Kaymer.
Follow along for news and updates from Pinehurst on Thursday:
2024 U.S. Open leaderboard
Check out the full leaderboard here
Tiger Woods’ putter let him down on more than one occasion during his opening round of 4-over-par 74 on Thursday.
Hitting just 9 of 18 greens in regulation, Woods put extra pressure on himself to save par with the putter – and Pinehurst’s fast, convex greens were not very hospitable.
A stretch of five bogeys in seven holes midway through his round included a trio of three-putts. His only birdies were on the course’s two par 5s.
He’ll need a much better outcome when he tees off Friday afternoon if he wants to make the 36-hole cut.
In Woods’ two previous appearances in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, he finished tied for third behind Payne Stewart in 1999 and runner-up to Michael Campbell in 2005. He did not play in the Open the last time it was held at Pinehurst in 2014, when Martin Kaymer prevailed.
The fifth hole at Pinehurst is proving to be the one vulnerable place to attack this very demanding course.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg became the latest golfer to go under par on the 582-yard par 5, reaching the edge of the green in two and getting up and down for birdie to put him at 4-under for the tournament.
That allowed Aberg to move into a tie for the lead with France’s Matthieu Pavon, who eagled No. 5 earlier in his round. American Patrick Cantlay joined the party with a birdie on 5 and added another birdie from 21 feet on the treacherous par-3 sixth.
Cantlay has three holes to play in his round.
Aberg, who started on the back nine, has completed 14 holes. Pavon is through 13.
On the strength of his second eagle of the day, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon has surged to the top of the leaderboard at Pinehurst.
Pavon got into red figures with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole, added a birdie on the par-4 eighth and took the lead outright by nailing his second eagle putt on the 10th to get to 5-under par for the tournament.
Two-time U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka is among a group of three players two strokes behind. He’s at 3-under through 12 holes and is joined by fellow American Russell Henley and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg.
After an early surge by Tiger Woods, another former U.S. Open champion has risen to the top of the leaderboard early in Round 1.
Brooks Koepka, who won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, is tied for the lead at 3-under par through 10 holes. France’s Matthieu Pavon is also at minus-3 through eight.
Koepka birdied both of the course’s par-5 holes and has yet to card a bogey in his opening round.
Pavon eagled the par-5 fifth hole and added another birdie on the front side to pull into the tie. Seven golfers are tied for third, one stroke back.
After an opening birdie, Woods has bogeyed four of his last five holes to drop back to 3-over.
2022 U.S. Open runner-up Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 ranked player and five-time winner on tour this year, is scheduled to tee off at 1:14 p.m. ET with Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.
Scheffler is the odds-on-favorite to win the Open.
Half of the 156-player field is on the course at Pinehurst, and two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka is once again on top of the leaderboard. Through his first seven holes, Koepka is tied with fellow American Logan McAllister at 2-under par.
Tiger Woods opened his round with a birdie, but consecutive bogeys dropped him back to 1-over through eight holes.
Just 13 players are in red figures, compared to 44 who are over par in the early going.
A wayward drive into the rough at hole No. 16 led to Tiger Woods’ first bogey of the opening round.
Woods hit his drive left of the fairway into the native grass and had to lay up on his second shot. His 20-foot putt for par just slid by the right side of the cup.
The bogey countered his opening birdie on No. 10 to leave Woods even for his round.
No one has really set the course on fire in the early going, as there have been far more bogeys (and worse) than birdies. Sixteen players — including Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Sergio Garcia — are tied for the lead at 1-under par.
Wyndham Clark begins US Open title defense
Wyndham Clark is frustrated with the state of his game and just looking to produce four solid rounds when he starts his U.S. Open defense this week at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.
The American was the major tournament’s surprise winner last year when he held off Rory McIlroy on the back nine for a one-stroke victory at Los Angeles Country Club.
Clark is not brimming with confidence following missed cuts in three of his last five starts including the Masters and PGA Championship.
“I haven’t been playing my best golf,” Clark told reporters on Monday.
“It’s been kind of a tough stretch these last few weeks. Really I’m trying to gain some momentum for the rest of the season. I know that maybe sounds like low expectations for the week, but honestly I’d love to just gain some momentum.
– Reuters
Tiger Woods is off to a solid start through his first six holes at Pinehurst.
Starting his round with a birdie on the par-5 10th hole, Woods put together a string of pars through hole No. 15.
His putting has been excellent, helping the three-time U.S. Open champion convert a par save out of the bunker on 12.
He just narrowly missed pulling into a tie for the lead when a 12-foot birdie attempt didn’t fall on 14.
At 1-under, Woods is one stroke behind leader Ludvig Aberg.
Tiger Woods’ opening round at the 124th U.S. Open is underway — and he’s already in red figures.
The 15-time major champion found the native grass on his second shot at the par-5 10th hole. From 56 yards away, he pitched onto the green to 11 feet and nailed the birdie putt.
Playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick also birdied the hole.
They are two of five players at the top of the early leaderboard at 1-under for the tournament.
Amateurs, first-timers in 2024 US Open field
There are 156 golfers in the field for the 2024 U.S. Open but for 36 of them, this will be their first crack at playing in the national championship.
The list includes the No. 6-ranked player in the world (Ludvig Aberg), the 2023 DP World Tour Championship winner (Nicolai Hojgaard), the 2024 NCAA individual champion (Hiroshi Tai), a 37-year-old mini-tour grinder (John Chin) as well as 12 amateurs.
Pinehurst course info for U.S. Open
Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2 will be set up at 7,548 yards and will play to a par of 35-35 — 70. The yardage for each round of the championship will vary due to course setup and conditions.
The course normally plays as a par 72, but two par 5s will be played as par 4s for the U.S. Open. As a result, there are only two par 5s on the course.
Rory McIlroy chasing elusive fifth major
Rory McIlroy is still chasing an elusive fifth major title after winning his fourth nearly a decade ago but the Northern Irishman has not given up hope and enters this week’s U.S. Open feeling closer than ever to ending his drought.
McIlroy owns 39 worldwide professional victories, 26 of which have come on the PGA Tour, but he cannot seem to escape questions about his results at golf’s blue-riband events given his last major win came at the PGA Championship in August 2014.
“I’m really proud of my body of work over the past 15 years and everything that I have achieved, whether it be season-long titles or individual tournaments or majors,” McIlroy, 35, said Tuesday.
“Obviously getting my hands on a fifth major has taken quite a while, but I’m more confident than ever that I’m right there, that I’m as close as I’ve ever been.”
– Reuters
The 2024 U.S. Open golf championship will be broadcast live on NBC and on USA Network, with coverage also on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. Thursday’s Round 1 broadcast schedule is as follows (all times Eastern):
- 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m.: USA Network
- 5-8 p.m.: Peacock
Streaming coverage of several featured groups (including Tiger Woods, Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick) is available online at USOpen.com.
It’ll be a warm day at Pinehurst Resort. As the first groups teed off, it was 67 degrees and partly sunny. However, temperatures are expected to climb up to around 90 in the afternoon with mostly sunny skies and 5-10 mph winds.
U.S. Open tee times for Thursday
Starting on first tee:
| 6:45 a.m. | Michael McGowan, Carter Jenkins, Logan McAllister |
| 6:56 a.m. | Frederik Kjettrup, Crhstopher Petefish, Parker Bell |
| 7:07 a.m. | Omar Morales, Max Greyserman, Casey Jarvis |
| 7:18 a.m. | Corey Conners, Stephan Jaeger, Emiliano Grillo |
| 7:29 a.m. | Ryo Ishikawa, Francesco Molinari, Sergio Garcia |
| 7:40 a.m. | Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka |
| 7:51 a.m. | Rickie Fowler, Adam Hadwin, Phil Mickelson |
| 8:02 a.m. | Min Woo Lee, Sahith Theegala, Nicolai Hojgaard |
| 8:13 a.m. | Si Woo Kim, Matthieu Pavon, Sungjae im |
| 8:24 a.m. | Nico Echavarria, Robert Rock, Neal Shipley |
| 8:35 a.m. | Takumi Kanaya, Stewart Hagestad, Mac Meissner |
| 8:46 a.m. | Isaiah Salinda, Bruan Kim, Jim Herman |
| 8:57 a.m. | Carson Schaake, Charles Reiter, Colin Prater |
| 12:30 p.m. | Jason Scrivener, Brandon Robinson Thompson, Brendan Valdes |
| 12:41 p.m. | Santiago de la Fuente, Sam Bairstow, Eugenio Chacarra |
| 12:52 p.m. | Kurt Kitayama, Taylor Moore, Christiaan Bezuidenhout |
| 1:03 p.m. | Jason Day, Harris English, Tom Kim |
| 1:14 p.m. | Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler |
| 1:25 p.m. | Brian Harman, Nick Dunlap, Wyndham Clark |
| 1:36 p.m. | Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth |
| 1:47 p.m. | Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer |
| 1:58 p.m. | Akshay Bhatia, Eric Cole, Erik van Rooyen |
| 2:09 p.m. | Brendon Todd, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren |
| 2:20 p.m. | Thomas Detry, Brian Campbell, Jackson Buchanan |
| 2:31 p.m. | Taisei Shimizu, Gunnar Broin, Maxwell Moldovan |
| 2:42 p.m. | Sung Kang, Riki Kawamoto, John Chin |
10th tee
| 6:45 a.m. | Rico Hoey, Tom KcKibbin, Matteo Manassero |
| 6:56 a.m. | Dean Burmester, Rikuya Hoshino, Seamus Power |
| 7:07 a.m. | S.H. Kim, Justin Lower, Tim Widing |
| 7:18 a.m. | Lucas Glover, Sam Burns, Cameron Smith |
| 7:29 a.m. | Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tiger Woods |
| 7:40 a.m. | Patrick Cantlay, Matt Kuchar, Russell Henley |
| 7:51 a.m. | Tony Finau, Ludvig Aberg, Dustin Johnson |
| 8:02 a.m. | Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson |
| 8:13 a.m. | Daniel Berger, Ryan Fox, David Puig |
| 8:24 a.m. | Ben An, Sam Bennett, Edoardo Molinari |
| 8:35 a.m. | Austin Eckroat, Adrian Meronk, Cam Davis |
| 8:46 a.m. | Aaron Rai, Davis Thompson, Zac Blair |
| 8:57 a.m. | Willie Mack III, Richard Mansell, Ashton McCulloch |
| 12:30 p.m. | Greyson Sigg, Grant Forrest, Wells Williams |
| 12:41 p.m. | Chesson Hadley, Mark Hubbard, Adam Svensson |
| 12:52 p.m. | Beau Hossler, Victor Perez, Adam Schenk |
| 1:03 p.m. | Robert MacIntyre, Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes |
| 1:14 p.m. | Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Tom Hoge |
| 1:25 p.m. | Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Max Homa |
| 1:36 p.m. | Sepp Straka, Peter Malnati, J.T. Poston |
| 1:47 p.m. | Gordon Sargent, Jake Knapp, Cameron Young |
| 1:58 p.m. | Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel, Adam Scott |
| 2:09 p.m. | Ben Kohles, Denny McCarthy, Ben James |
| 2:20 p.m. | Frankie Capan III, Andy Svoboda, Luke Clanton |
| 2:31 p.m. | Harry Higgs, Hiroshi Tai, Brandon Wu |
| 2:42 p.m. | Joey Vrzich, Chris Naegel, Otto Black |
When does Tiger Woods play?
Woods will be in a group with Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick for the first and second rounds. He tees off at 7:29 a.m. ET on Thursday, starting on hole No. 10.
After a pair of disappointing finishes in the year’s first two major tournaments, Tiger Woods has a much more optimistic outlook heading into the U.S. Open.
There won’t be the hilly terrain of the Masters or the wet weather of the PGA. Instead, North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort expects to see playing conditions that are more well-suited to his game.
“It’s gonna feel like home,” Woods told reporters Tuesday morning. “Hot and humid we deal with every day in Florida. It’s just a matter of keeping hydrated and the mental tax the heat will bring − not just on me; everyone will be tested.”
– Steve Gardner
List of U.S. Open winners
Here’s a look at the U.S. Open winners from the past 10 years:
- 2023: Wyndham Clark
- 2022: Matt Fitzpatrick
- 2021: Jon Rahm
- 2020: Bryson DeChambeau
- 2019: Gary Woodland
- 2018: Brooks Koepka
- 2017: Brooks Koepka
- 2016: Dustin Johnson
- 2015: Jordan Spieth
- 2014: Martin Kaymer