Justin Rose takes lead with 6-under 65 at Pebble Beach
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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Justin Rose takes pride in the list of prestigious courses on which he’s hoisted PGA TOUR trophies. Historic venues like Merion, Muirfield Village, Aronimink and Colonial.
Pebble Beach would fit perfectly on that list. And he’s already won once this season on a picturesque course that sits above the Pacific Ocean.
Rose’s quest for a second major title got off to a promising start with a 65 in the first round of the U.S. Open. The only other man to shoot that score in the first round of a U.S. Open here was Tiger Woods. He went on to win by 15 strokes.
That feat may not be within reach, but a second U.S. Open could be for one of the game’s premiere ballstrikers. The reigning FedExCup champion is 10th in this season’s standings.
He played Pebble Beach’s welcoming opening in stretch in 4 under on Thursday, thanks to an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole and two birdies. His lone bogey came on No. 8, and it was followed by a steady streak of seven consecutive pars. He sprinted into the lead with birdies on his last three holes, including a 27-footer on 17 and a 12-foot birdie putt to finish off the day’s best round.
“I was trying to stay patient with myself mentally, but kept up-and-downing the ball, kept the momentum up,” said Rose, who hit half his fairways and greens Thursday. “And then I got rewarded with a hot finish, birdieing the last three. I took a good round to a great round.”
He’s one shot ahead of four players who shot 66: Rickie Fowler, Louis Oosthuizen, Xander Schauffele and Aaron Wise. Thirty-nine players broke par on a low-scoring opening day.
This was Rose’s first U.S. Open round at Pebble Beach. He missed the 2010 event despite winning the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide just two weeks earlier. It was an occurrence that led the U.S. Open’s exemption criteria being changed to include more players off the world ranking.
He’s twice played the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, including a sixth-place finish in 2016.
Rose was scheduled to tee off at 8:24 a.m. Friday, some 13 hours after he finished his first round. He is playing with Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods. The quick turnaround was made more palpable by the opportunity to play Pebble Beach’s 18th hole in the setting sun. Rose hopes he can re-live that scene Sunday evening.
“It's certainly fun to finish playing that golf hole late at night. Around 7:00 at night is when you want to play it,” he said. “Obviously that's where you want to be on Sunday. A great start to the week.”
Sean Martin manages PGATOUR.COM’s staff of writers as the Lead, Editorial. He covered all levels of competitive golf at Golfweek Magazine for seven years, including tournaments on four continents, before coming to the PGA TOUR in 2013. Follow Sean Martin on Twitter.