Here’s a look at some of the big stories from Thursday’s opening round of the U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club, as single-round scoring history was made (twice) and some lesser-known names enjoyed a star turn in Hollywood.

THE LEADERS

Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele matched the lowest round in major championship history within minutes of each other Thursday as both shot 8-under 62 at The Los Angeles Country Club.

The duo joins Branden Grace, who posted 62 in the third round of the 2017 Open Championship, as the only players to shoot 62 in a major championship.

The rounds eclipsed the lowest in U.S. Open history by a stroke, a record set by Johnny Miller in the final round at Oakmont 50 years ago. Five players tied the record of 63, but it had never been broken.

Until Fowler and Schauffele.

Fowler, who failed to qualify for the last two U.S. Opens, tallied 10 birdies, a career-high in the opening round of a major and the most he’s had in any round at the U.S. Open. Schauffele, meanwhile, added to his historic resume at the U.S. Open with eightbirdies and zero bogeys. The 29-year-old has never finished worse than T14 in any of his six U.S. Open appearances and, through the first round of his seventh, there’s no reason to expect that will change.

“Monkey see, monkey do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front of me,” Schauffele said.

Amid a resurgent season, Fowler has frequently flashed the chops that once lifted him to No. 4 in the world. The consistency is there – with 12 top-20s in 17 events – as is his ball striking prowess – he ranked seventh in Strokes Gained: Approach entering the week. What was missing, though, was results in major championships. That certainly changed during the first round.

It began, as any historic round does, with a lot of red numbers early. He made a 7-footer for birdie on No. 10, his first hole of the day, then tallied three more birdies alongside two bogeys to make the turn at 2-under. It was a birdie at the 18th that seemed to get Fowler’s round going. It was his first of four consecutive birdies courtesy of some premier approach play. His 15-foot birdie putt on 18 was followed with birdie putts of 5, 2 and 4 feet that gave him sole possession of the lead. He added to it at the sixth hole, taking advantage of the short 315-yard par-4. After laying up off the tee, Fowler stuck his approach to within 8 feet and drained the putt to jump to 7-under. His lone spot of bother came on the par-5 eighth where he drove it right into a barranca. But as it so often does during a great round, Fowler had fortune on his side and a window between a walking bridge and tree to advance his ball through the mess and into the fairway. He hit his approach to 13 feet and walked in his 10th birdie of the day. He made every putt inside 15 feet.

“I knew there were birdies to be made out here, but you have to drive it well and get the ball in position first. Yeah, did that, and from there just managed our way around really well,” Fowler said.

But Fowler didn’t have much time to revel in his record as Schauffele, playing two groups behind, nearly matched Fowler birdie for birdie down the stretch. The La Jolla, California, native made the turn in 3-under then birdied Nos. 1, 2 and 5 before adding two more on the par-3 seventh and the par-5 eighth. Like Fowler, Schauffele rode top-notch ball striking and a hot putter. Schauffele made 110 feet of putts to Fowler’s 112. The duo ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee through the morning wave.

“Just an all-around performance, honestly,” Schauffele said.

The careers of Fowler and Schauffele have followed similar arcs, with both players looking to add major championships to already astounding careers.

Fowler was once one of the most consistent performers in major championships, a role that Schauffele currently occupies. The 34-year-old Fowler finished inside the top-five of every major in 2015 and has 12 top-10s in majors since 2010.

But he failed to qualify off world ranking for each of the last two U.S. Opens – both times falling short in Final Qualifying as well. This week is only his third major appearance in the last two years. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship earlier this year.

“I would say we're starting to get maybe as close as we've ever been to where I was through kind of that (20)14, (20)15 area,” Fowler said.

Schauffele burst onto the scene with a T5 at the 2017 U.S. Open and has stayed in the upper echelon of professional golf since. He’s compiled five consecutive top-20 finishes in majors.

Now both are in prime position to grab their first major, the only major milestone that alludes them.

THE STORYLINES

Scheffler’s positive day with the putter: Scottie Scheffler left us all guessing. The No. 1 player in the world spent the early part of this week toying with the proposition of putting a new putter in the bag. When asked if it would make it out to the course, he said, “you guys can find out Thursday.”

Sure enough, when he teed off at 8:13 local time, the new putter was in the bag – and Scheffler played and putted admirably in its debut en route to a 3-under 67.

“I rolled it nice, saw some putts go in. Pretty good,” Scheffler said of the putter, which features a slightly wider sole.

It was particularly evident on the back nine. After making the turn in even-par, Scheffler holed birdie putts of 17 and 19 feet on Nos. 10 and 12, made a crucial 5-footer for par on 14 and drained a pair of 9-foot birdie putts on 15 and 16.

Scheffler ranked 148th in Strokes Gained: Putting entering the week but was slotted inside the top-15 of the metric midway through Thursday afternoon. Given his Tee-to-Green prowess, four days of above-average putting should put Scheffler in contention once again.

“It was frustrating to get off to that slow of a start, but I still was able to shoot 3-under, so I was most proud of how I hung in there today,” he said.

Dream start for Solomon: This marks the first Korn Ferry Tour season for Jacob Solomon, the easygoing, 26-year-old Auburn alum who earned a U.S. Open spot via Final Qualifying in Dallas.

His experience as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie, learning new courses each week, served him well in quickly adapting to The Los Angeles Country Club – where most players are in the same boat.

Solomon embraced the moment in the opening round at LACC, racing atop the early leaderboard at 4-under through 15 holes, en route to a 2-under 68. He’s six back of co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele, who set a new single-round scoring benchmark in the process, but he’s high on the leaderboard, besting plenty of TOUR winners and notable names in the process.

Solomon’s presence atop the leaderboard early Thursday caused fans and media alike to ask: Who’s Jacob Solomon?

He was born in San Ramon, California, a San Francisco suburb. He enjoys playing the guitar, having learned the instrument in elementary school. He’s an avid gamer, notably Call of Duty: Warzone.

And he’s a talented pro who’s not afraid of the spotlight, the epitome of the U.S. Open’s beauty. Shoot the scores, earn the right to compete. He did so Thursday and intends to do so for three more days.

“As a little kid, to see your name towards the top of the leaderboard in a U.S. Open, I wouldn't have believed it … if you had told me when I was 15 years old that this was happening,” Solomon said.

“It's one of the coolest days of my life, no doubt.”

Clark soars in afternoon: Regardless of how the year unfolds, it has been a memorable one for Wyndham Clark.

The University of Oregon alum earned his first TOUR title at last month’s Wells Fargo Championship in emotional fashion, harkening back to his mom Lise’s support as he chased his golf dreams. Lise died in 2014, but her legacy is alive and well – her son’s mantra is to “play big” in her memory.

Clark did just that Thursday at LACC, carding 6-under 64 to cement himself firmly in contention, two back of early co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele.

It’s Clark’s third U.S. Open start, and he’s 0-for-2 in made cuts so far. To that end, the 29-year-old Colorado native came to LACC last week on a scouting mission of sorts, playing a practice round with a buddy. He liked what he saw – the holes, the greens, the overall course design.

The newly minted TOUR winner is comfortable here, and it shows.

“It’s obviously nice to win, and it just brings confidence,” said Clark of his victory at Quail Hollow. “As much as you try not to make it any different from any other tournament, majors just have a little different buzz. But yeah, 6-under in any major is usually really, really good, especially a U.S. Open, so I'm happy with the round.

“Usually I play good on courses where I feel comfortable … I feel really confident on the golf course.”

Clark started fast with an eagle on the par-5 first hole, and he rebounded from a bogey at No. 2 with three more birdies on the front nine, turning in 4-under 31. He made four more birdies on the back nine, including a 26-footer at the par-4 18th, to offset two more bogeys.

With a consistent marine layer fostering soft conditions, this wasn’t your typical day at the U.S. Open. The record-setting efforts of Fowler and Schauffele meant that Clark was eight strokes back before teeing it up.

It didn’t deter him.

“You try to force it, you're one shot away from making a double or stringing along bogeys … It's huge to just get in play and then be really smart into the greens, and then when you're on the greens, you can take advantage of it,” Clark said.

“There's a lot of creativity out there, so if you get in trouble, there are some holes where you've really got to be creative and have some fun, and I typically like doing that.”

Bennett’s major season rolls on: Not much seems to rattle Sam Bennett, so a pair of closing bogeys Thursday at LACC – both on grueling par 4s – will barely register.

Less than a month into his pro career, Bennett began the U.S. Open in 3-under 67, another impressive effort for the reigning U.S. Amateur champion who gained notoriety with a T16 at this year’s Masters, which included a spot in Saturday’s final grouping.

Bennett made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 on Thursday afternoon, moving to 5 under, before missed greens on Nos. 17 and 18 led to par putts outside 15 feet, neither of which he was able to convert.

The Texas A&M alum didn’t seem too concerned. It’s just his third start as a pro, but he expects to compete and contend wherever he tees it up, and he knows there’s a long way to go. After a T74 finish individually at the NCAA Championship, he has made back-to-back cuts on TOUR to commence his pro career, including a T20 last week at the RBC Canadian Open.

Thursday was a continuation.

“There’s no nerves,” Bennett said. “I feel like I belong, and I’m comfortable on this stage.”

NOTABLES

Dustin Johnson (6 under): The 2016 U.S. Open champion hit every fairway Thursday and made just one bogey.

Rory McIlroy (5 under): With each passing major championship, the level of urgency is raised: When will McIlroy, without a major title since 2014, earn that elusive fifth major? The 23-time TOUR winner put himself in the mix Thursday at LACC with a front-nine 30, and he added a birdie at the par-3 15th before finding trouble at the par-4 18th – he flubbed a chip shot but limited the damage with an 11-foot bogey save. He’s T5 into Friday, three off the lead.

Brian Harman (5 under): The Georgia alum took advantage of LACC’s scoring conditions Thursday with six birdies in his first 10 holes, quickly moving onto the front page of the board. He cooled off late but gave himself a chance to contend into the weekend at his national championship, as he did in 2017 at Erin Hills en route to a runner-up finish.

Bryson DeChambeau (3 under): The 2020 U.S. Open champion, who’s coming off a fourth-place finish in last month’s PGA Championship, is off to a strong start after averaging 334.5 yards off the tee and hitting 10 of 13 fairways.

Max Homa (2 under): Anticipation for the LA native’s return to LACC has been building for some time, with his ascent into the world’s top 10 and history here as 2013 PAC-12 champion (including a round of 61). He kept himself in the conversation with four birdies against two bogeys Thursday. “I was pretty proud of that one,” he said.

Jon Rahm (1 under): The world’s second-ranked player, winner of the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, made three birdies against two bogeys Thursday. He’s seven off the lead but safely inside the projected cut line. He struggled off the tee, hitting just five of 14 fairways, but gained strokes on the greens.

Viktor Hovland (1 under): After a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship followed by a win at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, the Norwegian arrived at LACC as a popular choice to earn his first major title. He stayed in the mix with an eclectic day that included four birdies and a hole-out eagle at the par-4 second, countering three bogeys and a double bogey at the par-5 14th.

Gordon Sargent (1 under): After earning a spot at LACC as medalist at Final Qualifying in Georgia, the 2022 NCAA champion made five birdies Thursday to counter four bogeys. The rising junior at Vanderbilt entered the week with 14 points in PGA TOUR Accelerated; he earned a point for teeing it up and would add another for a made cut. A top-20 would net two more points. Collegiate players who accrue 20 points will earn TOUR membership the following May.

Omar Morales (1 over): The UCLA sophomore held the lead briefly Thursday morning before three consecutive back-nine bogeys derailed his round. The 20-year-old amateur feels plenty comfortable at LACC, a place he said he’s played two dozen times over the last two years.

Jordan Spieth (2 over): The three-time major champion couldn’t make much happen despite Thursday’s gentle conditions. He fell victim to the par-4 fifth with a double bogey, and it took until his 17th hole, the par-5 eighth, to record his first birdie. He stands one stroke outside the cut line into Friday.

BY THE NUMBERS

2: Holes-in-one at the par-3 15th hole Thursday, which played to 124 yards. France’s Matthieu Pavon aced the hole in the morning wave, and Sam Burns did the same in the afternoon wave. It marked Burns’ first hole-in-one on TOUR.

71.4: The first-round scoring average, the lowest in U.S. Open history. The previous record was 72.3 at Baltusrol in 1993.

66.4%: Driving accuracy percentage for the field on Thursday. Dustin Johnson, Pablo Larrazabal and amateur Wenyi Ding all hit 13 of 13 fairways.