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LAST UPDATE | 16 Jun 2023
RICKIE FOWLER AND Xander Schauffele each shot the lowest single rounds in US open history to share the lead at Los Angeles Country Club on Thursday.
The American duo shot opening-round 62s – one shot off Max Homa’s course record at LA Country Club – to head into Friday on eight under par.
Rory McIlroy sits in joint fifth after an impressive five-under-par 65, the sole blemish of which arrived on the 18th.
The rest of the Irish contingent are already virtually out of contention after an extraordinarily low-scoring curtain-raiser: Shane Lowry and Séamus Power each shot two-over-par 72s, while both Padraig Harrington and Matthew McClean are a shot worse off on three over.
McIlroy, by contrast, began in electrifying fashion, birdieing five of his first nine holes to turn the corner in 30.
His march towards clubhouse leaders Fowler and Schauffele leveled off thereafter, but he still managed to birdie 15 and dig in for a tie for third — until the par-four 18th.
McIlroy found the fairway from the tee on the last but his subsequent approach found the notorious fescue on the fringes of the green, leaving him with a treacherous downhill chip.
It got worse, however: McIlroy caught all grass and no ball with the wedge on his third shot, eventually chipping out to within about 15 feet with his fourth.
He prevented total calamity, however, sinking the clutch uphill putt to save bogey — his first — and finish on five under for his round.
McIlroy had previously missed just one green in regulation and came up inches short on a handful of mid-to-long-range putts which would have put an even shinier complexion on a fine first-round effort.
Thursday made for the first time in his last seven events that the Northern Irishman has been inside the top 16 after his opening round.
He sits level with Brian Harman on five under, a shot back from Dustin Johnson and Wyndham Clark who are tied for third after respective 64s.
On a day of all-time-low opening-round scoring at Los Angeles CC, Fowler and Schauffele’s earlier rounds were not only US Open record-setters but the joint lowest scores ever recorded across all majors — alongside Branden Grace’s third-round 62 at the 2017 British Open.
Fowler, who was ranked 176th in the world as recently as last year, shot 10 birdies and two bogeys and was the first to earn his slice of US Open history as he parred his final hole, the par-three ninth.
Schauffele, who shot eight birdies and was blemishless all round, matched him on the same hole moments later.
Among several highlights on Thursday were two holes-in-one, each of them recorded on the same hole — the par-three 15th — by Frenchman Matthieu Pavon and American Sam Burns.
***
On the LPGA Tour, Ireland’s Leona Maguire is three shots off the lead at the Meijer Classic after a three-under-par opening round of 69.
Maguire, however, is currently tied for 22nd in a condensed leaderboard at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan, sitting alongside 11 other players on three under.
There is currently a five-way share for the lead between Americans Lindsey Weaver-Wright, Cheyenne Knight, and Jennifer Kupcho, as well as Sweden’s Frida Kinhult and Japan’s Ayaka Furue, all of whom carded six-under-par 66s.
Maguire recorded four birdies and one bogey — including a three-under-par run from 12 through 14 — to remain within touching distance of the leaders.
Olivia Mehaffey is also in action at the Amundi German Masters on the European Tour where she holds a one-shot after the opening round. The Belfast native hit an eight-under 64, picking up 10 birdies in all along with just two bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes.
Follow the full Meijer Classic leaderboard here>>
Follow the full German Masters leaderboard here>>
Written by Gavan Casey and posted on the42.ie
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Congrats to all the winners.
We could do with some good news articles for a change. How about restaurants and takeaways that went above and beyond to service customers in a brutal 2020 year? Or best reviewed meal kits from 2020? Some many in that industry are doing their best. But it’s easy to call out the few bad apples.
@Keith Richardson: sorry my comment meant for Keith
@Keith Richardson: agree one of local takeaways offered free meals to people who needed a meal at start of lockdown 2.0 . always support them and throw a larger than average tip in to them.
@Keith Richardson: this is important public health information from the Food Safety Authority. It gets printed periodically in many Irish news outlets a for reasons of public health. The journal have been doing it for a long time.
Anyways you don’t have to look far for the kind banal pop journalism you’re raving about there. You can find “the best of this or that” literally everywhere
Personally I’d prefer to know if a restaurant/bar/cafe near was serving dubious food so I would know to avoid it. They don’t all get closed down immediately
Perhaps you are happy enough funnelling any old tripe down your gullet but I am not
A bit light on detail
@Denis Leane: the details would have been published at the time the order was made to close, the orders are published every month
@Brian Nevin: yea but we wanted to see particular names of premises’ printed here. Too much work to go searching
I’m thinking of opening a sushi takeaway. Anyone got a spare bedroom so I can get the cooking done?
@Levante Dublin: cooking? Sushi ? I thought that’s the beauty of sushi you only need a bedroom. No kitchen necessary. A knife and a cutting board and you’re made
@Levante Dublin: agree…. The Press love negativity…. what about all those bars and restaurants that abide by the law and are pristine…. probably 99+%
@Ian Forbes: reporting facts isn’t being negative. By default they SHOULD be pristine.
@Jakie McLean: sushi technically refers to the rice, I believe, which does need to be cooked. As such,you can get various types where all ingredients are cooked. Like with sushi involving chicken.
@Ian Forbes: News is news, it isn’t positive or negative
@Jakie McLean: rice!
@Ian Forbes: i look at it the other way, so many good restaurants and the little few bad ones. It’s a good news story.
@Levante Dublin: only need to cook the rice
Couldn’t we introduce a food hygiene rating as they have in the UK, as the activity of the Irish Food Safety Authority is not particularly transparent
@Jules: True story. I grew up in Coventry and as a kid every Friday we got food from the same chippy. I since moved to Dublin but I, and my three siblings, were back to see my mother who ill and hospitalised at the time. We did the nostalgia tour and went to the chippy for dinner. They had a half a star out of 5 rating…
@Jules: the food in the UK is muck. Their food quality and standards are deplorable compared to ours
@Denise Ní Cinnseala: what a silly sweeping comment
Cáitín
Name and shame
@Mark Gaffney: the names are on the FSAI website.
Gives new meaning to the phrase “dishing the dirt”.
Is there any within 5 km of me.? I feel hungry
Mostly Pakistani s
Is this a dirty article?
Where’s the ?
Name & Shame the business and its owners!
This will continue otherwise simple as!
which restaurants in Cork?
have your say