Bogey-filled back nine leaves Gary Woodland tied for 79th after opening round of US Open

By Matt Tait     Jun 18, 2021

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Gary Woodland places his ball on the fifth green during the first round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, Thursday, June 17, 2021, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Former University of Kansas All-American Gary Woodland played a clean front nine in 1-under par and struggled to get home from there, finishing Round 1 at this year’s U.S. Open at 3-over par and in a tie for 79th place.

Play was suspended due to darkness late Thursday so several golfers still have to finish up the first round before Round 2 can begin on Friday.

Woodland, who won the event two years ago for the first ever major championship by a Jayhawk, played 10 holes without a bogey on Thursday.

That brought to mind his stellar U.S. Open in 2019, during which he carded just four bogeys total in 72 holes, including a bogey-free second round and long stretches throughout the tournament of bogey-free golf.

Those memories on Thursday, however, were short-lived. Starting with the 11th hole, Woodland bogeyed five of the next seven before carding a birdie at 18 to put him at 74 for the day.

Woodland is slated to begin Round 2 at 3:36 p.m. on Friday. He’ll begin on hole No. 10 and will play the round with Martin Kaymer (+6) and Webb Simpson (+8).

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55880Bogey-filled back nine leaves Gary Woodland tied for 79th after opening round of US Open

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.