U.S. Open notebook: Ohio State grad cards first eagle on No. 1 in Oakmont's U.S. Open history

It did not take long for a historic moment at the U.S. Open.

Early Thursday morning, Maxwell Moldovan stood on the first fairway 189 yards from the pin when he sank a beauty to momentarily grab the championship lead in the first round at Oakmont Country Club.

“I had 191 (yards), but we were playing about a 160 shot, trying to land it just short. I missed my line just a couple yards right,” Moldovan said. “I couldn’t really see it, but I heard people start cheering, and then I walked down the hill, and I saw it go in and everybody’s hands go up.”

According to the USGA, Moldovan is the first player to record a 2 on No. 1 at Oakmont during a U.S. Open. The eagle put him 2-under par. After a bogey on the second and third holes, the 23-year-old American returned to even.

“It kind of feels like a fresh round starting again. Like, I kind of had the same first-tee jitters as I did on Hole 1 just because I didn’t get up there,” Moldovan said. “I didn’t hit any putts. I didn’t really finish the hole. I kind of just picked my ball up out of the hole, and then it was time to go to 2. It was pretty strange.”

We have an early contender for shot of the day, and potentially shot of the championship!

An EAGLE ???? has landed for Maxwell Moldovan on 1. pic.twitter.com/YDqMdQwu67

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025

Moldovan did not card a birdie or better for the rest of the round. A 2024 Ohio State graduate from Uniontown, Ohio, he had double bogeys on No. 6 and No. 14 and two more bogeys on No. 9 and No. 16 to end the day 6-over-par.

“It was a cool feeling. You never really draw up your first hole that way,” Moldovan said. “You kind of try to go fairway, green, two-putt and get out of there. But, yeah, it was really cool. God is good.”

Interestingly, the eagle was not the first time Moldovan began a round by making a shot from the fairway.

“Big Ten Championship, my freshman year at Crooked Stick, I made a wedge,” Moldovan said. “That was a lot easier shot than the one I made on 1 today.”

Speaking of eagles, Shane Lowry had an impressive rebound after taking a double-bogey 6 on No. 2. His approach shot from next to the Church Pew bunker on the third hole rolled into the cup for an eagle to move him to 4-over-par.

It was the first eagle on No. 3 in U.S. Open history at Oakmont.

Lowry finished the first round at 9-over.

Birdie parade for Lawrence

Although Thriston Lawrence ended the front nine with a double bogey that brought him back to even-par, he did not let his ninth-hole performance bother him.

Lawrence rebounded by making three birdies on the back nine to finish his opening round at 3-under, good for second place.

Lawrence had his first of a Round 1-high six birdies on No. 1 but bogeyed No. 2. He then birdied No. 4 and No. 6 before his double bogey on the ninth.

“Yeah, I think what gave me confidence is looking at the leaderboard afterward on 9,” he said. “When I made double, I saw I’m still top 10 or 11 or whatever. That sort of made me just realize again that bogeys, you don’t lose much when you make bogeys around this golf course or in this tournament.”

On the remaining nine holes, Lawrence never made worse than a par. He sank a 24-foot birdie putt on No. 10. The South Africa native soon got another on No. 12 and added his final birdie on the 17th. Lawrence hit 11 of 14 fairways, gained 1.9 strokes off the tee and gained 3.29 strokes putting.

“Just the focus throughout the day,” he said. “I sort of made it a goal of mine to commit on every shot, and I got that right about 99% of the time. There’s always going to be doubt in your mind as this golf course (is) so tough.”

Scott gets best, worst of Oakmont

Adam Scott had an eventful front nine Thursday, seeing the good and bad of Oakmont.

After a bogey on No. 10, he birdied the next two holes, bogeyed No. 13, then birdied No. 14. After a par, he bogeyed No. 16 before finishing the inward nine with two more bogeys and a score of 2-under 33.

On the 17th hole, he drove the green and two-putted for birdie. On the 18th, he hammered a drive down the left side of the fairway, put his approach to within 6 feet and drained the putt.

He then posted two bogeys and seven pars over his final nine holes to end Round 1 at even par.

According to Elias, Scott is appearing in his 96th consecutive major (starting with the 2001 Open Championship). The only player with more consecutive major championship appearances was Jack Nicklaus (146, 1962-98). Tom Watson (87, 1974-96) is third on the list.

How did they rate?

For some, the ninth hole was the finishing hole Thursday, a welcome end to a steamy day.

For others, it was a chance to make the turn on a high note before playing the back nine.

Turns out, no matter when it was played, No. 9 was just plain hard.

Statistically, it was the hardest hole on the course in Round 1. A 463-yard par-4, it averaged 4.57 strokes, with just eight birdies.

There were 74 pars, as well as 58 bogeys and 14 double bogeys.

On the other side, the easiest hole Thursday was the 621-yard par-5 fourth, where Patrick Reed had an albatross (double eagle).

No. 4, which is the longest hole on the course, saw 4 eagles or better, 43 birdies, 74 pars, 32 bogeys and three double bogeys.