Utah's Tony Finau, Zac Blair and Preston Summerhays combined to shoot 18 over par Thursday in first round of 125th U.S. Open

The game's stars have dominated the last six majors and most signature events. What will it take for a sleeper to emerge at Oakmont?

The U.S. Open began under partly cloudy skies on Thursday at challenging Oakmont Country Club where Bryson DeChambeau hopes to make a fast start to his title defence while tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler was hours from teeing off.

The toughest job during this week's U.S. Open, besides playing in the championship, might be trying to find errant shots that find Oakmont's unprecedented rough.

Mike Whan made it clear that despite resistance from the PGA Tour and equipment manufacturers, the governing body is moving forward.

While unheralded J.J. Spaun shot a bogey-free 66, major champions Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele opened over par at the U.S. Open.

If you’re walking around the Oakmont Country Club golf course this week during the U.S. Open tournament, or watching it on Channel 11, you might catch a glimpse of fans around the course wearing a little blue earphone.

All across Oakmont, there were plenty of tales from the rough. The U.S. Open came to what might be its toughest venue and players faced difficult lies in the 5-inch rough and lots of chances to hack and pray.

Shane Lowry was one of the players gritting his teeth and grinding through his round at Oakmont, working on a six-over through his first 11 holes, with two bogeys, two doubles and not a birdie in sight on his scorecard.