The much-anticipated 2025 U.S. Open officially teed off at Oakmont on June 12, and as always, the brutal layout quickly separated survivors from victims. For Xander Schauffele, his opening round was somewhere in between—not a collapse, but far from comfortable.

“Yeah, you know me, I’m sick just like everyone else. I don’t mind if it’s playing tough,” Schauffele joked afterward at the press conference, a playful nod to his earlier practice round quip that he might just be “sick” enough to enjoy Oakmont’s signature punishment. Schauffele finished the day at even par, sitting T11 after navigating some tricky situations. He made several gritty par saves, including a tough break on the par-4 9th where his ball landed in a hazard just off the fairway. Still, his veteran calm kicked in: “It felt ho-hum, but in my head, I was like, probably would take a 5 from the fairway and move on.”

The biggest head-scratcher came on the 12th: “I think 12 is starting to become interesting. I thought I hit a decent drive, ended up somewhere in the bunker there, which was kind of weird,” he reflected. “My ball rolled through the rough and first cut to get to where it went. A few weird things like that, but walking up on the tee, you can tell it’s going to bounce somewhere.” Coming into Oakmont, Schauffele’s 2025 season has been a mix of steady but unspectacular results: T8 at the Masters, T28 at the PGA Championship, and T25 at Memorial most recently. His most recent bright spot was a T11 at the Truist Championship. To sharpen his consistency, Schauffele made a subtle gear tweak before the U.S. Open, switching to Golf Pride’s Align Max MCC Plus 4 grips for a more stable setup—an adjustment that showed flashes of promise on Thursday.

For now, Schauffele’s even-par opener leaves him very much in the hunt—but as always at Oakmont, survival is a skill. And with plenty of contenders already making their moves, the opening day’s leaderboard is shaping up for a tense battle ahead. Let’s take a look.

Leaderboard snapshot after Round 1 at Oakmont

As expected, Oakmont wasted no time asserting its U.S. Open reputation. J.J. Spaun leads after a brilliant 4-under 66, managing to find opportunities where most saw disaster. Right behind him, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence posted a strong 3-under, keeping international hopes alive. Several names sit two shots back at 2-under, including South Korea’s Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka (through just 4 holes), Sam Burns (also through 4), and Bud Cauley, who’s off to a fast start through only two holes.

Among the big stars, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is playing steady at even par through three holes. Jon Rahm sits at +1 early, while Rory McIlroy struggled to a 4-over 74, leaving him plenty of work for Friday. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau is also off to a rough start, finishing +3 after his opening round. With conditions only expected to toughen as the week progresses, Thursday’s leaderboard might just be the calm before Oakmont’s signature storm.