US Open 2025 ranked among ‘hardest’ first rounds of the century

The 2025 US Open has officially kicked off with its opening round on Thursday, June 12, at the Oakmont Country Club. The opening round of the Major is one of the hardest rounds in history.

Following the first 18 holes, JJ Spaun took the lead in the game at 4-under 66. Most players struggled with their game, and the highest of the day was recorded by George Duangmanee, who settled at 16-over.

Golf analyst Jamie Kennedy shared stats about the hardest opening round of the US Open over the years, and 2025 is also included in the list. The hardest round one was in 2018 when the event was held at Shinnecock.

Sharing the news, Kennedy wrote:

"Hardest R1 at US Open this century: +6.46: Shinnecock (2018)+5.95: Winged Foot (2006) +5.24: Oakmont (2007) +4.91: Olympic (2012) +4.89: Bethpage (2002) +4.69: Pinehurst (2005) +4.63: Oakmont (2025) 4.34: Merion (2013) +4.28: Pebble (2010) Trust me, it will get harder."

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JJ Spaun started the 2025 US Open's first round on the tenth hole with a birdie and then made three more birdies on the front nine. He played a bogey-free round of 4-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Thriston Lawrence. Si Woo Kim tied for third place with Brooks Koepka, Sungjae Im.

Exploring the opening round of the 2025 US Open

Here is the leaderboard of the 2025 US Open after round one (only top 50):

1 - J. J. Spaun (-4)
2 - Thriston Lawrence (-3)
T3 - Si Woo Kim (-2)
T3 - Brooks Koepka (-2)
T3 - Sungjae Im (-2)
T6 - Ben Griffin (-1)
T6 - Thomas Detry (-1)
T6 - Jon Rahm (-1)
T6 - Rasmus Neergard (-1)
T6 - James Nicholas (-1)
T11 - Adam Scott (E)
T11 - Robert MacIntyre (E)
T11 - Russell Henley (E)
T11 - Denny McCarthy (E)
T11 - Jordan Spieth (E)
T11 - Collin Morikawa (E)
T11 - Cameron Young (E)
T11 - Bud Cauley (E)
T11 - Ryan McCormick (E)
T20 - Kevin Velo (+1)
T20 - Brian Harman (+1)
T20 - Lanto Griffin (+1)
T20 - Sam Stevens (+1)
T20 - Emiliano Grillo (+1)
T20 - Victor Perez (+1)
T20 - Adam Schenk (+1)
T20 - Viktor Hovland (+1)
T20 - Matthieu Pavon (+1)
T20 - Marc Leishman (+1)
T20 - Rasmus Hojgaard (+1)
T20 - Carlos Ortiz (+1)
T20 - Trevor Cone (+1)
T33 - Jordan Smith (+2)
T33 - Tom Kim (+2)
T33 - Taylor Pendrith (+2)
T33 - Ludvig Aberg (+2)
T33 - Xander Schauffele
T33 - Ryan Gerard (+2)
T33 - Jackson Koivun (a) (+2)
T33 - Ryan Fox (+2)
T33 - Jacob Bridgeman (+2)
T33 - Matt Wallace (+2)
T33 - Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+2)
T33 - Sam Burns (+2)
T33 - Corey Conners (+2)
T33 - Daniel Berger (+2)
T33 - Aaron Rai (+2)
T33 - Laurie Canter (+2)
T49 - Jacques Keuyswijk (+3)
T49 - Harris English (+3)
T49 - Keegan Bradley (+3)
T49 - Bryson DeChambeau (+3)
T49 - Gary Woodland (+3)
T49 - Nick Taylor (+3)
T49 - Scottie Scheffler (+3)
T49 - Tyrrell Hatton (+3)
T49 - Patrick Reed (+3)
T49 - Mackenzie Hughes (+3)
T49 - Chris Kirk (+3)
T49 - Stephan Jaeger (+3)
T49 - Justin Hastings (a) (+3)

About the author

Ankita Yadav is an NFL and Golf writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of experience in journalism (and counting). With a Master’s degree in Chemistry, she somehow swapped test tubes for touchdowns and tee shots—and hasn’t looked back since.

She’s previously covered the world of entertainment with OtakuKart and TV Season & Spoilers and worked as an editor at ComingSoon. Her stories have racked up nearly nine million reads, and she’s had the chance to interview top athletes like professional golfer Yuvraj Singh Sandhu.

Based in Bhopal, Ankita proudly supports the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, and is a fan of Nelly Korda. When she’s not writing, she’s probably at a live music show, watching a movie or out on a long drive.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande