LOS ANGELES (AP) — Golf's second-oldest championship has started with words never heard amid the glitz and glamor of Beverly Hills: “Welcome to the 123rd United States Open.”
The USGA chose UCLA sophomore Omar Morales to hit the opening tee shot, a beauty against a cloudy sky right toward the Beverly Hilton on the horizon. He opened with a birdie at the par-5 first in what figures to be one of the easier holes to score.
All week, so much of the chatter has been on the surprising commercial agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's Saudi backers, which followed a year of acrimony over the antitrust lawsuit and the threat of Saudi money in the game.
Now it's about birdies and bogeys — bogeys far more common at the U.S. Open.
Among early starters are Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, the top two players in the world. PGA champion Brooks Koepka plays in the afternoon.
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