Russell Henley was nearly perfect on Thursday on the South Course at Torrey Pines, the first time he’s played the iconic Southern California course in seven years. His performance was good enough to give him a share of the lead after Round 1 at the U.S. Open.
Henley posted six birdies, and a pair of bogeys, en route to his 4-under 67 to kick off the major championship. One of his bogeys came at the first, something that likely could be brushed off as a bit of nerves — considering Henley missed the cut by six shots the last time he played there.
Henley, 32, has just three PGA Tour wins to his name — his last coming at the 2017 Houston Open. He hasn’t ever won a major championship, and hasn’t even finished inside the top-25 at one since the 2018 season.
The Georgia native, though, has had some solid outings so far this season — including a T3 finish at the Honda Classic, a T9 finish at the RBC Heritage and back-to-back top-5 finishes at The CJ Cup and the Zozo Championship in October.
Henley was joined at the top by South African Louis Oosthuizen, who reached 4-under through his first 16 holes of the round when play was suspended due to darkness. Those two hold a one-shot lead over Rafa Cabrera Bello and Francesco Molinari.
