Wichita’s Sam Stevens birdies his way into U.S. Open first-round lead
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- Sam Stevens recovered from a double bogey on his first hole at Shinnecock Hills.
- Stevens made six birdie putts on fast greens during the U.S. Open opening round.
- Stevens posted a 2-under-par 68 to take the first-round clubhouse lead at the U.S. Open.
Sam Stevens started his U.S. Open round Thursday in the kind of trouble Shinnecock Hills is built to punish.
By the time he finished, the Wichita golfer had turned one ugly swing into one of the best opening rounds of his career.
Stevens, a 29-year-old Kapaun Mt. Carmel graduate, shook off a double bogey on his first hole, poured in six birdie putts on some of the fastest greens in golf and signed for a 2-under-par 68 to take the clubhouse lead in the first round of the U.S. Open in Southampton, New York.
With other players still on the course Thursday, Stevens had posted the number everyone else was chasing. Four players were one stroke behind him in the clubhouse at 1-under 69 on Thursday afternoon, a group that included Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg.
That Stevens got there at all was impressive. That he did it after the way his round began made it even better.
Starting on No. 10, Stevens chunked his approach shot into the kind of spot no player wants to find at Shinnecock Hills. Suddenly, on his first hole of the day, he was scrambling at a course known for brutal rough, lightning-fast greens and the ability to turn one miss into a crooked number.
Stevens had to swallow a double bogey right away.
He did not let it define the round.
On the next hole, the par-3 11th, Stevens hit his 155-yard approach shot to inside 10 feet and rolled in the birdie putt to get one shot back. After another bogey on No. 13 dropped him back to 2 over, he steadied himself for the next few holes, then birdied the par-3 17th to make the turn at 1 over.
That is when Stevens caught fire.
On No. 1, he made a 13-foot birdie putt to continue the charge. Two holes later, he smashed a 359-yard drive on No. 3, planted his approach shot inside 11 feet and made birdie again to move into a tie at the top of the leaderboard.
Then came the par-5 fifth, where Stevens crushed a 365-yard drive that set up a short chip from just off the green. He played it to 9 feet and converted the birdie putt to reach 2 under. In a five-hole stretch, he had made three birdies and gone from repairing his round to leading the U.S. Open.
Even when Shinnecock took one back with a bogey on No. 8, his 17th hole of the day, Stevens had one more answer. He closed his round with a birdie on No. 9, his final hole, to finish at 68.
The course has long been considered one of the crown jewels of American golf, but it rarely gives players anything easy. The rough is thick enough to make recovery shots a chore and the greens can make even routine putts feel tense. Stevens, though, looked composed over the ball all day and finished with six birdie putts, the most in the tournament field during the opening round.
It was not just that Stevens survived Shinnecock. The numbers showed how cleanly he handled it.
Stevens hit 93% of his fairways and found 72% of greens in regulation, a combination that kept him out of the deepest trouble on a course built to punish even slight misses. He gained 1.51 strokes off the tee and 5.84 strokes total on the field.
Still, the putter is what turned a solid round into a leaderboard round.
Stevens made a total of 94 feet of putts and needed just 1.54 putts per green in regulation. He gained 2.56 strokes on the field with his putter, which matched the eye test from a round where he repeatedly looked calm over the ball on greens that made plenty of others look uncomfortable.
For Stevens, Thursday continued the strongest season of his PGA Tour career.
He entered the U.S. Open looking for his third top-10 finish of the season. He has made 15 of 17 cuts, posted six top-25 finishes and earned $1,939,887 this season. He also came into the week No. 60 in the FedExCup standings.
Stevens has already proven this year that he can hold up on major championship stages. In his debut at the Masters earlier this season, he finished tied for 24th at Augusta National. This week marks his fourth appearance in the U.S. Open, where his best previous finish was a tie for 23rd last summer.
But Thursday put Stevens in a new position.
After one round, he was not chasing the leaders at a major. He was the leader.
This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 3:40 PM.
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