Russell Henley leads fog-delayed U.S. Open

Henley had a 67 and the temporary lead in the fog-delayed U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

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Russell Henley plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

Russell Henley plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

SAN DIEGO — Once the fog finally lifted over Torrey Pines, a familiar figure in the U.S. Open was plain to see.

A long Thursday ended in darkness with Russell Henley in the lead and Louis Oosthuizen poised to join him when the fog-delayed opening round wraps up Friday morning. There were a few surprises, typical of the start at most majors.

And there was Brooks Koepka.

In the U.S. Open, there is always Brooks Koepka.

“Not the best,” he said. “But I’ll definitely take it.”

With a simple plan and solid execution for most any U.S. Open course, Koepka shot 2-under 69 to extend his incredible record. It was his sixth consecutive round in the 60s at the major with a reputation for being golf’s toughest test.

Dating to final round at Oakmont, 11 of his last 14 rounds have been in the 60s in the Open.

“I’ve just got a good game plan, focused, I know what I’m doing, and I don’t try to do anything I can’t,” Koepka said. “It’s just all about discipline in a U.S. Open. That’s I guess the gist of it.”

Oosthuizen was among 36 players who failed to finish because of the 90-minute fog delay at the start. They were to resume Friday morning and then head right into their second rounds.

Henley’s first visit in seven years to the rough-and-tumble South course at Torrey Pines went a lot better than the last time, especially under the circumstances. Anything around par never hurts in a U.S. Open, and his 4-under 67 was 12 shots better than his one-and-done appearance in the PGA Tour stop.

Oosthuizen, a runner-up at the PGA Championship last month at Kiawah Island, was at 4 under and had two holes remaining.

The course was as tough as advertised. The wind was a little more than expected, and it doesn’t take much to add to the challenge.

“If it’s blowing like this the whole week, it’s just going to be a hard week. That’s kind of what you want in a U.S. Open, though, right?” Henley said.

Henley got up-and-down by holing a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole for a one-shot lead over Francesco Molinari and Rafa Cabrera Bello among those who finished.

Koepka, with two wins and a silver medal in his last three U.S. Opens, was joined at 69 by the likes of Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, San Diego native Xander Schauffele and Hayden Buckley, who plays the Korn Ferry Tour and made his major championship debut.

Sebastian Munoz also was 2 under and had four holes remaining.

The difference between Torrey Pines for a PGA Tour stop in January and Torrey for the toughest test in golf? Henley couldn’t say. He has only played the Farmers Insurance Open one time, in 2014, and it was memorable for the wrong reasons. He holed a 40-foot shot on the 18th hole for birdie to break 80.

That’s about all he remembers except for “leaving the course feeling like I just got beat up.”

There was plenty of bruising going on Thursday in the U.S. Open.

Former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson had to birdie the last hole to break 80. Jordan Spieth opened with a 77 — he now is 25-over par in his last four U.S. Open rounds. Max Homa four-putted from 20 feet for triple bogey on No. 12 and three-putted for double bogey on No. 14 on his way to a 76.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau had to play the final five holes in 2 under to salvage a 73.

PGA champion Phil Mickelson, who turned 51 on Wednesday, shot a 75.

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