US Open Golf 2016: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Thursday

The 2016 U.S. Open's opening round was cut short by heavy rain on Thursday at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

Two separate weather delays preceded the torrential downpour that halted play for the day at 3:51 p.m. ET. Among the players who did tee it up, unheralded American Andrew Landry was atop the leaderboard at three under par:

Landry began his championship on the back nine and has a birdie putt at his 18th hole, the par-four ninth, for a round of 66. He's hit 10 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation.

Luke Elvy of CBS highlighted the stakes at play for what could be the final stroke of Landry's first round:

PGATour.com's Mike McAllister noted how Landry has seldom gone low in any of his prior outings on the big circuit:

Following a bogey-free 33 on his opening nine, the 28-year-old went on a run of three straight birdies from Nos. 2 through 4, the second of those set up by this beautiful approach:

But the current clubhouse lead belongs to amateur Scottie Scheffler, who posted an impressive round of one-under 69 and hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation.

The University of Texas standout carded consecutive bogeys at Nos. 18 and 1 but responded with birdies at the par-five fourth and par-four seventh to get to red figures.

Golf Channel's Justin Ray referred to the history Scheffler made with his low number:

Wet conditions have caused Oakmont's lightning-fast greens to be more receptive, yet the inclement weather has also made an already lengthy course even more daunting for the shorter hitters.

One powerful star who's hung tough is Bubba Watson, whose roller-coaster round has featured five birdies and three bogeys in the first 10 holes, capped by an absolutely ridiculous birdie at the 10th:

If Watson can keep rolling the rock that well, he has the game from tee to green to thrive at Oakmont, whose past six U.S. Opens have been won by eventual multiple major champions. Watson, tied for second with Danny Lee, has two green jackets from the Masters on his resume, so he fits the bill as a strong contender.

Scores were lower toward the beginning of Thursday's action, yet when rain washed out the rest of Round 1, only seven players remained under par.

Lee Westwood was among that pack after he birdied his final hole of the day, the par-five fourth. His score also received a big boost from one of the better shots of the 116th U.S. Open's opening day:

While many of the young superstars in modern golf rightly command a lot of hype, none of them are lighting it up. Rory McIlroy is four over through 13 holes, Rickie Fowler is six over through 12 and defending champion Jordan Spieth is one over after 11 holes played.

The prodigy making the most waves to start, other than the teenaged Scheffler, is Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Only 21 years old, Fitzpatrick won his last start at the Nordea Masters and logged a tie for seventh at the Masters. He stands at level par through 13 holes.

Fitzpatrick had some magic to offer at the second hole, which helped him grab some momentum:

But it's ultimately too early to write off most of the elite golfers that occupy the field in this most demanding mental test.

Approximately half the field was forced to sit Thursday without playing a single hole. Stars like world No. 1 Jason Day, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson haven't gotten started yet.

The long wait and anticipation of taking on Oakmont and then not doing so is likely to exacerbate the difficulty of this particular U.S. Open venue as the tournament plays catch-up into the weekend.

A frustrating day of stopping and starting had to have most of the golfers who did play frustrated, disrupting the typical ebbs and flows of a round. Although the forecast is promising the rest of the way, Mother Nature will continue to loom as a big storyline as the 2016 U.S. Open unfolds.

Post-Round Reaction

Reigning Masters champion Danny Willett, who was four over through 12 holes, wasn't pleased with how the USGA prohibited players from warming up after Thursday's first weather delay.

"That was a bad one," said Willett, per ESPN.com's Bob Harig. "We sat in a cabin for an hour and 10 minutes behind the seventh tee without being given a chance to hit any balls or do anything. It's not like you are playing a Sunday medal, you're in a U.S. Open, they don't give you a chance to even hit a few balls."

Martin Kaymer, a two-time major champion and runaway winner of the 2014 U.S. Open, wasn't too displeased at the delay despite a solid round of even par through 13 holes going:

Fowler admitted he has to improve off the tee to vault himself back into contention, tweeting, "Oakmont is hard enough if you hit the fairway...have to drive it better! Looking 4ward to relaxing and getting back after it in the morning!"

Showing uncommon composure and even sprinkling in some humor afterward, the 19-year-old Scheffler seemed suited for the spotlight.

"I tapped in like a two-and-a-half footer kind of quickly [to end the round], which probably wasn't the smartest idea," Scheffler said, per Golfweek's Allen Etzler. "But I wanted our group to get done so we didn't have to come back in the morning. ... Honestly I really wanted to watch the basketball game tonight."