US Open Golf 2016 Leaderboard: Live Updates and Storylines to Watch for Friday

The first round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in western Pennsylvania was supposed to be about deep rough, fast greens and high scores.

Instead, after rain soaked the course Wednesday night, the golfers who teed off in the morning sessions found soft greens that created some lower-than-expected scores.

But the story of the first round was just in its formative stages, and that's where it stopped. Three separate rain delays wreaked havoc with the national championship, and the golfers who were scheduled to tee off in the afternoon didn't even get a chance to make it onto the course.

Jason Day, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson are among those who were not able to play Thursday. 

If the weather holds up, many of the golfers who did not get a chance to start their first round may have to play 36 holes Friday. 

Jordan Spieth, who was one over par through 11 holes Thursday and finished his first round at two-over, knows that the golfers who didn't get to play Thursday have a tough challenge in front of them. 

“Hopefully, we’ll get some good conditions in the morning, and those other guys have to play 36 holes in a row at a U.S. Open, which isn’t easy,” Spieth said after his round, per Mike McAllister, Sean Martin and Jonathan Wall of PGATour.com.

The rain delays Thursday prevented any of the golfers from finding their rhythm. Still, that didn't stop Andrew Landry from rising to the top. He left the course at three under par when play was finally halted at 3:51 p.m. ET, and he finished his first round Friday at four-under.

Amateur Scottie Scheffler finished his round with a score of one-under, and he was the leader in the clubhouse Thursday.

The 19-year-old from Dallas was quite shocked to be in the position he had gained. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Scheffler said. “I played pretty solid. My lag putting was really good on the greens, and I made some good eight-footers that kind of helped me keep the round going.”

Golfers were expecting to face brutal conditions based on the way the course played during the practice rounds. However, the rain softened up the course, and that has changed the greens dramatically.

Instead of greens that are nearly impossible to negotiate, the golfers have a chance to make some difficult putts that they wouldn't have considered possible in the practice rounds.

In addition to the improved putting conditions, the softened course allows players to spin the ball and hold their shots on the green.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

“It definitely got softer,” said Danny Lee. “I was actually surprised how soft it was playing out there. The ball was actually spinning back, and I would never imagine that was going to happen.”

The full story of the 2016 U.S. Open won't be written until late Sunday. However, it looks like several key chapters will be written Friday, when as many as two full rounds could be played.