US Open Golf 2020: Justin Thomas Holds 1-Stroke Lead After Round 1

Winged Foot is one of the most difficult courses in U.S. Open history. 

Justin Thomas is better.

The world No. 3 carded a five-under 65 in his opening round Thursday, taking a one-stroke lead over Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters and Matthew Wolff. Rory McIlroy, Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood round out the top five at three under. 

For all of the talk about Winged Foot being a course that could flummox the world's best—even par was considered a potential major-winning score—the opening round played out largely like a typical U.S. Open. Twenty-one golfers finished under par and 32 were at least even. While that means 112 golfers finished over par, the first day was not the scoring bloodbath that many expected or could come over the weekend.

If the course difficulty does ramp up over the weekend, Thomas has given himself a small cushion to stay in contention for his second major championship. The 2017 PGA winner managed to get through the difficult par-70 course with only one bogey against six birdies with a stellar all-around day. He hit nine of 14 fairways and 14 of his greens in regulation while only needing a solid 28 putts. 

"Yeah, 65 is fun no matter where you play, especially at Winged Foot," Thomas told reporters. "I was in a really good frame of mind, and I was focused. I just was sticking to my routine and playing every shot, as opposed to getting ahead of myself. It's one of those rounds where ... next thing you know, you make the putt on 18, you're done for the day."

Reed sits in a tie for second after hitting the shot of the day—a hole-in-one on No. 7—and adding four more birdies. His lone bad hole of the day came at No. 5, when he struggled to recover from a shot into the first cut of rough and missed a five-foot bogey putt to double.

"I was excited about it, but really I knew from that point that, hey, you need to settle down, get ready for the next hole," Reed told reporters of his hole-in-one. "Around here at Winged Foot, every golf shot, you have to pay full attention because if you hit one poor golf shot, a lot of things can happen out here."

Wolff remains one of the hottest golfers in major tournaments this year. After tying for fourth in his major debut earlier this year at the PGA, Wolff managed to shoot 66 despite struggling off the tee and only making 11 greens in regulation. His 26 putts were tied for the sixth-lowest of the round.

Among bigger names down the leaderboard, Tiger Woods will be playing to stay in the tournament after shooting 73 and sitting in a tie for 71st place. Woods missed the cut the last time the U.S. Open was held at Winged Foot in 2006, his first missed cut in a major tournament as a pro.

Phil Mickelson's weekend will be freed up barring a miracle, with Lefty sitting at nine over. Mickelson is tied with Davis Riley for the worst score among a professional.