Published
Jun 19, 2026 at 11:37 AM EDT
No one had a more volatile day on the course than American Keith Mitchell.
Playing in the early wave at Shinnecock Golf Club for the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday, Mitchell’s day got off to the worst possible start. The visored golfer started his day with a double-bogey on his first hole of the day and followed that up with a bogey on his second hole of the day.
Just six holes into his first round, Mitchell sat at six-over after carding four bogeys and a double bogey to go along with two pars to finish the back nine at six-over.
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When it looked like his tournament was all but over, Mitchell bounced back in a big way by setting a U.S. Open record on the front nine. He carded four birdies and an eagle on the front nine to get back to even-par for the tournament and end the day six shots off the lead – instead of 12.
With his miraculous comeback, Mitchell became the first golfer to post 29 on the front nine at Shinnecock Hills and recorded just the seventh nine-hole score of 29 in U.S. Open history.
He was also the first golfer in the 126-year history of the U.S. Open that a golfer scored 40 or worse on one nine and better than 30 on the other in the same round, according to Justin Ray of The Athletic.
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