Little Fred McLeod makes his mark at difficult Winged Foot
Fred McLeod proved during his career that you don’t have to be big to be a great golfer. In the first round of the Virtual 2020 U.S. Open, he proved it again.
McLeod, who stood just 5-4 and barely broke 100 pounds during his professional peak, posted a seven-under par 65 at Winged Foot Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over a powerful field. Playing steadily and aggressively, McLeod made eight birdies against just one bogey on the classic 7,258 yard par 72 course.
He was one of just 31 players who broke par on a day when Winged Foot showed why it is considered among the most challenging of U.S. Open layouts. The field scoring average was 72.63 strokes, more than a half stroke above par.
McLeod fired a three-under 33 on the front side, then hit a groove. His 4-iron at the 190 yard 10th hole stopped just three feet from the flag for a tap-in birdie, and he followed that with birdies at the par four 11th and par five 12th. Both came thanks to his precise iron play, which set up short birdie putts.
His only error occurred at the short 467 yard par five 16th when McLeod three-putted. He made up for it by birdying the 449 yard par four 17th, throwing a 4-iron within six feet and knocking that putt in as well.
Despite his consistently strong first round, McLeod will confront a loaded field of challengers when he takes the tee for Friday’s second round. Byron Nelson will begin one stroke behind thanks to a 66 highlighted by an eagle 3 at the 521 yard par 5 ninth. Nelson reached with a solid drive and a long iron, then holed a 20-foot putt.
Four players are tied for third at 5-under 67, including two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Trevino. The others included 1928 champion Johnny Farrell, 1958 champion Tommy Bolt and 2005 champion Michael Campbell, one of the longest longshots in the field.
Behind that group, however, the immortals were well-positioned. Pre-tournament favorite Ben Hogan and three-time champion Tiger Woods joined 1973 champion Johnny Miller at 4-under 68, three behind McLeod. Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen were both among a group of six finishing at three-under 69.
Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were all at 2-under 70. Bobby Jones and Willie Anderson, both four-time champions, finished their first round at even par 72.
Although the favorites generally did well, there were disappointments. Tom Watson, the 1982 champion at Pebble Beach, managed no better than 76 and stood tied for 63rd. Lloyd Mangrum, 1946 champion, shot 75 and was tied for 54th.
Nobody had a worse day, though, than 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose. He took a quadruple bogey 9 at the par 5 12th and wound up at 8-over par 80, dead last in the field.
Here are the leaders’ cards fore the first round.
Winged Foot 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 5 3 4 5 3 4 4 5 4 4 – 72
McLeod 3 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 5 2 3 4 3 4 3 6 3 4 – 65
B Nelson 4 4 3 4 5 3 2 4 3 2 5 5 3 4 3 5 4 3 – 66
Farrell 4 4 3 4 5 3 3 4 4 2 4 5 2 4 3 5 4 4 – 67
Campbell 4 4 3 3 5 4 2 3 5 4 3 5 3 3 3 5 4 4 – 67
Bolt 4 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 3 4 5 2 4 4 4 4 4 — 67
Trevino 4 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 4 3 4 4 3 5 3 5 3 4 — 67
Here are the first round scores.
Fred McLeod 33-32-65
Byron Nelson 32-34-66
Lee Trevino 33-34-67
Tommy Bolt 33-34-67
Michael Campbell 33-34-67
Johnny Farrell 34-33-67
Tiger Woods 34-34-68
Johnny Miller 33-34-68
Ben Hogan 34-34-68
Jim Barnes 36-33-69
Walter Hagen 36-33-69
Cyril Walker 36-33-69
Gene Sarazen 35-34-69
Willie Macfarlane 34-35-69
Curtis Strange 32-37-69
Ernie Els 34-36-70
Hale Irwin 38-32-70
Gary Player 37-33-70
David Graham 35-35-70
Jack Nicklaus 37-33-70
Arnold Palmer 33-37-70
Gene Littler 37-34-71
Payne Stewart 37-34-71
Tony Manero 34-37-71
Graeme McDowell 36-35-71
Jordan Spieth 36-35-71
Andy North 37-34-71
Rory McIlroy 37-34-71
Lew Worsham 34-37-71
Dick Mayer 36-35-71
Bobby Jones 36-36-72
Brooks Koepka 38-34-72
Corey Pavin 36-36-72
Tom Kite 35-37-72
Willie Anderson 36-36-72
Alex Smith 38-34-72
Angel Cabrera 36-36-72
Ken Venturi 34-38-72
Tommy Armour 35-38-73
Cary Middlecoff 37-36-73
Billy Casper 37-36-73
Willie Smith 36-37-73
Lawson Little 39-34-73
Olin Dutra 36-37-73
Lucas Glover 35-38-73
James Foulis 36-37-73
Billy Burke 38-36-74
Johnny Goodman 38-36-74
Dustin Johnson 36-38-74
Gary Woodland 38-36-74
Raymond Floyd 36-38-74
Lee Janzen 35-39-74
Hubert Green 38-37-75
Lloyd Mangrum 37-38-75
Ed Furgol 37-38-75
Ralph Guldahl 39-36-75
Fuzzy Zoeller 39-36-75
Julius Boros 37-38-75
Horace Rawlins 37-38-75
Chick Evans 37-38-75
Geoff Oglivy 36-39-75
Tom Watson 40-36-76
Lou Graham 36-40-76
Jack Fleck 39-37-76
Alec Ross 40-36-76
George Sargent 38-38-76
Steve Jones 42-34-76
Retief Goosen 38-38-76
Jim Furyk 35-41-76
Laurie Auchterlonie 35-42-77
Jerry Pate 37-40-77
Scott Simpson 36-42-78
Larry Nelson 38-40-78
Sam Parks Jr. 41-37-78
Tony Jacklin 41-37-78
Martin Kaymer 40-39-79
Webb Simpson 39-40-79
Justin Rose 36-44-80