If you had told Keith Mitchell that he would sign for an even 70 to begin with US Open at Shinnecock Hillshe would have taken it and run. That was especially true after the way his round started when he came out early on Thursday turbulent conditions and made a mess at nine (his first nine) in William Flynn’s design.
Mitchell opened with a double bogey on the par-4 10th after flying his approach shot over the green. He then bogeyed 11, 13, 14 and 16 to post a six-over 41. His US Open seemed destined to end before it began.
Instead, Mitchell did something that hadn’t been done before US Open history.
The story began on the par-4 1st, where Mitchell drove it near the front of the green, got up to 11 feet and putt it in for birdie. After a par at 2, Mitchell stuffed his approach shot at no. 3 on three legs for the little birdie to turn on four. He followed that up by rolling in a 10-foot putt for birdie on the 4th.
Then came the par-5 par-5. Mitchell’s drive split the fairway and then he hit his approach from 229 yards to 12 feet. He drained the eagle putt to make it five straight 3s to start the front nine and get within one for the round.
Mitchell’s 3-point streak ended when he birdied the par-4 6th. He followed it up with pars at no. 7 and no. 8 before hitting his approach shot on the par-4 9 to eight feet and making the putt for a closing birdie to come home in 29.
With that closing birdie, Mitchell became the first player in US Open history to shoot 40 or worse on one nine and break 30 on the next in the same round.
Keith Mitchell went 41-29 today for a round of 70
He is the first player in US Open history to shoot 40 or worse on one nine and break 30 on another nine within the same round.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 18, 2026
Mitchell’s 29-under is also the lowest nine-hole score on the front nine Shinnecock Hills. It ties the lowest nine-hole score in history at Shinnecock, which Neal Lancaster shot on the back nine during the final round of the 1995 US Open.
Due to expected strong winds, The USGA syringed the greens and made them roll a little slower than was originally planned. But that didn’t make Thursday’s test any easier. After a two-hour fog delay, Shinnecock greeted players with the typical brutality that has come to define it as a US Open anchor site.
“It’s just a tough day,” said Brooks Koepka, who won the US Open at Shinnecock in 2018, after shooting three under.
“I think with the conditions today, anything under par or anything around par is a good score,” said Rory McIlroy, who posted a one-under. “It was a day to really keep yourself in the tournament and not get away from it.”
Mitchell was on the verge of leaving the tournament. Instead, he did what the US Open asks of those who want to stick around for the weekend and potentially have a shot at hoisting the trophy — grind it out.
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