NOTES AND QUOTES – NBC SPORTS' COVERAGE OF THE 125TH U.S. OPEN (FIRST ROUND)

NBC Sports

13-06-2025

Friday's Second Round Coverage Begins at 6:30 a.m. ET on Peacock, Shifts to NBC and Continues on Peacock at 1 p.m. ET
'He's not been himself at all today. His stats are bad and he's hit a lot of poor shots for him with some uncharacteristic mistakes.' – Paul McGinley on Scottie Scheffler (+3, T-51st)
'He's doing it with the putter. He leads the field in strokes gained-putting. That's what it takes to keep a round going and stay bogey-free.' – Gary Koch on J.J. Spaun (-4, Leader)
'I don't think Rory played that badly. He scored badly. He didn't glue it together on that back nine like you need to at a U.S. Open.' – McGinley on Rory McIlroy (+4, T-66th)
Mini Episodes of the GOLF Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav Post Nightly
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 12, 2025 – NBC Sports presented first round coverage of the 125th U.S. Open from Oakmont Country Club on USA Network and Peacock, including on-site post-round coverage on Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open on GOLF Channel.
Friday's coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. ET on Peacock, continues at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, and wraps up exclusively on Peacock at 7 p.m. ET.
125th U.S. Open – First Round Leaderboard
ON OAKMONT
Brandel Chamblee on the conditions at Oakmont: 'The winds were down this morning, maybe the course was a little bit softer, but very quickly it turned from gentle to brutal. We only have a handful of players under par.'
Brad Faxon on Oakmont: 'It's the most feared course in the world…These players have to be tenacious because every single part of your game is challenged.'
Notah Begay III on Oakmont: 'There are so many holes here that can visually keep you off balance. You have to do your homework, and you have to trust your numbers and lines…You have to take what the course gives you. The key is to not compound your mistakes.'
Chamblee on the first round: 'I'd say this is like a Shakespearean tragedy really after day one. This had sort of all the colors of Macbeth, in particular. If you look at that leaderboard, you're like, 'What in the heck is going on? Oakmont has seriously thrown us a curveball.' That's because it seriously threw a curveball to the top ten players in the world as it relates to the World Rankings…We've been talking for three days about how Oakmont brings out the best in the best, and today it brought out the worst in the best.'
ON SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (+3, T-49th)
Paul McGinley on Scheffler: 'He's like a marathon runner. He knows how to pace himself. There's also a little bit of an intimidation factor going on. He's so highly regarded by his peers and he's a hell of a competitor.'
Dan Hicks: 'It has been a year since he's opened up an event with an over-par round. That came at last year's U.S. Open, a one-over 71.'
McGinley: 'The way he opened up the first few holes, you thought this was going to be a Rolls Royce performance from him. He's not been himself at all today. His stats are bad and he's hit a lot of poor shots for him with some uncharacteristic mistakes.'
ON J.J. SPAUN (-4, Leader)
Gary Koch on Spaun: 'He's doing it with the putter. He leads the field in strokes gained-putting and he's only missed one putt inside of 15-feet today. When you get those par putts, and he's made a bunch of them, that's what it takes to keep a round going and stay bogey-free.'
Spaun to Kira K. Dixon following his bogey-free 66: 'It's been a breakout year for me. I'm starting to believe in the things I can do. My finish at the PLAYERS was sort of eye-opening to me, to have that confidence to play in the biggest of stages. I'm starting to get comfortable again and this week has gotten off to a great start.'
McGinley on Spaun: 'As he said himself brilliantly in his interview, 'I kept the ball in front of me and I putted well.' That's the U.S. Open DNA there.'
ON RORY MCILROY (+4, T-62nd)
McGinley: 'I don't think Rory played that badly. He scored badly. He didn't glue it together on that back nine like you need to at a U.S. Open. Six-over for nine holes is really going to hurt you at a U.S. Open.'
ON JON RAHM (-1, T-6th)
McGinley on Rahm: 'I thought Jon Rahm was fantastic. I thought it was a really poor score, particularly for the way he drove the ball. He should've done better…nonetheless, he's right there. He looks primed. He certainly got a giddy up from his performance at the PGA. I think that's given him a renewed belief that he can win these majors again.'
ON JORDAN SPIETH (E, T-11th)
Faxon: 'When he's putting well, it looks so easy. When he's missing them, it looks so hard. I think that's why we love watching him.'
Smylie Kaufman: 'The ball-striking was there today for Jordan. He just needed a putt or two to fall.'
ON SHANE LOWRY (+9, T-134th)
Notah Begay III on his eagle hole-out on No. 3 after starting six-over through 11 holes: 'That's a look of, 'I hate this game (laughs).''
Steve Sands: 'That might be the most subdued reaction to an eagle hole-out you'll ever see from a guy like Shane Lowry.'
GOLF CHANNEL PODCAST WITH REX & LAV
As part of NBC Sports' comprehensive U.S. Open coverage, new daily episodes of the GOLF Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav, hosted by GOLFChannel.com senior writers Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner, will post nightly. The podcast sees the two longtime scribes discuss and debate the latest news and hottest topics in the sport, and this week's daily mini-pods will recap each round of the U.S. Open, discuss the major storylines from the championship, and look ahead to the following day's play.
Click here to listen to the latest episode on YouTube and Apple Podcasts.
--NBC SPORTS--