Mito Pereira and Joaquín Niemann survive tough first day at US Open

The US Open has started and the Chileans have already played their first rounds of the tournament. Guillaume Pereira closed even with the ground and set up . Joaquín Niemann, on the other hand, had everything to sleep in the upper part, but in the last four holes he had three bogeys and stuck in the middle of the table of the event that brings together rebels and government supporters, with a +1 card.

Much of the attention has been on the crossover between loyal PGA players and those who have jumped on the LIV Golf bandwagon. Joaco even confirmed today that he has no intention of going to the petrodollar league:I’m not going anywhere If I was 40? it might be different were his words.

Niemann was the first Chilean to visit Brookline Country Club, the 140-year-old venue and founding element of the PGA. Between the centuries-old trees and the thousands of supporters who broke the silence to which the place is accustomed, the national team began its journey for a new major.

However, the pitch immediately sent him a warning. Bogey on the first hole , after an error on the green, probably influenced by the nerves of the start of the course. Despite this early penalty, Niemann’s round continued smoothly. He was even with the par until the sixth hole, where he took advantage of the par-three and birdied the first of the day. A thumbs up for what was to come to flag eight.

There, the talagantino took all the applause. The 500 yards from the tee to the hole didn’t matter. Niemann hit hard, as he always does, and on the approach he was two meters from the flag. A phenomenal blow the eagle gave him before completing the first leg of his round .

After that, everything seemed calm. It is that, despite the fact that he did not discount in the following holes, this -2 that he had accumulated was an important cushion, especially on a day and a course that was not going to give so many bad results. The problem was that just as he was about to close out the round, lack of control took over his card.

In the last four holes, Niemann made three bogeys, including 17 and 18 . It was a blow to their records. Of course, because instead of entering the top ten of the tournament, he had to settle for the middle of the table. Something that annoys, but doesn’t keep you awake. There are plenty of tournaments left and estimates tell him that, despite a +1 on the back, the chances of making the cut are close to 75%.

Mito has already thrown the first flag in the afternoon heats. As Niemann was already finishing his first day of golf, Pereira had just settled in to hit his first shot. Unlike Joaco, he had a set turn in certain sections.

These are specific times when his card convulsed and underwent consecutive changes. First, for example, in the section from hole five to nine. In those four flags he got two birdies and two bogeys with a back and forth of emotions, which finally left him low on the ground, as if nothing had happened.

Later, the calm would end on the 11th hole, where he would birdie again and open the door for the changes to come. Bogey at 13 and reset at 14 to get -1 and look at its name at the top of the array.

But the day didn’t end there. Already when he entered the final stretch, he nailed a bogey that brought him back to the demands of the course. Those holes weren’t good for the Chileans, but, at least in Pereira’s case, he was able to save par on the 18th and close with a clean flag. The day was not easy. And this is demonstrated by the fact that less than 30 players managed to go under par . Mito was almost one of them and is now four strokes behind the leader, the Canadian Adam Hadwin.