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COVERAGE: First Off in the Open, Vogt Outmatched By Oakmont’s Test
OAKMONT, Pa. — As Vogt walked to the U.S. Open interview area, only two words needed to be said to summarize his 82.
Oakmont’s hard.
The former Oakmont Country Club caddie went off at 6:45 a.m., his earliest tee time ever, even sooner than the 7 a.m. foray at the 2021 U.S. Amateur.
“I’m going to practice a lot this afternoon,” he said. “I didn’t break 80 in the U.S. Am, I didn’t break 80 today, we’re going to try our hardest to break 80 tomorrow, but it’s a tough golf course.”
When Vogt’s name was called on the first tee by former head club pro Bob Ford, a healthy gallery applauded, before he missed the fairway way left.
Vogt admits that there were a ton of nerves, but he approached the week as building blocks both for golf in addition to life.
Ultimately his mental errors saw his score begin to rise and once he got behind the eight ball, his head started spinning.
“I came in with such optimism with this course, but it’s so hard,” admitted Vogt. “In the moment it’s like you’ve been punched in the face.”
Despite having lost his battle with Oakmont, and Vogt was far from alone, he planned on spending much of the afternoon working on his game.
It has been a collaborative effort on the course between himself and friend/caddie Kevin O’Brien. The pair got to know each other from that 2021 U.S. Amateur and share the unfortunate bond of losing their fathers sooner than either would have liked. The two also play best ball tournaments together and have been staying together all week.
Both have become close friends, something golf made happen.
Vogt’s odds of making the cut are quite long, but with 18 holes left, he has unquestionably been one of the top stories of the week.
His story compelling, Vogt has been surprised by the reception he has received. From being on the driving range next to top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, to signing his first autograph and even for his pre-tournament press conference, it all has been appreciated.
“I hope that I represented the city (and) Oakmont with pride today,” Vogt impressed. “I don’t want this all to be about me, all of this has been incredible, I just hope to bring a lot of joy to the city.
“It means a ton to hit the first tee ball. Right now, playing poorly really stings but I’ll look back on it and that will help.”
MOLDOVAN HAS U.S. OPEN’S FIRST HIGHLIGHT
Most people likely had not picked up their morning coffee when Maxwell Moldovan was in the lead at golf’s third major of the year.
Moldovan, an Ohio State graduate, had 189 yards to the flag on the first hole, hitting straight into the sun. His tee shot missed just to the right, but was on the edge of the fairway, allowing him to hit an 8-iron.
The result was the first ever eagle at Oakmont’s opening hole, a fact his wife Emily told him coming out of the scoring area.
“We were playing about a 160 shot, trying to land it just short,” he recalled. “I missed my line just a couple yards right. I couldn’t really see it but I heard people start cheering and then I walked down the hill and I saw it go in, and everybody’s hands go up. It was a cool feeling. You never really draw up your first hole that way. You kind of try to go fairway, green, two-putt and get out of there, but yeah, it was really cool. God is good.”
Eagle hole-out from 189 yards for @PGATOURAmericas member Maxwell Moldovan on his opening hole @usopengolf.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 12, 2025
This was Moldovan’s second hole-out eagle, having done it as a freshman at the Big Ten Championship at Crooked Stick.
Wednesday Moldovan received some advice from former Buckeye teammate and Oakmont Country Club member Neal Shipley. Shipley has been on the grounds all week and his thoughts proved helpful to Moldovan, who is competing in his fourth consecutive U.S. Open.
“I talked to him yesterday and he told me just to be strong out there,” recalled Moldovan. “This course is intimidating both physically and visually. He told me to commit to my tee shots, commit to my lines. He just kind of reminded me of the strong driver of the ball that I am, which I really appreciated him saying that. Hopefully tomorrow I can drive it a little more like myself and have a better day.”
Oakmont is traditionally a tough test but between the rainfall over the weekend and the course becoming less receptive, it has been an adjustment.
Despite a plus-6 finish, Moldovan was assisted getting to play nine holes Wednesday which saw the course start to firm up.
He believes between last night and the sun being a factor today, conditions will be “crispy”, making scoring tougher.
While Moldovan could not place a ranking on where his opening-hole eagle stood, there is no mistaking how much he loves the U.S. Open.
“It has been my favorite week of the year, so many friends and family get to come all enjoy it all together,” he beamed. “I’m trying to soak it in, but at the same time, the more experience I get in this event, the more I can compete and see myself on the leaderboard. I’m just going to tee it up tomorrow with a new day and have a good one.”
