First off the tee at US Open, Michael McGowan, Carter Jenkins deal with differing emotions
Most golfers stand on the first tee of the U.S. Open, whether Scottie Scheffler or Tiger Woods, with one simple thought: “Hit the fairway.”
But not Michael McGowan on Thursday. His was no normal tee time as the U.S. Open began on Pinehurst No. 2.
McGowan was chosen to hit the first tee shot of the 124th U.S. Open Championship off the first tee. It almost was an honorary thing, McGowan being from Southern Pines and the grandson of the late Peggy Kirk Bell, a World Golf Hall of Fame member and legendary golf instructor as the owner of Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club.
And so McGowan, who qualified to play in his first U.S. Open, went to the first tee with mixed emotions for his 6:45 a.m. tee time. Playing with him was Carter Jenkins of Raleigh, another qualifier in his first U.S. Open, and Logan McAllister of Oklahoma.
“I was excited … until I hit my tee shot,” McGowan said, smiling. “Actually I hit six bad shots on that hole.
“No, it was kind of a surreal moment. The sun was coming out between the trees on the right and everyone was cheering. A very cool moment for me.”
McGowan, 33, said he thought of his grandmother, always an inspiration. He thought of his mother, Bonnie Bell McGowan, who died in January 2023 after spending so many years, like her mother, teaching others to play the game at Pine Needles.
“Right before I teed off, I started looking into the sun and started getting some sun spots,” McGowan said. “I was looking at it and thinking what it would be like to have mom right here. I kind of got a little emotional inside, I guess. Obviously, I miss grandma and mom.”
Jenkins had his family in the gallery as the threesome made its way around No. 2, dealing with greens, Jenkins said, easily rolling 13 on the Stimpmeter — in other words, very fast.
“These greens can make you look like a fool at times,” Jenkins said.
McGowan and Jenkins are friends, both having played college golf at North Carolina and in some professional tournaments. Jenkins, 28, had the better day Thursday, rebounding from a triple-bogey 7 at the 12th hole with three birdies in his final six holes for a 3-over 73, a shot better than Woods, among others.
It was a tough finish for McGowan, who had two late double-bogeys in his 77.
“The whole week leading up to it felt pretty easy to just stay in my routine, stay in my process and go through my prep work,” Jenkins said. “But it was definitely different this morning. It was time to go play.”
Jenkins had a 3 a.m. wakeup Thursday. He was at the club by 5, gulped down some breakfast and was out hitting balls on the practice range at 5:30.
“Couldn’t see the first few shots I hit because it was still dark,” he said, smiling. “I had to look over at the Trackman (golf monitor) to see where they were going.”
Jenkins, teeing off after McGowan, hit the fairway at the first hole but made a bogey-5. His round included three birdies, three bogeys and the triple at the par-4 12th hole, where he said he skulled a chip shot.
The past three weeks have been challenging, personally and emotionally, for Jenkins.
He lost a close friend when Grayson Murray of Raleigh, a former high-school teammate and a winner on the PGA Tour this year, took his own life. After finishing fourth in the UNC Health Championship at Raleigh Country Club the week after Murray’s death, Jenkins missed Murray’s funeral the day after the Korn Ferry Tour tournament to play in the 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier at Duke Golf Club.
Murray would have been in Pinehurst for the Open, and the U.S. Golf Association put a plaque in the clubhouse honoring Murray on the locker he would have used.
On the bottom: “Be kind to one another.”
Jenkins stayed busy, following up the UNC Health Championship and the Open qualifier by playing in the Korn Ferry event in Greer, South Carolina. Then, on to Pinehurst.
“I tried to control my emotions as best as possible, and have fun,” Jenkins said of the opening round. “I had a bunch of friends and family out, and it was awesome to pick them out at times. I just wanted to have fun with it and embrace it.”
McGowan said that would be more his approach Friday in the second round, hopefully with a much better result.
“I tried to be conservative and hit it in some not-so-great spots today,” McGowan said. “Tomorrow I might be more aggressive and see what happens. It is what it is.
“I tried to enjoy all the moments out there until the end, when I wasn’t enjoying it as much. But they were still cheering me on and it was good to have the fan base, that’s for sure.”
