What's it like to have the very first tee time in the U.S. Open? Early alarms, cold plunges and breakfast at sunrise
James Nicholas, a New York native, had the honor of hitting the opening shot of the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Warren Little
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The alarm was set for 4:10 a.m., but James Nicholas figured he probably wouldn’t need it. Sure enough, at 3:55, he woke up “a little bit antsy” as he mulled what lie ahead.
Can you blame him for being restless? The 29-year-old New Yorker had made it through Final Qualifying for a second straight year to earn a spot in the U.S. Open. This time, though, he was given the honor of hitting the first tee shot at Shinnecock Hills. The only downside? It meant needing to be prepped and ready to go for a 6:35 a.m. tee time.
Before getting on his way, Nicholas had to attend to something unique to the modern-day pro. “I actually had my Meta Glasses on, and I made a little video,” said the Korn Ferry Tour member. “I have a YouTube channel. I'm trying to film some behind the scenes of what it's like to play in the U.S. Open. I put them on and talked to myself, talked to the fans, and try to share this with everybody else.”
(Remember when Arnold Palmer was doing that before teeing it up at Cherry Hills in 1960?)
By 4:45 he was out the door, arriving at the course at 5 a.m. for breakfast before starting his warm-up at 5:20. Come 6:35, the applause from locals excited for play to begin was washing over him as he hit one into the foggy distance.
“You dream of hitting the first tee shot under some pressure,” he said. “I didn't hit the best one, but I ended up making a par and just to kind of continue the day with a lot of grit was pretty cool.”
Waking up that early is something tour pros frequently do. But it doesn’t make it easy. Caleb Surratt, a member of the LIV Golf League, joined Nicholas and Taylor Montgomery in the first group off the first tee. Playing in his first major championship of any kind, let alone a U.S. Open, Surratt made sure to get ahead with his “little prep” the night before, getting his golf bag in game shape so that was taken care of and he could “get as much sleep as possible.”
On Thursday, he was up at 3:30, left the house he’s staying in at 4:10, at the course by 4:20 a.m. And just in case he was still a bit groggy, shortly after his arrival, he took a jump into a cold plunge bath “so I could get a jolt of energy.”
(Remember when Arnold Palmer was doing that before teeing it up at Cherry Hills in 1960?)
Surratt was also starting his official warmup at 5:30, and when he rolled up to the first tee, he was impressed by the number of fans there, too.
“There was certainly more people than I thought there would be,” he said. “I didn’t think there was going to be a lot of people around that tee.”
High winds play havoc with Surratt's shots—and hat—on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills.
Warren Little
The bright side of an early tee time means you get the rest of the day off. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t quite as much time as they had expected—a two-hour fog delay creating another wrinkle in play. Nicholas joked after his round that the added time on the course was “going to throw a wrench in my afternoon beach plans, but you know, it's OK, it's OK.”
It’s definitely OK when you shoot a one-over 71 and just three shots off the early lead.
Nicholas knows he’s got a big Friday ahead. A year ago he opened with a 69 at Oakmont to sit tied for sixth only to shoot a second-round 78 and miss the cut. This time he’s looking for something more. And he’ll be able to sleep in, knowing he doesn’t tee off until 12:30 p.m.