WATCH: Collin Morikawa’s pumped-up reaction to saving his bunker shot at the 2024 US Open

Collin Morikawa found himself in a difficult position on the 17th hole in the first round of the US Open. The 17th is one of the few par-three holes at Pinehurst.

Morikawa's tee shot landed in the bunker, making it hard to envision a birdie on the penultimate hole. Not only did the golfer need a good shot to try and make a birdie, but making it close enough to the hole out of the bunker was necessary to avoid a bogey.

Collin Morikawa was not swayed and calmly struck the ball from the flat part of the bunker. The shot landed within a few feet of the hole and rolled straight in. Watch a video of the shot below:

The crowd erupted as Morikawa nailed the shot and the golfer celebrated with a strong fist pump. Morikawa's short game drew praise from the commentators as he pulled back to within one of par for the day.

On the 18th hole, Morikawa birdied again and drew even and into a tie for 16th at the time of writing. He was five shots behind Patrick Cantlay, who sat atop the leaderboard after 17 holes.

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Collin Morikawa's US Open bunker experience

The above shot was not the only time Collin Morikawa found himself in the bunker at the US Open. On another par-three hole, the ninth this time, the golfer was in the bunker just off the green. He was forced to try and work out of trouble earlier in the day.

Collin Morikawa has had an interesting day with the bunkers at Pinehurst

At the time, Morikawa was one under par. His attempt went awry and his scoreline was affected.

Morikawa tried to get the ball close to the hole but struck it with too much velocity. Here's a video of the incident:

The ball first landed a fair way away from the flag but kept rolling. It rolled right past the cup to the left and didn't stop there. The announcers remarked that the ball was "absolutely gone" and the ball kept moving for another 15 seconds.

The shot proved to be disastrous. Morikawa may have been able to get the ball out of the bunker, but he was now much further away. The golf ball finally rested off the green, leaving Collin Morikawa in an even worse position.

He failed on the ninth hole but took that experience and used it later in the US Open. When he got into another precarious spot on the 17th hole, Morikawa hit the ball perfectly and shaved a point from his scoreline. At the end of his round, it all led to an even score to par.