By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Jun 16, 2017 at 6:29 PM

The 117th U.S. Open at Erin Hills Golf Course has looked spectacular. Clear blue skies above vast rolling hills. Unceasing sunshine, picture-perfect weather and meticulously manicured greens. Andrew Johnston’s beard.

Even if not everything else has gone smoothly, the tournament has been visually stunning. With thunderstorms in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday expected to be partly cloudy, we may have already seen the U.S. Open at its handsomest.

Here are 21 of the best photos from the first round at Erin Hills:

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.