Thriston Lawrence led on the final nine of the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon en route to a fourth-place finish, introducing himself to the wider golf world in admirable fashion.

A year later, he's on the front page of a major leaderboard once again.

Lawrence, 28, opened the 125th U.S. Open in 3-under 67 at a challenging Oakmont venue, just one back of early leader J.J. Spaun in western Pennsylvania. The South African started fast Thursday, fell back with a double bogey at the par-4 ninth, and quickly rebounded with a 3-under 32 on the second nine, despite the brutal conditions.

"Tough courses, it's 99 percent fair for everybody because if you're in the rough, you're chipping out, doesn't matter what," Lawrence said Thursday. "Like I said, my strength is driving, so on a tough golf course if you manage to keep it in play, anybody is going to play good golf if you keep it in play from the tee on this golf course."

Lawrence earned his first PGA TOUR card via the top 10 on the 2024 DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking (season-long Race to Dubai standings, not otherwise exempt on TOUR), but his maiden TOUR season has been a struggle to date. Lawrence entered the U.S. Open at No. 211 on the season-long FedExCup standings with just two made cuts in 11 starts, highlighted by a T54 at the Puerto Rico Open in March. He has returned to the DP World Tour in recent weeks and finished fourth at the Soudal Open in late May, perhaps a harbinger of things to come at the U.S. Open.

Lawrence qualified for Oakmont via the 2024 DP World Tour's Race to Dubai (top two players not otherwise exempt), and he's taking full advantage of the opportunity thus far. This marks Lawrence's second career U.S. Open appearance and ninth major start overall.

Here are five things to know about Thriston Lawrence, an early contender at the 125th U.S. Open.

1. Lawrence is a 28-year-old from Kempton Park, South Africa. He turned pro as a teenager back in 2014 after winning the South African Amateur in both 2013 and 2014, as well as the 2014 Lytham Trophy. He played on the MENA Tour in 2015 and the Challenge Tour in 2016. He won the MENA Tour Order of Merit in 2015 and won his first title as a professional at the 2015 Ras Al Khaimah Classic, in a five-man playoff with former Open champion Darren Clarke. Lawrence played on the Big Easy Tour in 2018, gaining his card for the 2019-20 Sunshine Tour season. He won his first Sunshine Tour event in 2019 at the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Stellenbosch.

2. Lawrence is the 90th-ranked player in the world. He qualified for the 2024 Open Championship (where he finished fourth) by being among the top 30 finishers in the 2023 Race to Dubai, finishing 19th in the DP World Tour’s season-long rankings thanks to two victories. He is a four-time winner on the DP World Tour. Two of his victories have come in his native South Africa, at the 2021 Joburg Open and 2022 South African Open. He also won the 2022 Omega European Masters and 2023 BMW International Open.

In 2022, he became the first South African to win the DP World Tour’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.

3. Lawrence became a DP World Tour member with his victory in late 2021 at the Joburg Open in his native South Africa, an event that is co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. The event was reduced to 36 holes after the discovery of a new COVID variant and inclement weather. Lawrence had opened up a four-shot lead by shooting a pair of 65s in the first two rounds. The win earned him membership on the DP World Tour.

4. Lawrence is an avid fisherman who has an Instagram account dedicated to that pursuit (@golfergonefishing).

5. Lawrence idolizes Ernie Els, who earned his first TOUR title at the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Lawrence competed on the Big Easy Tour (named after Els' nickname) in his younger years, and his favorite golf memory from his youth is walking alongside Els at Leopard Creek in South Africa at age 8.