PITTSBURGH — It was like Easter Sunday at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday morning: The Church Pews were packed.

The massive bunker lining the third and fourth fairways drew player after player into its deadly ridges — even first-round leader J.J. Spaun — and many of them left saddled with bogey or worse during the first round of the U.S Open.

The morning wave of 78 players hit into the Church Pews bunker at least 17 times on one of the two holes — and amateur Evan Beck had the displeasure of experiencing it on both. Players managed to save par eight of those times.

But no one in the morning wave made birdie after hitting into the bunker, even though the par-5 fourth hole is one of the easiest on the course. Three players recorded double bogeys.

One of the most insidious elements of the Church Pews is the pure chance involved. When players' drives soar into the 102-yard-long, 43-yard-wide bunker, it could leave them with a routine shot — or it could spell doom.

When Trevor Gutschewski hit in the bunker on Hole 4, the grassy ridges were more like bars in a jail cell than benches in a chapel. The 18-year-old amateur's drive lodged into the side of a Pew, leaving him no choice but to punch out.

Except that when he tried to, his shot caromed into the front edge of the bunker about 30 yards away and plunged back into the sand.

From there — with no Pews blocking his path — he escaped. But the damage was done, and he left with a bogey that put him 4-over through four holes.

But the iconic symbol of Oakmont wasn't always so cruel. It looked like J.J. Spaun's bogey-free round had hit a speed bump when he launched his drive on Hole 4 into a Pew.

He thought he might need to re-tee.

"I hadn't really been near the Church Pews all week, so I didn't know if it's really heavy, thick fescue to where it could maybe be lost," Spaun said.

When he arrived, the lie looked impossible. He had to place his left leg on top of the 3-foot ridge with his right foot wedged in the sand to hit the shot.

But the 34-year-old American managed to blast it 119 yards down the fairway.

That's pretty much all you can do from the Church Pews.

"I played a little baseball growing up, tee ball, which helps," he said. "I just kind of put a good swing on it, used my hand-eye coordination, and it ended up being a decent lay-up."

His long third shot wound up in a greenside bunker, but he got up and down with an 8-foot par putt.

Spaun finished with the eighth bogey-free round in U.S. Open history at Oakmont and a one-stroke lead as of about 3 p.m.

"That's kind of the key to this tournament and this venue is just not losing your steam, not losing your focus, and converting those momentum-saving putts," he said.

Not everyone had such a pleasant trip to church.

One of the terrifying aspects of the bunker is that they line the left side of both the third and fourth fairways — so if you hit into them once, a similar tee shot on the next hole could yield a similarly disastrous result.

Evan Beck's tee shot on No. 3 careened into one of the Pews, bouncing off the grass and into the sand just in front.

The 34-year-old amateur advanced it 58 yards down the fairway, missed the green with his next shot, and left with a double bogey.

Likely hoping to make up for it with a birdie on the par-5 fourth hole, he instead lost his drive left there as well and once again found the bunker.

That time, he wasn't up against one of the ridges and was able to advance it far enough down the fairway to save par — perhaps already dreading the next time he had to stare down what may be the most famous bunker in the sport.

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