US PGA: It’s a breeze for Dustin Johnson as he takes a first step towards solving Major issue

Game of patience: Dustin Johnson kept a cool head during his opening round
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Kevin Garside14 August 2015

Even the climate gods are willing Dustin Johnson to that maiden Major title. If the forecasts hold up, overnight leader Johnson will have the better of the conditions today with the wind predicted to drop about the time he sinks his first tee in the ground this afternoon.

In the calm of yesterday morning under grey skies Johnson fashioned a gorgeous 66, including an eagle at the 16th, to lead by one from David Lingmerth. Zach Johnson, who played in the afternoon’s alpha group alongside Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, claimed the course played two-clubs longer for them.

But for a bogey at the last McIlroy would have had the better of Spieth on his much anticipated return to the game 53 days after he last hit a competitive ball.

The ankle he ruptured six weeks ago stood up to the demands here at Whistling Straits and had his putter been more responsive he might easily have gone to his bed with a share of the lead, instead of parity with Spieth, five off the lead on one under par.

That is not to deny Johnson his day in the sun. The challenge for him is to convert yet another Major opportunity. He led for two rounds at the Open before falling away and had a putt to win at the US Open a month earlier.

It was here in 2010, of course, that he grounded his club on scrub at the last after failing to recognise it as a bunker when leading by a stroke. Earlier that summer he took a three-shot lead into the final round of the US Open at Pebble Beach and did not win. Neither his reputation nor his psyche can sustain many more meltdowns, despite his relentlessly upbeat protestations to the contrary.

“I really felt I had my ball under control a lot like the US Open,” he said. “We’ll just have to see what happens. It’s only the first round. We’ve still got a lot of golf to play. All I’m looking for is a chance to get it done on Sunday.

“When you try to push and make things happen that’s when you can make some big numbers in the Majors. I thought I did a great job of just staying patient, hitting the shots the course allowed me too. I struck the ball well so I was very pleased.”

So, too, was McIlroy, who despite starting and ending with a bogey, touched the heights in between. Of the two Spieth had to be the happier, which is testament to the quality of McIlroy’s golf, which deserved greater reward.

“I felt it was good. It was a solid round,” McIlroy said. “Obviously, I was pretty nervous on the first tee. It was nice to get that opening tee shot out of the way. It wasn’t the best of starts, but to hit those two shots on the second hole and make birdie, that sort of settled me down and I could get into the round. I think anything under par this afternoon was a decent score.

“I was a bit anxious coming back and seeing how my game’s going to react whenever I’m put under a little bit of pressure and have a card in my hand and have to really score. Once I got those first couple holes out of the way, I settled into the round really nicely.”

Spieth concurred. “I didn’t see any difference in his game. He seems 100 per cent ready. Everything seemed to be on point and I expect him to move up the board,” he said.

There were moments of excellence from the world No2, including a chip-in at the 12th for birdie and his lasered approach to four feet to set up another birdie at the par-five 16th. McIlroy raised his hand to salute that one.

The fireworks were, however, largely a thing of the morning when Johnson played like the champion he has so often promised to be. Over to you, Dustin.

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