“And it worked out”.
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Ron has been very impressed with Johnson’s ability to bounce back from bad finishes at previous tournaments saying, “he’s sort of becoming the Greg Norman of his generation”.
Then, on No. 8, with the ball tucked just in front of the back lip, he was lucky to get it out of the sand and into the heavy rough.
Johnson is now 20-under par in the first rounds of the four majors this year.
Jordan Spieth moved into the mix to win his third Major of the year after showing rusty Rory McIlroy he is now the best player on the planet, writes Neil McLeman in Wisconsin.
And one round into the PGA Championship, here he is again.
“When I came here, I was thinking just to make my game better and better and on Sunday, I can be in the top 10”, Iwata said through a translator. There were lot many sub-par scores in the morning than in the afternoon. “We’ll just have to see what happens”. It’s only the first round. “But until then, we have a lot to play for”.
The Swede pumped his right arm after finishing with a birdie putt on the par-4 18th, which has been the toughest at Whistling Straits. They are five shots behind Dustin Johnson and David Lingmerth, who began his round with a birdie to get to 6 under.
The two stroke penalty and a missed putt at the 72nd hole cost him a place in the playoff won by Germany’s Martin Kaymer.
There was no chance of a repeat Thursday.
Brian Gaffney is taking a break from his real job as a club pro at Quaker Ridge in New York. Besides, he smashed his drive far and left, leaving him nothing more than a 7-iron to the green. At the last minute, he switched up to a 9-iron and watched it release to 5 feet for another birdie.
This was his first PGA Championship and only his second time playing in the United States, following an appearance at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he failed to make the cut.
He said he’s most comfortable playing in the lead. He had the 36-hole lead at St. Andrews until he disappeared on the weekend.
“It’s the ideal start”, said Rose. By the end of the week, it was Zach Johnson who had his name on the claret jug.
DUSTIN PART II: Johnson has the first part down.
Johnson knew he was in trouble at the British Open, though.
“I’m still not pleased with the way I’m driving the ball at all“, he said. The number this year was 14, and Spieth hit that last week at Firestone.
And it showed on a breezy morning.
“I put some work in (on the range) last night and it paid off today”, said Coetzee, who won two European Tour events earlier this year before losing form over the past three months.
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That wasn’t the case with Justin Rose, who was one shot behind and coming off back-to-back birdies to pull within one shot of the lead. He thought about that round Thursday when he made five birdies in his opening five holes, and had a good look at another on the par-3 17th. He really got going with a 4-iron to 30 feet for eagle on the 16th.
