A double-bogey on his final hole left Martin Kaymer with a bitter taste in his mouth after he had played good, grinding golf for most of his opening round at the PGA Championship on Thursday.
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Sweden’s David Lingmerth briefly caught Johnson after 14 holes but three-putted the next and had to settle for an impressive 67, one shot ahead of a group of seven players which included Australian Jason Day and Matt Kuchar of the United States.
Johnson is now 20-under par in the first rounds of the four majors this year.
But on Thursday, Johnson showcased the power off the tee that puts him in contention in the first place.
At stake for Spieth is an opportunity to be the first player to sweep the three American majors in the same season.
Wold number one and defending champion McIlroy, playing competitively for the first time since June’s US Open having damaged ankle ligaments playing football on July 4, had to be content with his one-under 71.
In the Open Championship, No. 17 was the tournament’s nightmare hole. Fans from all over the country are in town to sleep, eat and play some golf themselves.
It certainly was for Johnson. His 75-75 on the weekend at St. Andrews was grotesque.
“I did get a good start that front nine, but I was very disappointed how I continued my play that week”, said Lingmerth, who claimed his first US PGA Tour title at the Memorial this year. That was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to us. He hit 4-iron to 30 feet and made eagle on No. 16.
“Today was pretty easy, I would have to say”.
“I wish I could have been one or two shots better, but hopefully I will go out there on the back nine on Friday, where there are some chances, and get off to a good start”. Apart from that, I’m not going to stop doing what I do.
“Hopefully I can hit the ball as well as I did today tomorrow and make some putts”, he said. Jordan Spieth, who seems to never miss putts, couldn’t make one. “Because if the water gets through this shoe, then the tape gets wet and then that would be a little more than just sort of annoying or uncomfortable for the rest of the day”. But it was fine.
“I have my tournament (the Hero World Challenge) down in the Bahamas. I think anything under par this afternoon was a decent score”. Woods’ own coaches, plenty of self-appointed coaches watching on TV and more than a few pros have offered advice on how Woods could, or should, re-locate the stroke that made him almost unbeatable once.
McIlroy had to play sideways from an awkward sidehill lie in the rough on the eighth and carded his second bogey of the round, but again responded immediately with a birdie on the next following a superb approach to four feet.
“I just had no feel at all for the speed”.
“If I hadn’t passed that test, I wouldn’t have been here”, he said.
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That cost him a spot in the playoff. He three-putted from about 15 feet on the par-5 11th for a bogey. They play a game designed to torture you, to break your spirit in half, and acknowledging that tee-to-green ghosts and goblins exist is the equivalent of inviting them to join you on the 72nd green.
