Johnson co- leader as Woods struggles
Southampton ( New York), June 15: Dustin Johnson negotiated a “hard but fair” Shinnecock Hills to card a one- under- par 69 for a share of the firstround lead at the US Open on Thursday, while Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth were among those falling victim to the tough conditions.
World number one Johnson joined fellow Americans Russell Henley and Scott Piercy and Englishman Ian Poulter at the top, with Jason Dufner a stroke behind on a day when strong winds helped send the scoring average soaring to 76.4.
Among those who succumbed to the conditions were Woods ( 78), Spieth ( 78) and McIlroy ( 80) while Phil Mickelson, who needs victory to complete the career grand slam, missed one fairway all day but could not conjure up his usual deft touch around the greens. He finished with a 77.
Spieth and Woods each made an early triplebogey, while McIlroy was 10- over after 11 holes en route to his highest US Open score.
Johnson’s scariest moment came after a poor drive at the sixth disappeared into the long fescue rough. The ball was only found when former PGA champion Rich Beem, an on- course commentator for British television, trod on it.
“You had to be patient and stay focused all day, which I felt like I did a really good job ( of) today,” Johnson, the 2016 champion, said. “I felt like I did everything pretty well today. I drove it well, hit a lot of quality iron shots, and then my short game was good.”
SHUBHANKAR LIES T- 37 Facing demanding and gusty conditions, Shubhankar Sharma carded a gritty four- over 74 in the opening round to lie tied 37th.
The 21- year- old, who came through the qualifiers in Columbus, had two birdies against six bogeys. “It was pretty tough out there, with some very high scores. I have been here since Friday and played the course a few times, but it was totally different from what it was on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said.