Johnson takes 1-shot lead in Boston
World No. 1 shoots 66; Garcia 1 behind
NORTON, Mass. - Now that he’s finally won again, Dustin Johnson is starting to look as dangerous as ever.
One week after Johnson ended a fivemonth dry spell brought on by a back injury, he easily handled the early cold and a steady win at TPC Boston for a 5-under 66 to take a one-shot lead in the opening round of the Dell Technologies Championship.
And the world’s No. 1 player made it look easy on a tough day for scoring.
He started with a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 10. He made the turn with a 6-iron from 220 yards that sailed high and rode the left-to-right wind into 4 feet for eagle. When another big tee shot settled into a divot on the reachable par-5 second hole, he laid up short of the water and still made birdie.
“Put together a pretty good score,” Johnson said.
Masters champion Sergio Garcia (67) opened with five birdies on the front nine, and then saved his day with a par on his final hole. He hooked his tee shot into the trees, got a bounce into the rough, laid up and then hit wedge to 12 feet and made the putt.
Marc Leishman and Kyle Stanley were one shot back among the early starters who had to face the surprising chill of morning, a cruel reminder that the end of a New England summer is not far away.
Jon Rahm birdied four of his last five holes and was in the group at 68. Phil Mickelson, in his last tournament before the picks are made for the Presidents Cup, felt more energy after seeing a doctor and kept his focus on enough good shots for a 69.
“It was nice to have a solid round,” Mickelson said, who had not broken par in the opening round since The Greenbrier in early July. “I played well tee-togreen, and it made for a stress-free day on a very difficult day.”
Johnson played in the group featuring the top three in the FedEx Cup. PGA champion Justin Thomas made 16 pars in his round of 71. British Open champion Jordan Spieth, who lost to Johnson in a sudden-death playoff last week on Long Island, didn’t make a birdie until his 13th hole and shot 72.
“Each part of my game was a little off,” Spieth said.
Nothing looked wrong with Johnson, except for one bad swing and one aggressive putt.
His 25-foot birdie attempt on the 14th hole ran about 5 feet by the cup, and he missed that coming back to slow some early momentum. He bounced back with a wedge into 6 feet for birdie, made eagle on the 18th to reach the turn at 4 under and then had a simple iron off the tee at No. 1. But it sailed right into the woods in a hazard, and he punched out and missed an 8-foot par putt.
Otherwise, there was very little stress except for one young fan who kept referring to him as “Shank.”
“When you win, you’re playing well, so it gives you a lot of confidence,” Johnson said. “For me, that was one thing that was probably lacking a little bit the last few months is just the confidence, because I wasn’t seeing the shots that I wanted to see. I wasn’t consistently hitting them. But after last week, I’ve got a lot of confidence now. I feel like the things I’ve been working on, they are back to working.”
That was as close as a dissertation on golf as the No. 1 player will allow. Johnson doesn’t spend deep analysis over the way he plays. He sees the shot, pulls a club and usually hits it where he’s aiming. That’s what led him to three straight victories going into the Masters until he wrenched his back when he slipped on the stairs and had to withdraw from the first major of the year.
The victory last week was his fourth of the year, tied with Thomas for most on the PGA Tour this season.
As easy as it looked for Johnson, it was anything but that for Kelly Kraft. At No. 64 in the FedEx Cup, his season might be over after he took a 12 on the par-5 second hole. Kraft hit his third into the water and his fifth shot over the green. He tried to hit a shot from a native area, took another penalty drop to go back to the fairway and hit that one into the water. He eventually two-putted for a 12 and withdrew after 14 holes with a sore foot.
Ryan Moore, who missed time with a shoulder injury this summer, had four double bogeys in his round of 82. He also withdrew.
LPGA Tour
PORTLAND, Ore. - Stacy Lewis shot an 8-under 64 on Friday for a share of the Cambia Portland Classic lead — and a chance to make a big donation to hurricane relief in her hometown.
From The Woodlands in the Houston area, Lewis is giving her earnings this week to the relief efforts. The 11-time LPGA Tour champion also is trying to win for the first time since 2014.
Two-time defending champion Brooke Henderson and first-round leader In Gee Chun matched Lewis at 10-under 134 at tree-lined Columbia Edgewater. Henderson played a five-hole stretch in 5 under in a 67, and Chun had a 68.
Ai Miyazato was two strokes back after a 67 in her final start in the United States. The Japanese star plans to retire after The Evian Championship in two weeks in France.
Champions Tour
CALGARY, Alberta - Kevin Sutherland shot an 8-under 62 on Friday to take one-stroke lead over California childhood rival Scott McCarron in the PGA Tour Champions’ Shaw Charity Classic.
Sutherland played his final nine — the front nine at Canyon Meadows — in 6-under 29.
— Wire services