Vintage Goose spreads his wings at St Andrews as Johnson leads
“BITE, bite, bite ... bite!” yelled the normally quietly-spoken Retief Goosen. He was pleading with his golf ball to ‘bite’ (stop quickly) as it descended onto the green with his approach shot at the notoriously difficult par-4 17th Road Hole on the Old Course in round one of The Open Championship yesterday.
The 46-year-old veteran of the fairways knew only too well that if the ball didn’t bite, it would in all probability roll down onto the tar road beside the green and a splendid round could easily be spoiled.
Well, the ball did bite but not quite enough. It slipped down the bank but, fortunately, stopped on a narrow strip of grass next to the road. From here the ‘Goose’ hit an exquisite chip to within about a metre from the cup and coolly rolled in the putt for a four. The great par-save enabled him to keep the momentum going and he birdied the last by sinking a tricky 10-footer for a sevenbirdie, six-under-par 66.
This was the Goosen of old at the Home of Golf when in 1997 and 1998 he led South Africa to successive victories in the 16-nation Dunhill Cup by winning all five of his medal match play games both years. Put the Goose on St Andrews, it seems, and his golf game lights up. Yesterday he was simply superb, with his only blemish being a bogey at No3.
“Today I made a few good putts, and it all comes down to putting, especially on the front nine, the way it was playing,” said Goosen.
“It’s a golf course I’ve played for a long time, and the last two Opens that were here, I think I finished fifth and sixth or something, so I do like the course. So yeah, I would like to be there come Sunday and maybe have a chance, who knows. It would be great.”
Goosen was not the only South African to shine at the Open yesterday. Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen both shot superb fiveunder-par 67s, while Brendan Grace finished with a four– under-par 68.
Leader Dustin Johnson’s seven-under-par 65 on a grey and chilly day on the Fife coast included several monstrous blows that twice saw him nearly reach the green on parfour holes from the tee.
Five birdies and an eagle, and a stunning par-saving putt at the notorious ‘ Road Hole’, gave the 31-year-old the firstround lead to help dispel any lingering disappointment from last month’s US Open where a three-putt at the 72nd hole cost him the chance of a first major.
With the weather expected to take a turn for the worse on Friday with heavy rain and wind predicted, 2011 runner-up Johnson said putting down a low number had been his priority.
“Everybody knows the weather Friday and Saturday is going to be very difficult, so today I thought was very important to get off to a good start and try to make as many birdies as you can,” Johnson, who averaged 322 yards off the tee, told reporters.
Jordan Spieth still displayed the hallmarks of a potential champion with a composed opening round of 67.
The 21-year-old American, making only his third appearance in the tournament, kept his head when the St Andrews course tripped him up and showed an unerring touch with the hottest putter in the game.
His five-under-par score around an Old Course becalmed by light breezes, was two worse than leader Johnson who consistently belted his ball further than his compatriot. Not that he cared. “I’ve played enough golf with him to believe in my skill set that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has,” Spieth said of Johnson’s spectacular round.
“I expect when he stands on the tee it’s going to be up there miles and down the fairway. I also expect that I can birdie each hole. It’s just a little different route.”