D.J.’S NEW SPIN
Johnson shakes off Open choke, shoots 7-under 65 to lead by 1
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland − If Dustin Johnson is to bury his demons next to Old Tom Morris in the hard ground of the Home of Golf, the true test will come Sunday, when the balconies will be spilling over as he comes up 18 and when, perhaps, he will be trying to hold off Jordan Spieth’s bid for a third straight major win.
On Thursday at least, the memory of Johnson’s U.S. Open gift to Spieth was tucked away. He overpowered the Old Course as Jack Nicklaus, John Daly and Tiger Woods once did, making it look as easy as the early morning conditions and as routine as it should have been at Chambers Bay.
A bogey-free, 7-under-par 65 staked Johnson to a one-shot lead over Zach Johnson, ’99 champ Paul Lawrie, Retief Goosen, Rob Streb, Danny Willett and Jason Day, who was in the foursome of players that went into the final round of the U.S. Open tied for the lead.
Spieth was lurking two shots back. Playing in the same group as Johnson, he was pleased with his 67, a good start with two tough weather days looming.
Spieth knows what he’s up against − and what he may have avoided in the U.S. Open playoff that never happened.
“I saw a 65 in our group, and if D.J. keeps driving it the way he is, then I’m going to have to play my best
golf to have a chance,” he said. “It’s hard to argue with somebody who’s splitting bunkers at about 380 yards and just two-putting for birdie on five or six of the holes when there are only two par-5s. I don’t have that in the bag, so I’ve got to make up for it with ball-striking.”
And putting. Spieth is arguably the best long putter in the game − a requirement at St. Andrews. For all the fuss about him not getting here early, he carried over the momentum of his win at the John Deere Classic with his prowess on the greens. Two bunkers — the Coffins on 13 and the Road on 17 — got him for bogeys, but he bounced back, as he has been doing, with a curling 15-foot birdie to finish off the round. That’s also why Spieth isn’t intimidated. “I would imagine it can be (intimidating) for some,” he said. “I’ve played enough golf with him (Johnson) to where I believe in my skill set that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has. No, 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 when I stand on the tee. It just happens to be a little different route.”
Fast starts are not unusual for Johnson. He is now 28-under-par in the opening rounds of his last five majors. That includes the U.S. Open, where no one outplayed him tee-to-green, all for naught. “I’ve said a bunch of times, the U.S. Open . . . there’s really nothing to be upset about,” he insisted. “I played well. I did everything I was supposed to do. I mean, I was even hitting good putts. There was nothing you could do on those greens there to make the ball go where you wanted it to. The ball went wherever the greens wanted it to, not where you wanted it to.”
Johnson, Day and Spieth got the better end of the draw Thursday and could again Friday in a changing forecast. The front nine played as easy as it ever has when the morning began, but conditions soon began to deteriorate.
The back nine was a beast. David Lingmerth shot 29 going out, 40 coming in. Spieth was thrilled playing the back nine in even par.
By the afternoon wave, the wind was blowing 8-10 miles per hour harder. And it was a damp, cold wind that made players thrilled just to get in the house in one piece.
Winning this will not be easy. And for Johnson, it never is.