TOOTHLESS ‘CHAMBERS’ BITES TIGER
WOODS SHOOTS 10-OVER-PAR 80 AT Open; Dustin SHARES LEAD AT -5 /
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — Dustin Johnson always had a big game. But we’re still waiting to see if he can handle the big moment. Few people on this planet are blessed with the gifts Johnson can display on a golf course. If only we can trust him to make the most of it.
It should be no surprise the long-hitting Johnson shared the first-round lead in the 115th U.S. Open. Johnson’s 5-under-par 65 matched Henrik Stenson, another long-hitter from Sweden.
Chambers Bay with its fast fairways and elevated greens favored the long hitters, especially during a morning session played in pristine conditions. Johnson took advantage rolling in six birdies against one bogey.
“I thought that it was a golf course where I could do well,” Johnson said as players like Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods were just beginning their opening round in the afternoon. “The fairways are wide enough to where you can hit a lot of fairways and I did that. The tricky part is coming into the greens. It’s really getting a good number, getting a good feel of how the ball is bouncing.”
Johnson seems to have a good feel for life these days, which would make it one of golf ’s feelgood stories should he win his first major championship this weekend. It wasn’t long ago we weren’t sure whether Johnson would ever live up to his enormous potential.
Last July 31, he announced he was taking the rest of the season off to seek professional help for what he described as “personal challenges.” The next day, Golf Magazine reported Johnson had been suspended f rom t he PGA Tour for six months after testing positive for cocaine. This was Johnson’s third positive drug test, according to the magazine.
PGA Tour officials offered a mild rebuttal saying Johnson’s leave of absence was voluntary and that he was not under suspension.
If not under suspension, Johnson was definitely under suspicion. Interestingly, his voluntary absence lasted the exact length of a drug suspension, almost validating the rumors of drug use.
Johnson returned to the Tour this year a new father with a new attitude. He says he has matured after his fiancée, Paulina Gretzky,
“I really felt like I swung it well all day. I hit a lot of quality iron shots. So the confidence is definitely there. I feel really good about where I’m at.”
—Dustin Johnson
gave birth to a son, Tatum, and his golf game seems to be maturing as well. A nine-time winner on Tour, Johnson has six top-10 finishes this year, including a win at the WGC Cadillac at Doral.
He withdrew from the FedEx St. Jude Classic last week after feeling ill, offering him a chance to physically and mentally prepare for Thursday’s opening round of the U.S. Open.
“I really felt like I swung it well all day,” Johnson said. “I hit a lot of quality iron shots. So the confidence is definitely there. I feel really good about where I’m at.”
It was Johnson’s best round in a major championship, testing fate in the majors which haven’t always been kind to the South Carolina native. He is best remembered for enduring a twostroke penalty on the final hole of regulation during the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. It knocked him out of a playoff eventually won by Martin Kaymer.
Earlier that year, he had the 54-hole lead at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, but shot an 82 in the final round and finished eighth. He was T-4 at Pinehurst last year.
Johnson is the type that seldom shows his emotions, and once admitted during interviews with ESPN that he abused alcohol to relieve stress. With his personal life seemingly stabilized, Johnson’s golf game is looking stress free. He averaged 336.5 yards off the tee, hit 14-of-18 greens in regulation and escaped most of the trouble lurking on the links-style course.
“You can’t really overpower this course,” Johnson insisted. “It definitely is a second-shot course. Coming in with shorter irons helps to control your spin, control your ball. Today, I did a really job of that.”
Let’s hope Johnson can keep control of his life as well.