Dustin Johnson brought his traveling long-drive show to Canada on Thursday and made it look easy as he shot 66 at Glen Abbey to grab a share of the first round lead at the Canadian Open.
D.J. was four-under going to the 524 yard 18th, but a massive drive left him just 147 yards to the hole. His approach stopped nine feet from the cup and he made the putt to post 66 along with Luke List.
While everyone knows the reigning U.S. Open champ, List is one of those weekly strugglers on the PGA Tour. In the 22 events he’s played this year, he’s missed the cut in a dozen of them.
Johnson was looking at a really good score had it not been for an errant drive on the par four 14th where he pulled his shot and found water on the left side of the hole. He took double there. “I drove it really well today. The only bad swing I made was there at 14,” Johnson said afterward. “I kept it in the fairway for the most part and that let me put more spin on my approach shots. It was blowing pretty good out there,” he said of the breezes that came up in the afternoon.
List was part of the early morning wave. He had only one birdie on the front but came to life with five on the back, including all three of the par fives on that inward nine. “I birdied all the fives, if I can play them four-under every day, I should be okay,” List said.
The surprise of the day was the performance by Canadian amateur Jared du Toit. The rising senior at Arizona State shot a five-under par 67 and that put him in a group that included another Sun Devil — John Rahm. Rahm turned pro last month and has proven to be an immediate impact player with a lot of firepower.
It was an up-and-down day for world’s No. 1 and defending champion Jason Day. He played in the morning wave and posted a three-under par 69.
