Dustin Johnson was all business on Thursday at St. Andrews.
Johnson used his length off the tee and accurate short irons to carve out a flawless 65 at the Old Course to take the early lead at the 144th Open Championship.
He took total advantage of easy scoring conditions early with a front nine that was yielding birdies by the bushel. He had three going out and added an eagle at the par five fifth that got him to 31 going out.
The runnerup in the U.S. Open was just as impressive coming in when the winds began to freshen and the holes got tougher. He punctuated his round with a great par save at the Road Hole, often called the easiest par five in golf. Only problem is that it is a par four and was playing as the toughest hole for the field.
Johnson was out of position with his tee shot, left his approach well short of the green. He went high with a flop shot and left himself 15 feet for par. He holed it for his four to keep his round free of bogeys. “Longest putt I made all day,” he said afterward.
“It’s all about navigating the bunkers out here,” he said, pointing at the key to his first-day success. “Today I drove it really straight. I drove it well.” He also hit 16 greens and used just 28 putts.
He was a shot in front of four players who shot 66s in the morning half of the draw.
Jason Day was one of them and his two-under par 34 on the back was one of the best inward performances. For Day, it was the first time he’s broken 70 at St. Andrews. “Five years ago I was grinding to make the cut on the number,” Day said when he was done for the day. “I’m feeling much better,” he said of his overall health this week. He was more than pleased with his score over the final nine holes.
“I feel like I played solid coming in,” Day added.
He was in a group with Robert Streb, Retief Goosen and former Open champion Paul Lawrie.
