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 While most golf fans eagerly awaited the 'Rory and Jordan' show that
was to unfold in the afternoon at Whistling Straits, the
long-hitting American racked up an eagle at the par-five 16th, five
birdies and a bogey to card a six-under-par 66.
Swede David Lingmerth, who won his first PGA Tour title at the
Memorial Tournament in June, recorded the best score in the tougher
afternoon conditions as winds gusted up to 28 mph (45 kph), firing a
six-birdie 67 to finish a stroke off the pace.
It was a rewarding and timely opening round for Johnson, who five
years ago incurred a two-stroke penalty on the final hole of the
last PGA Championship to be played here that cost him a spot in a
playoff for the title.
"I thought I did a great job of just staying patient, hitting the
shots that the course allowed me to hit," Johnson said of his
opening round in the year's fourth and final major. "And I struck
the ball well today, so I was very pleased."
Fellow Americans Matt Kuchar, Russell Henley, Harris English, J.B.
Holmes and Scott Piercy, Australians Jason Day and Matt Jones, and
New Zealander Danny Lee opened with 68s on the visually spectacular
but challenging links-style layout.
World number one Rory McIlroy and second-ranked Jordan Spieth, who
between them have won four of the last five majors played, were
among the late starters in a marquee grouping with British Open
champion Zach Johnson.
Watched by massive galleries, all three provided their share of the
spectacular, along with a few mis-steps along the way, before
McIlroy and Spieth wound up with matching 71s and Johnson with a 75.
The return from an ankle injury by McIlroy to defend his PGA
Championship crown this week and Spieth's bid to win a third grand
slam title this year had marked out the season's final major as
extra special, and both remain in contention.
"It was a solid round of golf," said McIlroy, after returning to
competition for the first time in 40 days. "Happy with the way I
struck the ball. I think anything under par this afternoon was a
decent score."
Masters and U.S. Open champion Spieth was delighted with the grit
that he displayed during a round highlighted by a chip-in for birdie
at the par-three 12th.
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"I'm pleased with it," said the 22-year-old American. "Under par was
a good round this afternoon.
"We really battled back after 10 and 11, which were disappointing
holes for me, to salvage an under-par round and really stay in this
tournament."
Spieth missed a 10-footer for birdie at the 10th and ran up his only
bogey of the day at the par-five 11th, where he three-putted from 15
feet.
Four-times champion Tiger Woods, who won the most recent of his 14
majors at the 2008 U.S. Open, did not benefit from his early tee
time as he mixed two birdies with five bogeys on the way to a 75.
"Well, I hit it great today, but I made actually nothing," said
Woods, who totaled 33 putts on the superbly manicured greens at
Whistling Straits. "Probably one of the worst putting rounds I've
had in a very long time."
The 39-year-old American, whose world ranking has shockingly
plummeted to 278th, has missed the cut in his last two majors and
faces an uphill climb if he is to avoid a third in a row for the
first time in his career.
Among the other big names in the field, twice Masters champion Bubba
Watson and five-times major winner Phil Mickelson carded even-par
72s.
(Editing by Larry Fine)
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