THE OPEN: Johnson leads, Day & Spieth in hot pursuit

BY BRENDAN JAMES IN ST ANDREWS

In the space of 26 days, big-hitting American Dustin Johnson has seemingly put the heartbreak of handing the US Open to Jordan Spieth on a platter well and truly behind him.

The tonic was an unblemished seven under 65 to lead The Open Championship at St. Andrews by one stroke after one round from a group of six players – Americans Robert Streb and Zach Johnson, England’s Danny Willett, South African Retief Goosen, local hero Paul Lawrie and Queensland’s Jason Day.

Dustin Johnson (L) and Jordan Spieth went head-to-head in an intriguing duel during the first round.
PHOTO: Getty Images.

“Well, you know, nothing bad happened at Chambers Bay, so it's not like I was … I wasn't disappointed, really,” Johnson said after his round. “I played really well, did everything I was supposed to. I couldn't control what the ball was doing on the greens there.

“There's really no bad feelings from that, only good. I played really well and then it carried over to today. I played really well today.”

But heading into the second round there will be a constant reminder alongside him in the form of playing partner Spieth, who snatched victory at Chambers Bay courtesy of Johnson’s 72^nd green three-putt. The 21-year-old winner of the year’s first two major championships, who is aiming to win the third leg of the Grand Slam here, is in hot pursuit of Johnson just two strokes back at five under.

Over the front nine holes, the pair was like two prizefighters exchanging punches at close quarters, with neither man willing to back down. They matched each other virtually shot for shot as they followed the Old Course out and away from St Andrews town.

* For all the scores, click on the Open leaderboard to the right.

Johnson, with an eagle at the par-5 5^th and birdies at the 2^nd, 3^rd and 9^th holes, was out in 31. Spieth was clinical with his approach shots, which netted five birdies in the first seven holes. He fell one behind Johnson, who birdied the 10^th, but quickly grabbed him again with a birdie of his own at the par-3 11th hole. It was a fascinating duel … then Spieth blinked.

Spieth tees off on the 17th hole where he made a bogey. PHOTO: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

At the par-4 13^th, one of hardest holes in the opening round, Spieth bogied to fall one back. Fifteen minutes later, Johnson extended the gap to two with a birdie at the par-5 14^th hole. It would be his last, with pars proving harder to come by as the wind started gusting strongly across the course. Johnson’s advantage over Spieth was stretched to three when his countryman found the Road hole bunker and subsequently missed his par-saver from five-feet.

Spieth grabbed that dropped shot back at the last with a heavy breaking birdie putt from 20 feet finding the bottom of the cup. Johnson, looking to make it a 64, saw his putt roll across the face of the hole. But he was happy to take the 65 and move on knowing the weather forecast for Friday and Saturday is heavy rain at times with strong winds.

“I've played well in this tournament the last five years,” Johnson said. “You know, and we've had some pretty good weather in all of them if not most of them. I enjoy it.

“Golf is going to be interesting tomorrow, you know, but I enjoy the challenge. I like it. You've got to be very creative. You've got to use your imagination a lot when you're out there when the wind is blowing that hard.”

Spieth was happy with his start, and even happier he made birdie at the last to make up for the bogey on the 17^th hole.

“It was certainly nice to finish that way. I hit a drive that would have been in big, big trouble on any other hole. Luckily it was the 18th at St. Andrews,” Spieth said.

“To see that putt go in was nice. To steal the one back from 17 and to shoot even par on the back nine, which once you turn into that breeze, is a good score.

“I'm very pleased with the start. 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.

“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's only two par-5s. I don't have that in the bag, so I've got to make up for it with ball-striking.

Jason Day putts out of the Valley of Sin onto the 18th green to save his par and card a 66,
PHOTO: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)

“I've played enough golf with him to where I believe in my skill set that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has. 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.”

Jason Day, who probably could have won the US Open if not for an attack of vertigo, is again putting himself in contention. His bogey-free six under 66 was outstanding with a mix of positive ball-striking and deft touch around the greens, which was evident as he closed out his round.

“17, it was a brutal hole today,” he said. “If you're going to miss, you're going to miss left off the tee, and then having 230 yards out of the rough wasn't too great.

“But I ended up hitting a good 4-iron just to the left of the green there. It was a tough chip, but it was a great up-and-down in the end, and then on 18 I had a perfect number, I just fatted my wedge shot. Unfortunately it wasn't the greatest wedge shot to finish off.

“But I'm not complaining because there was a couple of par saves that I really needed out there today, and I got them.”

The 27-year-old said he hopes health isn’t going to be an issue this week, after a neurologist prescribed him medication to manage his vertigo.

“Speaking with my docs and being on this medicine that I'm on right now definitely helps,” he said. “I know if I have it, it takes a couple days to get rid of, but obviously it's not great to have it in tournaments, but if it comes, it comes. I can't really control it. That's the unfortunate thing.

Adam Scott, celebrating his 35th birthday, narrowly misses a birdie at the 1st hole. PHOTO: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

“I feel good. I should just stay healthy … I feel good. I'm not thinking about falling over on my face again. It's good. I'm not worrying about it and I feel healthy, and I'm good to go.”

Day is the best placed of the 15 Australians contesting this Open Championship. Matt Jones, who also played in the best of the conditions, is at four under. Greg Chalmers, Steven Bowditch and Adam Scott all battled through the cold and windy conditions in the afternoon to post two under 70s.

Major championship debutante Scott Arnold, Geoff Ogilvy, Marc Leishman and Brett Rumford are all one shot back after carding one under 71s.

Geoff Ogilvy drives at the 6th hole en route to his fourth birdie of the day. PHOTO: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images.

Ogilvy was within a shot of Johnson’s clubhouse lead through 12 holes of his round, having birdied the 1^st, 2^nd, 5^th (with a 100-foot birdie putt), 6^th, 10^th and 12^th holes to get to six under. Then he turned for home and, with the wind blowing up to 40km/h into him and off the left, he struggled with bogies coming at the 13^th, 15^th and 16^th holes and a double bogey seven on the par-5 14^th.

Still in the black and with some work to do in the second round to make the cut are John Senden (even), Marcus Fraser (+2), Scott Hend (+2), Adam Bland (+3), Scott Strange (+5) and Rod Pampling (+5).

The cold and wind that dominated most of the day has really compacted the leaderboard with 65 players under par and within six shots of the lead after round one. The weather is expected to turn nasty overnight with winds gusting up to 60km an hour and some heavy rain, which is supposed to subside during the day.