PGA Championship: Dustin Johnson pleased with driving accuracy at Quail Hollow
By Mathieu Wood
Last Updated: 10/08/17 9:41pm
Dustin Johnson was pleased with his “solid” opening round of one-under 70 in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
Johnson has struggled to reproduce the early season form which saw him win three successive tournaments since suffering a fall prior to the Masters in April but found some consistency, especially on his back nine which was blemish-free.
The world No 1, who mixed three birdies with two bogeys, was relieved to show some confidence with the driver and admitted that accuracy off the tee is of paramount importance.
"I hadn't been swinging that good," said Johnson. "I definitely hadn't had a lot of confidence in the driver.
"This week, I worked hard on it and I got a lot of confidence in the driver. I feel like I'm swinging it really well. Got control over it finally. The ball is kind of starting where I want it to. It's got the right shape.
"Out here, it's a big key. You have got to hit the fairways. That's what I did well today. I hit a lot of fairways. Definitely could have shot a little bit better but it is one under. I think anything under par on this golf course is a pretty good score."
The 33-year-old, who was one of the early starters in Charlotte, started his opening round at the 10th and made a birdie before further birdies at the 15th along with another at the fifth but acknowledged that conditions on the greens were difficult.
"The greens are really fast," Johnson said. "I thought they had a lot of difficult pins out there today.
"That's what is very tough about this golf course. Didn't roll it all that great, but I'm pleased with the score. Only a few shots back. In a major, a few shots can be one hole."
Jason Day, who played alongside Johnson, also carded a one-under 70 which included an eagle at the par five 7th coupled with three birdies and four bogeys.
The Australian, who won the PGA Championship in 2015, ended his first round in fine style as he gained four strokes over the final five holes.
Patrick Reed finished at two-under after he mixed four birdies with a double bogey in his "steady" opening round.
The American, who is aiming for a maiden major title, made three birdies on his back nine to respond emphatically to a five at the par three 17th, his eighth, and believes his game is heading in the right direction after playing for the ninth week in a row.
"I have got to keep my energy levels up," Reed said. "As the year has been going, I feel like I've been having to play a little bit more.
"I don't feel like things are going exactly how I want to, I don't want to go home and try to work on it at the range. I can go to the range and it the ball perfect every time. I want to fix it on the golf course."
Hideki Matsuyama, coming off the back of winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, continued his impressive recent form with an eventful opening one-under 70.
The world No 3 birdied the final three holes to finish in the red numbers despite three consecutive bogeys from the third initially putting the Japanese back to two-over par for the tournament.
