Dustin Johnson bounced back impressively from his US Open heartbreak

Rich Beem reflects on an intriguing opening day of the 144th Open at St Andrews, and he would not be surprised to see Dustin Johnson end his run of major near-misses as soon as this weekend.

I've enjoyed watching the first day of the Open at the Home of Golf, and it's fair to say the early starters certainly had the better of the conditions. Zach Johnson's 66 in the worst of the weather was a great effort, but the bulk of the low scores came in the morning.

There were a bunch of 66s, and it was nice to see Paul Lawrie among them. I'd love to see him up there contending on Sunday. But everyone is chasing Dustin Johnson, who has bounced back impressively from his last-hole collapse at the US Open last month.

Johnson and Jordan Spieth could be in for another major showdown

His round today will have helped his mindset tremendously, bearing in mind what happened to him at Chambers Bay. He said he’s already forgotten about it, and I can buy that. To go out and shoot 65 shows that losing that US Open is not going to defy him.

I still believe Dustin will win his majors, there's no doubt in my mind. And we could see this happen as soon as Sunday. This golf course is tailor-made for him. He can hit it low, flat, high, soft - whatever shot he needs to do, he is capable of hitting. To me, it was no surprise to see him shoot 65.

Jordan gets his preparation right, and he's able to dissect a golf course - that's what he did so brilliantly at Augusta.

Rich Beem

Jordan Spieth raced to five under par after seven holes and finished with a 67, not a bad start for somebody bidding for a calendar grand slam of majors.

He's so tenacious, he's gifted, and he's kind of like Tiger Woods in that he does not like to lose. He's just got that rare quality about him; he thinks about everything he's doing out there and doesn't miss a thing.

Well-prepared

Jordan gets his preparation right, and he's able to dissect a golf course - that's what he did so brilliantly at Augusta. Everyone talks about the quirks of St Andrews and how you have to play there to fully understand the course, but Jordan retains information so well.

Spieth has an uncanny memory which helps him dissect golf courses

I'll be shocked if he didn't watch some highlights of previous Opens at St Andrews, and I guarantee that after being here for three days, he'll have known it as well as anybody.

He's got an uncanny memory. I talked to his college coach who is actually a buddy of mine, and he said that Jordan could go out and play 18 holes anywhere and then be able to tell you everything about that course. He'll have studied the Old Course in great detail, particularly the fairway bunkering, and he would have worked out exactly where he can, and can't, hit it.

As for Tiger, he shot 76 and has his work cut out just to make it to the weekend. I don't think he has lost his desire, but there is certainly a confidence issue there. I wouldn't go as far to say he's got the yips, but he is clearly not right. I saw him play one chip at the 12th, and he just flat out chunked it.

Woods struggled again and is clearly lacking confidence, says Beem

Tiger has other things going on in his life. He said earlier this week that his kids were his No 1 priority, so maybe he's not quite as focused on his game as he used to be.

But it’s a shame to see his game like this. I talked to somebody today whose buddy is a renowned psychologist, and he wrote a book and included a whole chapter just on Tiger Woods. He wrote about how Tiger had been built up as a 'brand' and we're starting to see now that every brand has its life cycle.

His brand has taken a beating and this really might be it for Tiger, and you would hate to see that because he was so good for so long. He deserves to go out in better circumstances. It's easy to jump on him - we've all heard what Paul Azinger said about him - but I'm inclined to give him a break. It's time to leave him alone.