Five years after golf’s ‘Bunkergate’ and Dustin Johnson sought to bury his Whistling Straits demons with a stunning six under par 66 on the opening day of the PGA Championship in Wisconsin.
Johnson grabbed an eagle, five birdies and dropped one shot to end the opening round a shot clear of Sweden’s David Lingmerth.
In contrast to 2010 when Johnson was slapped with a two-stroke penalty in grounding his club in an 18th hole bunker, the 31-year old American played a laser-like on the final fairway, some 100 yards left of where he went five years ago, in making a regulation par and moments after eagling the 16th.
American Dustin Johnson follows his drive on the 16th during the opening round of the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits (Photo: Anthony Powter)
But then Johnson was again at his laid-back best as once again, and just two months after letting slip victory in the U.S. Open, in putting himself again in contention for a first Major.
“I don’t know what I am better and I’m just trying to play a little better each year, so you’re guess is as good as mine,” he said.
“But then it was nice to have a putt on 18 for birdie after the last time I played the hole. “I had about 10 to 12 feet and it just missed on the right side, but it was two great shots into the last”.
And while handing victory to Jordan Spieth at Chambers Bay, Johnson is aslo out to make amends for a good two round start in last month’s Open but only fade with a weekend pair of 75s at St. Andrews.
