IT was Colin Montgomerie, self-pronounced sage on all matters Troon, who offered a stout defence of his hometown links earlier in the week. “I don't think it's a bomber's course as such,” he noted, as the game’s big hitters licked their lips at the prospect of taking advantage of some fairly inviting par fours. “Our motto here is Tam Arte Quam Marte which, as I’m sure you’re all aware, means that it's not just with strength, but with skill.”
Dustin Johnson knows as much now. The US Open champion started out as the pre-tournament favourite to take advantage of the benign conditions and Troon’s inviting greens but soon discovered that, whoever ends up cradling the Claret Jug come Sunday night, he will have done so by matching brute strength with a touch of finesse. Johnson did not play poorly but the putts simply did not drop for him. An opening round of 71 means he remains in a decent position heading into day two but still eight shots behind leader Phil Mickelson. It was perhaps instructive that while the world’s media gathered in huge numbers to listen to the man known as Lefty, Johnson could have held his debrief in a phone box with the trio of reporters who pitched up to talk to him. That lack of attention, of course, will not have bothered him at all and he was not overly downbeat either following his opening round.
“I thought it was pretty good,” he said of his efforts. “There were a lot of putts I hit that were really good but just lipped out, like on the last hole. I felt like I was hitting good putts but they just didn’t go in.”
With little wind to protect it, the opening hole – all of 367 yards – looked vulnerable to Johnson’s advances as he strode languidly to the tee just after 2pm like a giraffe in a particularly relaxed frame of mind. Around 10 minutes later later and, sure enough, the American’s ball had come to rest just short of the green. Alas, for Johnson this was not his first dunt off the tee but rather a provisional, his opening effort having gone way right into the rough. After a collective search process that seemed to involve just about anyone who happened to be in the vicinity at the time, Johnson flew his recovery effort across the green and against a crash barrier on the far side. A wedge and two putts later and he had his first bogey of his round. “It was just a poor swing but I still had a good chance to make four with an up and down but didn’t make it,” he explained. “But other than that I felt I played pretty well.”
The one other dropped shot on his round was a six on the par-five 16, the holes on which Johnson had been expected to take advantage with his greater length off the tee, rather than dropping back. The rest of his round was largely incident-free, although there were a few anxious moments when he drove way left on the ninth, Johnson haring up the fairway to get a look at what lay ahead of him. His approach shot was right on line and presented himself with another birdie chance but, again, it would finish just short. It would prove a recurring theme.
He would find himself upstaged in his three-ball – that also included the Scot Russell Knox – by Martin Kaymer, the German shooting a 66 for a share of second. Johnson was impressed. “Martin played great,” said the American. “No bogies, five birdies, so just a really solid round.” It was exactly what had been expected of Johnson.
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