Dustin Johnson Shoots 66, Leads By 1 at the PGA Championship

After just one round of play at Whistling Straits, the leader of the 2015 PGA Championship thus far is a familiar face; that of our pick Dustin Johnson. He sits at 6-under par and holds a single shot lead over David Lingmerth. This is the third major in a row that Dustin has held the lead after 18 holes.

Dustin's round yesterday consisted of five birdies, an eagle, and a bogey which led to his 66 (note that the course record on the Straits course is 64). He also showed us that he's both long and accurate off the tee, hitting 10 of 14 fairways (fairways which are some of the tightest on tour) and missing only one GIR. On some holes, his distance was an advantage, as he was able to hit the ball over danger zones that other golfers might find themselves it. Typically, golfers either hit the ball a long way or are very accurate, but having both traits is a deadly combination.

Like we saw in the British Open, the afternoon tee times of the first round played in tougher conditions. The scoring average here was a 74.91, compared to a 73.41 in the morning. This was mainly due to high winds that came in off Lake Michigan. Some good rounds were shot in the afternoon, i.e. David Lingmerth's 67. The toughest hole of the day was the 501-yard par 4 18th. It played with a scoring average of 4.654. “You have to hit the fairway,” Danny Lee said after his round; it's as simple as that.

Some other rounds of note were Rory McIlroy's 71. Rory seeks to defend his title this week; he was unable to do so at the British Open due to a soccer injury. He sits at T26 due to an up and down round filled with four birdies and three bogeys. He even found himself in tough water, literally. On the 5th, he landed his ball in shallow water and his ball was partially submerged. The World Number One decided then to just play the shot from the water, rolling one pant leg up (no Stensen undressing required here) and hitting. He landed the ball well on the green and sank the par putt for an incredible up and down. We also saw no lingering signs of McIlroy's injury too, which is great news.

Finally, here's how are picks are doing:

1) Dustin Johnson: 1st at 6-under
2) Jim Furyk: 1-over at T55
3) Jason Day: T3 at 4-under

We talked about Dustin earlier. Furyk shot a 73 yesterday and despite being one of the most accurate players on Tour, his round mostly involved taking and giving shots back all day. He carded four birdies but five bogeys. Jason Day, to no one's surprise, shot a 68 and carded an eagle on the 2nd, three birdies and a bogey. Similar to Dustin, he also hit all GIR's and leads the field in driving distance (Dustin is 2nd); factors which probably led to his success. It just goes to show you how key distance and accuracy will be this week.

There's still a lot of golf to be played. Today's early tee times are currently underway and TV coverage should be on this afternoon. Stay tuned for our next post!


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Dustin Johnson once again leads another major this year