OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — Golf hasn’t felt this easy to Dustin Johnson since he was making it hard for anyone to beat him.
Coming off a week in the Bahamas and switching to his old putter to rely more on feel, Johnson ran off three birdies over his last six holes to finish with a 5-under 65 and trailed Russell Henley by one shot after the opening round of the Northern Trust.
Johnson missed only two fairways and two greens, and finished with a shot up a hill to 4 feet for one last birdie that gave him his lowest round since he won in February to rise to No. 1 in the world.
“Today was much easier than it has been in the past,” Johnson said. “I’ve been saying it’s close and I’ve seen signs of it. But today was the first day where I felt like all day I was really in control of the swing. Hit a lot of really good shots. Drove it well. Did everything really well. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve done that.”
LPGA: Marina Alex shot a 5-under 66 to take the lead in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at Ottawa, Ontario, and a Canadian star, Brooke Henderson, was in danger of missing the cut after a 74.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Wade Ormsby of Australia and Matt Wallace and Steve Webster of England shared the lead at 7-under 64 after the first round of the Made In Denmark tournament at Farso, Denmark.
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