Johnson: Driver working, putter not

Speaking after his opening round of one-under-par-70 at the PGA Championship, Dustin Johnson said that he hit his driver brilliantly but struggled on the speedy Quail Hollow greens.
Johnson has struggled since the early part of June when he missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. In the following four events he missed one more cut (at the US Open) and could only achieve one top-ten. The world number one’s once accurate and powerful driver had seemingly deserted him.
However, on Thursday’s evidence at Quail Hollow, Johnson seems to have found something with his driver. He hit a number of fairways and that made the rest of his game look better than it has in recent weeks.
"I hadn't been swinging that good," said Johnson. "I definitely hadn't had a lot of confidence in the driver.
"This week, I worked hard on it and I got a lot of confidence in the driver. I feel like I'm swinging it really well. Got control over it finally. The ball is kind of starting where I want it to. It's got the right shape.
"Out here, it's a big key. You have got to hit the fairways. That's what I did well today. I hit a lot of fairways. Definitely could have shot a little bit better but it is one under. I think anything under par on this golf course is a pretty good score."
He was less pleased with how things went with putter in hand but conceded that the greens were extremely fast and so being aggressive was not really an option.
"The greens are really fast," Johnson said. "I thought they had a lot of difficult pins out there today.
"That's what is very tough about this golf course. Didn't roll it all that great, but I'm pleased with the score. Only a few shots back. In a major, a few shots can be one hole."
Johnson was one of the early starters on Thursday and so will start later on Friday. If the wind picks up and the greens dry-out, he will need to have both his driver and his putter working if he is to stay in touch with the leaders.
Latest
-
News
Sponsor Ralph Lauren drops Justin Thomas following homophobic slur in Hawaii
The world number three uttered the derogatory word towards himself after missing a putt at Kapalua last weekend.
-
News
Bryson DeChambeau keeping brain relaxed to avoid repeat of Masters misery
DeChambeau said his brain went into overdrive at Augusta National.
-
News
European Tour preparing for business as planned in the Middle East
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is due to start next week.
-
News
Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera arrested in Brazil
The former US Open and Masters winner was on the run from the law.
-
News
On this Day in 2013: Paul McGinley given Ryder Cup captaincy
McGinley would go on to be involved in a sixth Ryder Cup victory.
-
News
Collin Morikawa keen to draw inspiration from family ties to Hawaii at Sony Open
Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas has withdrawn from the event after testing positive for coronavirus.
-
News
R&A: ‘No plans’ for Open to head to Donald Trump-owned Turnberry in near future
Trump National in Bedminster was on Sunday stripped of next year’s US PGA Championship.
-
News
US PGA Championship moved from Donald Trump-owned course in New Jersey
Trump National in Bedminster had been set to host the event.
-
News
Justin Thomas : ‘I made a terrible, terrible judgement call’
Thomas admitted he was distracted by what happened on Saturday during his final round.
-
News
PGA Championship to be moved away from Donald Trump-owned course
It is the second time in six years the PGA has moved an event away from a course owned by Donald Trump.