Zach Johnson leads The Open Championship on day one – Golf news
Former Masters champion Zach Johnson fired a five-under par 66, in the opening round of The Open Championship to take a one-stroke lead over Mark O’Meara and Rafael Cabrera-Bello, on Thursday, July 18, 2013.
The tournament is being staged at Muirfield Golf Club, which is known as one of the best golf courses in the world.
Johnson made a similar start to his campaign at the 142nd edition of the tournament, as he did in the 141st edition of the event last year.
The American, who also posted a 65 in Lytham last year and eventually finished ninth, got off to an amazing start and was five under for the round through seven holes, courtesy of three birdies and a scintillating eagle on the fifth hole.
After draining par putts on each of the next two hole, he reached the turn in 31. The back nine of the course witnessed him adding just one shot, while conceding a single bogey, to finish day one on top of the leaderboard.
Talking to the reporters after finishing his round, Johnson expressed his pleasure in maintaining a good form. Last week, he participated in the John Deere Classic and finished tied second after losing to Jordon Spieth in the three-way sudden-death playoffs.
“I think this game demands resilience. If anything, what I've embraced from last week is the fact that I'm playing great and I can put that into play, and I'm certainly somewhat confident in what I'm doing, confident in my routines,” he said.
O’Meara, the 56-year-old veteran star, was also delighted with his performance in the opening round and was pleased to contend against some of the best young players in the world.
“Do I think I can (win)? When I play like I did today, yeah, I think I can,” he said. “I didn't feel like I was 56 years old out there, I felt like I was 32. I know I haven't won a lot in the last 10, 11 years of my career, but I've been close a lot,” added
the Spaniard, who will be contending in the Senior Open next week at Royal Birdlake.
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