Zach Johnson moving on the right path at the Open Championship
Zach Johnson is currently moving on the right path of becoming the first player, since Lee Trevino in 1971, to win the British Open right after one week of his PGA Tour victory.
Johnson did not have a very good start, as he went one-over for the round with a bogey on the third hole. However, he bounced back strongly with a birdie on the very next hole.
Another six birdies through to the 16th hole allowed him to take the sole second position on the leaderboard, at six-under par.
“I just kept the golf course in front of me and hit some solid shots,” he said. “Benign conditions like that, you have to take advantage and fortunately I made a few putts”.
However, he failed to hold on to his nerves and bogeyed the 17th hole that dragged him to share the position with another two players.
Tiger Woods, the three-time British Open champion, also enjoyed a reasonably good start and carded four birdies against a lone bogey to settle for a shared sixth position on the leaderboard.
"It's just a question of selecting the right club to get there,” Woods said. “I played practice rounds on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and they were completely different clubs based on the winds".
In the meantime, the reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson also joined Woods on the leaderboard, with the same number of birdies and bogeys as Woods.
"When I'm on my game, I can compete with the best. Now I know going forward, I have a chance to win again,” he said. “I have a chance to compete every Sunday, so that's my goal, just keep doing that".
Other big names who were tied for the sixth position include the world number two Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker and Ernie Els.
Lee Westwood, on the other hand, gave a disappointing performance on day one and settled for a three-over par 73. He is currently nine strokes behind the leader, Adam Scott.
Therefore, he will have to make a strong comeback on day two if he wants to let his hopes alive for the first major title victory of his career at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club.
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