Dustin Johnson finishes first round leading PGA Championship

Dustin Johnson finished his first round on top of the leaderboard in the 2015 PGA Championship, the last major of the year. The former Irmo golfer had five birdies and an eagle along with a bogey to finish his first round at 6-under-par 66.

The South Carolina native birdied his first two holes of the day, starting on the back nine at Whistling Straits and got to 4-under with an eagle on the 16th hole. He had back-to-back birdies to start the front nine, after making the turn, to get to 6-under — a stroke clear of Thomas Bjorn for the lead. This is the third consecutive major where Johnson has held the lead at one point.

Following his first bogey of the day on No. 3, he rebounded with another birdie on the fourth hole to get back to 6-under. Johnson closed with five consecutive pars to maintain his good standing and avoid trouble, something he hasn’t always done in major championships.

Perhaps Johnson’s biggest moment came on a hole where he made par. Johnson avoided anything even resembling a bunker on No. 18 at Whistling Straits.

After finding the middle of the fairway from the tee box, Johnson hit his approach to 6 feet but missed the putt and settled for a par. Disappointing, though hardly like the last time he played No. 18 on this course.

That was in 2010, when he grounded his club in a trash-strewn bunker and was penalized two shots, which kept him out of a playoff for the PGA Championship.

On Thursday, he opened the PGA on the back nine and played No. 18 competitively for the first time since that bunker debacle.

He made the turn at 4-under par, one shot behind Bjorn. Johnson is playing with Jason Day and Rickie Fowler, who were 4-under and at even par respectively through 13 holes.

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 12:02 PM.