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CHAMPIONSHIP
TICKETS & HOSPITALITY
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WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
| Johnson takes what he can get from lengthy Firestone  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents AKRON, Ohio -- Zach Johnson understands that he can't overpower the South Course at Firestone Country Club. He respects the 7,400-yard layout enough that he knows he probably can't attack it, either. "But I can pick it apart," the reigning Masters champion said. "If I've got control of my golf ball I can pick it apart, and today I did."  Zach Johnson's 65 on Friday tied Davis Love III for low round of the tournament honors. (WireImage)
Johnson fired a 65 on Friday to move within two strokes of Rory Sabbatini's lead at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. The round, which left Johnson at 4 under through 36 holes, tied Davis Love III for the tournament low. Johnson gave himself plenty of opportunities on a day when Firestone yielded only 11 rounds in the 60s and played to its highest single-round average, 73.049, in tournament history. In fact, Thursday's opening round was the fourth-toughest, as well. "Some of the guys were joking ... that this is one of those courses where if the USGA or the U.S. Open needed an emergency course, I think you could probably come here within a week's time," Johnson said. "The golf course is the story this week. It usually is here. "It's very penalizing if you're off, and obviously you can put a number up there if you're on. It's very difficult. Some of these fairways are hard for me to (hit). ... I've just got to be that much more precise, and fortunately I was today." The key definitely was hitting the short grass -- a lesson he learned the hard way on Thursday when he missed the 14th fairway by a yard and could only advance the ball 4 feet on the way to a double bogey. "The fairways are pure," Johnson said. "They're running fast, clearly, so it's positioning yourself in the fairway so you have an opportunity to hit the green and give yourself a birdie putt. "I know it's a bit cliché, but you miss the fairway by a yard, which I did yesterday, ... and I couldn't get it to the fairway. " The 14th hole was the exception, not the rule, though. Johnson is tied with Scott Verplank for first in fairways hit through two rounds, finding 21 of 28, and he ranks second in greens in regulation at 66.67 percent. Small wonder, then, that he's in the hunt. "Today obviously my score card showed that I played solid," Johnson said. "I hit a lot of fairways. That's what it came down to, and my putter started to work. The greens are pure. You get it on line and they're going to go in. It's just about hitting those fairways." Johnson's straightforward strategy this week is not unlike the way he approached Augusta National in April. He's also comfortable on the quick greens at both venues -- "it's kind of what I grew up on, it's what I enjoy," he said. Five of Johnson's six birdie putts Friday came from between 12 inches and 12 feet. The sixth was a 30-footer through 3 feet of fringe -- "I don't know how it went in, but it did," he said with a smile.
Johnson's Masters victory, along with that win a month later at the AT&T Classic, has put him squarely in the picture for PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Only Tiger Woods has won more tournaments, with three, and he has yet to pick up what would be the 13th major of his burgeoning Hall of Fame career. A win at the Bridgestone Invitational could thrust Johnson to the forefront. At the same time, though, he's well aware that the season has several key markers upcoming -- including next week's PGA Championship and the identity of whomever is crowned the season-long champion of the inaugural FedExCup. "Those things are great when they come along, but my goal is to play well each week and let things fall where they fall," Johnson said. "You're also talking about how some of the best players in the world are going to play a lot more coming up here soon. I'm just going to continue what I'm doing. "If anything, those two wins early on in the year taught me I'm doing the right stuff. I'm doing the things I need to do to be successful." And Friday at Firestone was further proof. |
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