HAVEN, WIS. – Midway through the first round of the PGA Championship, there was an interesting procession near the 18th fairway.
An all-terrain vehicle rushed past, on a narrow footpath outside the ropes, almost tipping over when its righthanded tires hit a berm. A woman in the back of the vehicle was crying, and holding her bandaged left shoulder.
A worried relative hurried after, slipping and almost falling himself. Then came an elderly woman displaying a fan's version of course knowledge.
She cruised by, wielding large ski poles.
Whistling Straits can be a difficult course if you hit the ball errantly, or if the wind asserts itself, or if you'd simply like to walk near the course without falling down. Thursday morning, the craggy, pitted course, still damp from early-week rains, played like a muni for quality ball strikers, and Dustin Johnson might be the bell cow of that category.
Johnson took advantage of calm conditions to shoot a 66 and take the first-round lead. Because the terrain did not bother him, the weekday warrior has again positioned himself to deal with the bunkers, hazards and prevailing winds between his ears.
In 2010, Johnson led going into the final day of the U.S. Open and shot an 82. He lost a chance to make a playoff at the PGA that year when he infamously grounded his club in what the tournament had ruled to be a bunker, costing him two strokes.
This year, he blew the U.S. Open and shot a 75 under easy conditions on Sunday at the British Open to blow another chance.
