Dustin Johnson getting comfortable with Harbour Town

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Harbour Town Golf Links has been something of an acquired taste for Dustin Johnson.

The first two times he played in the RBC Heritage, Johnson didn’t break par and consequently, he missed the cut. Of course, that was back in 2008 and ’09 when the lanky South Carolinian was just starting to show flashes of the talent that has taken him to No. 1 in the world.

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Johnson finally came back to his home state’s only PGA TOUR event a year ago, a multi-dimensional player now and better equipped to handle the strategic game this Pete Dye creation requires. This time, he shot three rounds in the 60s and tied for 16th.

A return visit this week has yielded even more success. Johnson tied his career low 67 at Harbour Town on Friday in difficult conditions to vault up the leaderboard at 7 under.

Johnson was playing the ninth hole, his last of the day, when the horn sounded to suspend play due to encroaching thunderstorms. Luckily, it wasn’t a dangerous situation – yet -- so he and Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele were able to finish their rounds.

“It's nice to get done; that's definitely a bonus,” Johnson said as he quickly made three interview stops before heading into the clubhouse.

How nice? Well, the ensuing delay lasted 3 hours and 43 minutes. That would have been a long time to wait to get up and down for his final par.

Johnson was understandably pleased with the way he played on Friday. The 20-time PGA TOUR champion hit nine fairways and 13 greens in the blustery conditions, making five birdies and dropping just one shot to par.

“It was difficult all day,” Johnson said. “The wind blew consistently all day. Made it tough. But I hit a lot of really solid golf shots. At times it was really difficult to judge the wind, but I felt like I played really solid all day, gave myself a lot of opportunities.

“It's all about controlling your golf ball and distance.”

Interestingly, the big-hitting Johnson only birdied one of Harbour Town’s par 5s on Friday, getting up and down from beside the 15th green to bounce back from his lone bogey. He had started strong, making birdie putts of 12 and 8 feet on his first two holes, and added a 23-footer at No. 17 to turn in 32.

Johnson continued to hit it close on the front nine but was unable to convert on four birdie putts inside 15 feet. He admits his patience was tested by the near-misses but overall, he weathered the storm – literally, as well as figuratively.

“Around here the greens are tricky,” Johnson said. “For me, I don't know, I've always struggled reading them. But I hit some really nice putts and I played really solid.”

Johnson came to Hilton Head with momentum after a tying for second at the Masters with Schauffele and Brooks Koepka. He shot 32 on the always pivotal back nine that Sunday, making three straight birdies starting at No. 15, but couldn’t run down the resurgent Tiger Woods.

“I knew making the turn that if I wanted a chance to win I had to have something special back behind it,” Johnson said. “I hit the shots I needed to hit which in the situation is always a very big positive. I hit some really good putts, they just didn't go in.

“I'm very pleased with how I played there on Sunday, coming up one short, definitely a little disappointed. But happy with the way I finished.”

The runner-up spot was Johnson’s best in a major since his 2016 U.S. Open win. He’s looking for more of the same solid play over the last two rounds at Harbor Town as he tries to win for the second time on TOUR this year.

“I'm swinging well, placing the ball where I want to,” Johnson said. “Hopefully I can roll in a few putts over the weekend.