Solid Start: Dustin Johnson opens 2022 Masters with 69 in first round

AUGUSTA, S.C. — Dustin Johnson appeared loose and relaxed in the tee box on hole one, joking around with Billy Horschel before beginning his 2022 Masters Tournament.

That is, until his first drive sailed right and landed in the fairway bunker.

Johnson wasted no time immediately walking the fairway after Colin Morikawa hit his drive. He left everyone — including his caddie and brother Austin — playing catch-up as he approached the bunker for his second shot.

His second shot sailed just past the green, but an impressive touch putt up the back hill allowed Johnson to save par. From there, he locked in.

Johnson rattled off four birdies in his first 10 holes, but found less success on the back nine. A bogey on hole 17 interrupted a string of six consecutive pars. He would finish the day with a 69 for three-under par.

“I swung it really well, I felt like I played really nice all day,” Johnson said. “I hit a lot of 3 woods, just because I didn’t feel comfortable with the driver for some reason, which is unusual for me.”

The last two times he shot in the 60s in his opening round at the Masters were in 2019 — when he finished in second place behind Tiger Woods —and 2020 when he went on to capture his first green jacket at Augusta National.

After two heavy days of rain in Augusta, the course started out playing very soft on the greens in the early groups. That changed heading into the afternoon, when the sun and wind came out to firm up the course.

“It was tough conditions out there. Especially this afternoon it was really windy,” Johnson said. “It was tough to get a beat on it and judge the distance, but it felt like I played really solid and made a lot of quality golf shots in the right spots. Really never got out of position. A couple of bad tee shots, but other than that, it was really solid all day.”

Johnson’s three-under score currently puts him in a tie for third place with Joaquin Niemann, Scottie Scheffler, and Danny Willett. Sungjae Im leads the field after Thursday’s action with a five-under 67 for the first round.

Johnson will tee off at 10:12 a.m. Friday morning in the second round with Horschel and Morikawa.