Colonial Country Club is known for its narrow confines, but Dustin Johnson had no problems navigating the tree-lined course Thursday. Here’s how things look after the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational, where Johnson holds a one-shot lead over several players:
Leaderboard: Dustin Johnson (-5), Hunter Mahan (-4), Tim Wilkinson (-4), Harris English (-4), Robert Streb (-4), Jimmy Walker (-3), Jason Dufner (-3), Jordan Spieth (-3), 7 other players at -3
What it means: Johnson, who won earlier this season in China, and is in contention for a second win after a bogey-free 65. Mahan led for much of the afternoon before falling back, but several big names remain in contention after a day in which only a third of the field broke par.
Round of the day: Johnson birdied the first hole and added three more circles en route to an outward 31. After six straight pars, he stuffed his approach to the par-3 16th hole to 2 feet, adding a fifth birdie to grab sole possession of the lead. Johnson missed only two greens in regulation while averaging over 313 yards off the tee - a potent combination.
Best of the rest: Mahan got off to an eagle-birdie start. He played his first eight holes in 6 under and turned in 29, but his tumultuous back nine included a pair of bogeys and a double bogey on No. 18. It all added up to a 66 as Mahan looks to win for the first time in more than two years.
Biggest disappointment: Rickie Fowler has played some good golf this season, but he went the other way during the opening round. Fowler made two triple bogeys en route to a 10-over 80, a score that left him in last place among the 123-man field. After the round, Fowler reportedly cited “flu-like symptoms” as a cause for his poor performance.
Main storyline heading into Friday: There is no shortage of notable names chasing Johnson. That list includes Dufner, who has struggled to find his form this season after his breakthrough win at the PGA Championship, and Spieth, who is again in front of a partisan Texas crowd as he looks to rebound from a (relatively) mediocre showing last week in Dallas.
