Round 1: the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

DUBLIN, Ohio — Dustin Johnson started strong and finished even better on the way to a 68 that left him two strokes off the lead in the Memorial Tournament.

Johnson

Johnson birdied his first two holes but needed the furious finish to get back into red numbers after losing momentum midway through his round. He was even par though 12 but made four straight birdies in his final five holes to vault into contention for what would be the fifth victory of his young career.

Johnson’s birdie streak began when he holed a bunker shot at the 14th hole. He made putts of 5, 8 and 4 feet on his next three holes, then parred the 18th to move into the tie for fifth.

"I just had some good numbers coming in," Johnson said. "I felt like I was in between clubs all day long. The last few holes I got good numbers and was able to make some aggressive swings and hit some good shots and had a lot of good looks at it coming down the stretch."

Among Johnson’s playing partners on Thursday was Fred Couples, who captains the Presidents Cup team the 26-year-old is trying hard to make. He also was the long-time employer of Johnson’s new caddy, Joe LaCava, of two weeks.

"Freddie is a great guy," Johnson said. "There’s no bad blood or anything like that. They were together for 21 years and are really close friends. It was nice. We had a great time out there today."

Johnson said he and LaCava have quickly found a comfort zone with each other. "He’s got it dialed in already," Johnson said. "Especially with good guys, it doesn’t take very long to club people."

Johnson, who had a chance to win two majors last year, is feeling great about his game, too.

"I was talking to Joe this morning," he said. "I finally feel like the game is coming together. I’m starting to swing very well, and I feel really good over the golf ball. I’m starting to get a little of that feeling I had last year in those four or five months that I played really well."