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Ramblings from the Easy Chair: PGA Day 1

Our Links Life Golf boss, Big Skins, reminds us  all that this week’s PGA is ” the last shot for fame and glory” for 156 professional golfers in 2015. No argument from me on that point but from another perspective this week’s tromp along the dunes in Kohler, Wisconsin lays out like a long running soap opera with multiple story lines all converging in a dramatic climax.dj pga d1

Below are  listed just a sampling of the many narratives waiting for their final act to be written:

Can Rory make it around this goat trail and maintain his #1 ranking?
Can Jordan claim a third jewel in his 2015 major crown and topple Rory from golf’s pinnacle?
Can Phil reprise his 2014 PGA bid and once again be relevant in this age of twenty somethings?
Can Rickie take the next step and cash in at a major?
Can Tiger make a cut at a major that he’s won four times in the past?
Can Rosie validate his 2013 Merion win and keep the Yanks from a sweep of this year’s majors?
Will Bubba leverage his 2010 second place finish here into a third major trophy?
Will Keegan and Miguel Angel get paired together kiss and makeup, and samba down the 18th fairway to tunes from a mariachi band?
Will Jason Day keep his balance and finally realize his potential?
Will Keegan stop doing the Cha Cha and just learn to hit the damn ball?

These questions could go on ad nauseam ( probably have already)  but the most interesting question is: How will Dustin Johnson play?

Well, the answer for the first round is better than anyone else, with a six under par 66 and a one stroke lead over his closet competiton, David Lingmerth.

Can he keep it up? Well he has some demons to exorcise.

In the 2010 PGA played at this same Whistling Straits course, Johnson was on the short end of the rules stick, receiving a two stroke penalty on the 18th that kept him from winning outright or joining the playoff with Bubba and Kaymer, the eventual champ. Seems like some bad karma lurking here.

And loads of other karmic disasters have accumulated this major season for their South Carolina native. The Old Course was his playground for 36 holes as his driver overcame all obstacles and gave him the mid point tournament lead. But he blew up on Saturday and blew away in the wind off the Firth of Forth.rory spieth

Most dramatic of all was his 3 putt on the 72nd hole at Chamber’s Bay at the U.S. Open that cost him his first major while handing Jordan Spieth the title.

Johnson has the rep of having a short memory, being able to move quickly past disappointments and move on to the next challenge. It’s the quality of champions and he’ll need it.

Three more rounds to go. The soap opera continues.

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