“I really felt I had my ball under control a lot like the US Open,” he said. “We’ll just have to see what happens. It’s only the first round. We’ve still got a lot of golf to play. All I’m looking for is a chance to get it done on Sunday.
“When you try to push and make things happen that’s when you can make some big numbers in the Majors. I thought I did a great job of just staying patient, hitting the shots the course allowed me too. I struck the ball well so I was very pleased.”
So, too, was McIlroy, who despite starting and ending with a bogey, touched the heights in between. Of the two Spieth had to be the happier, which is testament to the quality of McIlroy’s golf, which deserved greater reward.
“I felt it was good. It was a solid round,” McIlroy said. “Obviously, I was pretty nervous on the first tee. It was nice to get that opening tee shot out of the way. It wasn’t the best of starts, but to hit those two shots on the second hole and make birdie, that sort of settled me down and I could get into the round. I think anything under par this afternoon was a decent score.
“I was a bit anxious coming back and seeing how my game’s going to react whenever I’m put under a little bit of pressure and have a card in my hand and have to really score. Once I got those first couple holes out of the way, I settled into the round really nicely.”
Spieth concurred. “I didn’t see any difference in his game. He seems 100 per cent ready. Everything seemed to be on point and I expect him to move up the board,” he said.
There were moments of excellence from the world No2, including a chip-in at the 12th for birdie and his lasered approach to four feet to set up another birdie at the par-five 16th. McIlroy raised his hand to salute that one.
The fireworks were, however, largely a thing of the morning when Johnson played like the champion he has so often promised to be. Over to you, Dustin.
