ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The British Open was stopped just 32 minutes after it resumed Saturday morning when gusts of up to 64 kph blew golf balls across the green and contributed to Dustin Johnson making bogey to fall into a share of the lead.

The second weather delay – rain on Friday, wind on Saturday – meant the first Monday finish in the British Open since 1988.

The R&A was hopeful of resuming the second round at 4 p.m. The third round is set for Sunday and the final round on Monday. The last major to end on Monday (without a playoff) was the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black won by Lucas Glover.

The R&A was criticized for even resuming the second round. Louis Oosthuizen, who got the good end of the weather when he won at St. Andrews in 2010, had a tap-in for par when a gust blew his golf ball a few feet away. As he stopped and smiled in disbelief, another gust moved it even further away.

About that time, Brooks Koepka tried to mark his ball five times on the 11th green – the most exposed on the golf course with the Eden Estuary on one side and St. Andrews Bay on the other – when play was halted.

R&A rules director David Rickman said his staff spent an hour on the 11th green without seeing a ball move, leading to the decision to try to play.

“What we weren’t expecting when we made the decision to go was the wind picked up,” he said. “We picked up 10 percent – 6.5 kph – in the half-hour after we started. We were close to the edge, anyway. That was the difference. As an administrator, my heart sank. Because I thought, `This has changed.’ It was always going to be a difficult day.”

Jordan Spieth, going after the third leg of the Grand Slam, was caught on television saying, “We never should have started.”

All it took was a half-hour for the wind to wreak havoc on the Old Course.

Johnson was at 10-under par and played his third shot from just short of the green on the par-5 14th. He chose to pitch it up a steep bank instead of using the putter, stubbed and barely reached the flat level of the green some 50 feet from the flag. His coin was a fraction away from marking his ball when it rolled away, down the slope and right toward Spieth’s ball. Spieth ran over, then quickly moved out of the way as Johnson’s ball rolled by.

Johnson putted the next one to about 15 feet and missed that for a bogey to fall into a tie at 9 under with Danny Willett, the clubhouse leader at 9-under 135. Spieth rolled his putt up to 8 feet and missed the birdie try. It was his fourth three-putt of the round. He was four shots out of the lead.

Up ahead, Brendon Todd had three holes to finish. He three-putted the 16th and 17th for bogeys and made par on the last hole to assure making the cut.

The temperature was cold in the wind. Todd was running hot, especially after play was halted right when he finished.

“I was pretty frustrated,” he said. “I three-putted 16 and 17, and then they’re going to call play. Why did we even start in the first place? Everyone is going to play in difficult conditions. With links golf, you get different draws and that’s the nature of the game. What I don’t like is when they make a bad decision to start in the first place.”

The real trouble was at the loop – holes 7-11 that are the most exposed.

The incident with Koepka was one thing. But when word came in that wind was affecting the inward holes – Oosthuizen on No. 13, for example – it was clear it had to stop.

It all added to another long day at St. Andrews, and it sure felt that way to David Duval, Stewart Cink and Ben Curtis. They woke up early to warm up and be in position at 7 a.m. They were to start on No. 11. But with Koepka’s issues on the green, they stood on the tee for more than 30 minutes without ever hitting a shot. Duval said there were three groups waiting on the tee when the siren sounded to stop.

The R&A said it was unlikely the second round would resume until 3 p.m., and the last group is still on the ninth hole. The third round was to feature threesomes, and Rickman was trying to figure out how to finish by Sunday. The forecast for the final round is for calmer conditions.

The last time the Open finished on a Monday was in 1988 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes because of rain. Seve Ballesteros won his third claret jug over Nick Price, Nick Faldo and Fred Couples, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame.

OPELIKA, Ala. — L’Australien Mark Hensby a réussi des oiselets sur trois des quatre derniers trous, vendredi, et il s’est hissé en tête du classement du Championnat Barbasol de la PGA, à égalité avec le Sud-Coréen Whee Kim.

Hensby a complété le deuxième parcours avec un score de 64, sept coups sous la normale, pour une fiche cumulative de 133, neuf coups sur le par. Kim, une recrue sur le circuit de la PGA, a signé une carte de 66.

Hensby, qui est âgé de 43 ans, vise une deuxième victoire sur le circuit de la PGA, après son triomphe lors de la Classique John Deere en 2004.

L’Argentin Emilian Grillo (66), Sam Saunders (70) et Charlie Beljan (64) accusent un coup de retard sur les comeneurs.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The grand pursuit of Jordan Spieth, redemption for Dustin Johnson, the mystery that has become Tiger Woods. It all came to a momentary halt Friday in the gloaming of St. Andrews when Tom Watson said goodbye to the British Open.

Watson, the most prolific winner of golf’s oldest championship in the last century, finished his 129th round with lights from the Royal & Ancient clubhouse illuminating the 18th green. The five-time champion made bogey. The score was irrelevant.

“There were no tears,” Watson said. “This is a joyous occasion. I have a lot of great, great memories. And those memories filled me up.”

Everything else about this wet and wild second round remained unsettled.

A heavy downpour at dawn flooded the Old Course and disrupted the start by more than three hours. Johnson and Spieth teed off shortly before 6 p.m. and were headed in different directions when it was too dark to continue.

In swift, shifting weather – umbrellas on one hole, sunglasses on the next – Johnson made three birdies in four holes on the front nine and built a two-shot lead before he made his first bogey of the tournament. He three-putted on the par-3 11th in wind so severe he had to back off a 4-foot putt and wipe his eyes.

Johnson was at 10-under par.

Spieth three-putted for bogey three times in 11 holes to offset three birdies and was five shots behind Johnson, whom he beat by one shot in the U.S. Open last month to capture the second leg of the Grand Slam.

Both were just short on the par-5 14th hole in two shots when they chose to mark their golf balls and return at 7 a.m. Saturday to resume the round.

“I’m in a good spot,” Johnson said. “Definitely got very tricky this afternoon, all day. Even the front side, the wind was howling and it was blowing straight left-to-right pretty much. It played very tough all day.”

Danny Willett of England had to cope with the wind, too, and he had a 3-under 69 to walk off the 18th green with his name atop the leaderboard at 9-under 135.

“Yeah, I think it’s a childhood dream and looking up there it’s still a little bit surreal, but something I’m going to have to get used to,” Willett said. “Otherwise, no point in being up there. We’re going to try and rest up and then try and go out for another good weekend and hopefully, we can be up there in two days’ time.”

Watson wasn’t the only player to bid farewell to the Old Course.

Nick Faldo, the three-time Open champion regarded as Britain’s greatest champion, came out of the TV tower to play St. Andrews one last time. He switched into a sweater that he wore for his first Open title in 1987 at Muirfield, thrust his arms in the air atop the Swilcan Bridge, and saved par for a 71.

And then there was Woods, headed toward the wrong kind of history. Barring a burst of birdies when he returns Saturday morning – the kind of form he has not shown in two years – he was likely to miss the cut in the U.S. Open and the British Open for the first time in the same year. Woods was 5 over with seven holes to play.

So much attention has been on Spieth and Jordan, the main characters from the drama that played out at Chambers Bay last month. Johnson had a 12-foot eagle putt on the final hole to win the U.S. Open, and three-putted to finish one shot behind golf’s new golden child.

The wind was fierce, taxing shots with every club in the bag down to the putter.

Johnson continued to hammer away with his driver, setting up birdies, and he looked every bit like the player to beat. Spieth got in enough trouble off the tee that he often left long-range putts that led to bogeys instead of birdies.

Behind them, a long list of players lined up to take their shot on the weekend.

Jason Day, in contention at Chambers Bay even though he battled symptoms of vertigo, was at 8-under par through 11 holes. Paul Lawrie, the `99 champion at Carnoustie, also was at 8 under through 12 holes. Louis Oosthuizen, who won the claret jug the last time the Open came to St. Andrews, was at 7 under through 11 holes.

Graham DeLaet of Canada sits at even-par for the tournament and is in line to make the cut.

Among those who managed to finish was Adam Scott, a former Masters champion who is starting to feel the void of giving away the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2012 when he bogeyed the last four holes. Scott was in control in blustery weather, flighting his ball low and judging the bounce to perfect. He made three birdies around the loop at the far end of the course and closed with a birdie for a 67.

Scott was at 7-under 137, along with Zach Johnson (71), Marc Warren (69) and Robert Streb (71).

“The last few years at the Open has been some of my favorite golf,” Scott said. “Getting into contention at this championship and having a chance to lift the claret jug is what it’s all about. This is a great position. I’m excited for my weekend.”

SYLVANIA, Ohio — South Korea’s Ha Na Jang shot a 4-under 67 on Friday to increase her lead to two strokes in the suspended second round of the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic.

Jang had a 9-under 133 total at Highland Meadows. Winless in 23 career tour events, she capped her bogey-free round with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth.

South Korea’s Q Baek was second after a 67.

The start of the round was delayed 2 1/2 hours because of rain and lightning, and play was suspended for the day at 8 p.m. because of more lightning. Fifty-four players were unable to complete the round.

Jang has fought through back problems that had her thinking about withdrawing before the first round.

“I think not much practice makes it easier to playing golf,” Jang said. “Not tired. Just feels really, really good. Body is a little tight, but my swing is very good.”

She had a one-hour massage after Thursday’s round and planned to do the same thing Friday.

Her success during the first two rounds has helped Jang’s confidence. She went back to South Korea to play in two tournaments and that also helped improve her confidence.

“I have a little bit more confidence in Korea,” Jang said. “It’s just a little different feel than one month ago. Every day practicing, change my swing and then everything change really good. I have 100 percent, 200 percent confidence right now.”

Baek had five birdies, making four in a row on Nos. 18-3, and one bogey.

“(I) missed a lot of birdie opportunities earlier, but I was able to sink a couple putts a bit of a distance from the hole,” Baek said. “I really gained confidence from there and made four birdies in a row.”

Baek said her experience last weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open has helped.

“I played last week at the U.S. Open with great players,” Baek said. “I learned a lot from them. I had a good experience there. I have something that I am really focusing on this week, so going into the weekend, I am really, really looking forward to it.”

Baek said she was not bothered by the morning delay, adding that she enjoyed the additional sleep.

Shanshan Feng, Sarah Kemp and Dewi Claire Schreefel were tied for third at 6 under. Feng shot a 67, Kemp had a 69, and Schreefel a 68.

Kemp, an Australian, bogeyed her final hole for the second straight round.

“It’s nice to put another round in the 60s,” Kemp said. “I’ll take 69 around here any day. With the conditions this morning, it played a lot longer.”

Being able to advance to weekend play is exciting for Kemp, who has missed the cuts in seven of 12 starts this season.

“This is great. I’m going to enjoy it because it hasn’t happened very much so it must mean I’m doing something good,” Kemp said. “I haven’t been in this position very much so everything that happens from now on it a total learning experience.”

Moriya Jutanugarn, Caroline Masson, Angela Stanford and Gerina Piller were 5 under. Jutanugarn shot a 66, Masson and Stanford had two holes left, and Piller had three to go.

Canadian Alena Sharp is 4-under for the tournament was tied for 10th after second round of play.

Top-ranked Inbee Park and defending champion Lydia Ko, ranked second, were 4 under after 14 holes. Third-ranked Stacy Lewis was tied for 18th at 3 under after a 68.

“Score-wise it was obviously better,” Lewis said. “Still I think, just knowing me, I think I could have done better. I could have made a few more putts. But all it all, it really was a better day. Hopefully, it leads to some better things.”

OPELIKA, Ala. — Australia’s Mark Hensby birdied three of the final four holes Friday for a 7-under 64 and a share of the second-round lead in the inaugural Barbasol Championship.

Hensby matched South Korea’s Whee Kim at 9-under 133 on Grand National’s Lake Course in the PGA Tour event for players who failed to qualify for the British Open.

“I played well. I gave myself a lot of chances,” Hensby said. “I hit a couple of wayward ones, but I haven’t played in a tournament in quite some time. You get a little nervy in the middle, but then kind of settled down and hit some good shots.”

The 43-year-old Hensby won the 2004 John Deere Classic for his lone PGA Tour title. He has fought rotator cuff problems in his right shoulder and has limited tour status.

“I had some injuries and the last two years I’ve been healthy, but I missed second stage of Q-school last year, so that gives you nothing,” Hensby said. “There’s just nowhere to play. I’ve played a couple mini-tours here and there, but this is my first tournament in quite some time. It’s good to be back.”

Kim shot a 66. He’s playing his 19th event in his rookie season on the PGA Tour.

“I just tried to keep it in the fairway,” Kim said. “If I miss the fairway for tee shots, going to be really tough to get to the green. So, I just tried to focus on the fairway.”

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 98, shot a 66 to join first-round leader Sam Saunders and Charlie Beljan at 8 under.

Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, followed his opening 64 with a 70.

“I really didn’t play a whole lot different today than I did yesterday,” Saunders said. “The angles were a little off today. Hit it over a couple greens that I thought were good shots, and then I hit a couple of good shots that ended up in some funky places. That’s golf.”

Beljan had a 64.

“I was 3 over yesterday after my first nine and kind of just kept on doing the same thing and a couple putts went in and we built some momentum and here we are at 8 under,” Beljan said.

“It’s not an easy course. You’ve got to drive it well because you have to be able to control your shots into the greens with the quadrants the way they are.”

David Toms topped the group at 7 under after a 66.

THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Burlington, Ontario’s Michael Gligic shot a 5-under 67 on Friday at Whitewater Golf Club to take the 36-hole lead at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, the sixth event of the 2015 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 25-year old was bogey-free on Friday, reaching 13-under par and leading by one over Listowel, Ontario’s Corey Conners and Ostego, Minnesota’s Clayton Rask with two rounds in the books in Thunder Bay.

“I think I’m 13-under and I’ve made 15 birdies in two days, which isn’t something you do a lot, so the game is feeling pretty good and I’m rolling the ball well,” said Gligic, who owns one Mackenzie Tour win at the 2012 ATB Financial Classic and finished 11^th on the Order of Merit last year. With two rounds to go, however, the Tour veteran wasn’t getting ahead of himself after his solid second round.

“Like I said yesterday it’s a long tournament and a marathon, not a sprint. We’re only halfway done and there’s a long way to go,” said Gligic.

Rask, who leads the field with 17 birdies through two rounds, carded seven birdies on day two to offset two bogeys, while Conners moved up the leaderboard with birdies on his final two holes to sit one off the lead. The 23-year old, who finished runner-up at the U.S. Amateur last year and played in the 2015 Masters Tournament, is without status on the Mackenzie Tour, but can change that with a solid finish this week.

The top three non-members on the Order of Merit after this week will earn conditional status for the remainder of the season, with Conners currently sitting fourth in a tie for 56^th overall on the season-long money list. Adam Svensson and Christopher Trunzer, who occupy the top two spots, aren’t playing this week, and Conners can pass No. 3 Justin Shin, who missed the cut, with a solo 20^th place finish or better.

“Having status would be pretty nice. I’m not even sure what I need to do to get that, but I’m just going to try and play well and see what happens,” said Conners.

Two shots back of Gligic at 11-under were Matt Marshall and Mike Van Sickle. Sweden’s Krister Eriksson set the new course record at Whitewater Golf Club with a 10-under 62 and was four back at 9-under through 36 holes.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Annie Park of Levittown, New York was playing in the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships a month and a half ago. Now, she has the 36-hole lead at her fourth event ever as a professional golfer. She posted a 5-under 67, tied for the low round of the day, to vault to 9-under 135. Emily Talley (Napa, Calif.) and Giulia Molinaro (Treviso, Italy) are in a tie for second at 6-under 138.

“I just turned professional a month ago so this is all happening so fast,” said Park, who was surrounded by her first media scrum as a professional. “The transition was really quick, after Nationals I had the Open qualifier and then a week later I had my first professional event so I didn’t really have time to breathe.”

Her 11th round as a professional turned out to be her best so far.

“I was hitting it better than yesterday so that was an improvement,” said soft-spoken Park. “My putting wasn’t as hot as it was yesterday, but just being able to hit fairways and greens was nice.”

Park hit 13 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

The 2013 NCAA individual champion at the University of Southern California made the turn at 1-under for the day. She kicked it into high gear with four birdies on the back nine including a 20-footer on 16.

“I was struggling with some shorter putts and that putt made me feel a lot better about myself,” said the 20-year-old Park. “My putting got better as the round went along and I’m happy that I was bogey-free.”

Since turning professional, Park has two top 20 finishes in three events including a tie for 13th two weeks ago at the Tullymore Classic.

In addition to pursing an LPGA Tour card this year, she is also going to continue her communications degree at USC starting this fall when she’ll take classes between Symetra Tour events.

“I’ll be headed into my senior year and I’ll have a year and a half left and I’d rather finish now than later,” said Park. “I’m planning on taking less classes each semester and I’ll talk to my professors and see how that works out.”

Park’s mom, who got her into golf, has been her travel companion and caddie in her rookie season on Tour.

“My mom has been my caddie basically my entire career so she knows me well on the course and I know her well,” said Park. “We work pretty well together. She got me started as a kid on the driving range when she said ‘I think you should play golf’ and I just said ‘OK’.”

Park earned Symetra Tour status by getting through stage one and two at 2014 LPGA Qualifying Tournament.

She is 93rd on the Volvik Race for the Card money list since she has only played in three events. A first place pay check of $22,500 would do wonders for her position on the money list.

Canadian Natalie Gleadall currently sits T8 with a second-round 71. Sara-Maude Juneau and Natalie Wallace are T11. Brooke Henderson signs for round of 70 to sit T19 alongside Maude-Aimee Leblanc. Brittany Henderson and Nicole Vandermade are T44.

CALGARY – Jennifer Ha wins the 2015 Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur after a rainy round at Lynx Ridge Golf Club, finishing -8, 205. It was a close finish between Ha and Garrison, with the two going head-to-head in the championship round. A strong front nine game, which included three birdies, put Ha ahead by four strokes to take the title. 

“It feels incredible,” Ha reflects on her win. “This is definitely something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”

After recently graduating from Kent State University, Ha hopes to turn pro in the near future. “This is a big stepping stone. A lot of great players have won this event and I’m really looking for a chance to be following their foot steps.”

Sabrine Garrison from Country Hills G&CC came close to Ha, finishing 4 under 209. The defending champion, Jaclyn Lee, placed third gaining a spot to compete in the 2015 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship alongside Ha and Garrison.

After ending the final round with a tie for lead, Meaghan LeBlanc and Jocelyn Alford were forced into a playoff for the Mid Amateur title. “I wasn’t really expecting to go out again,” says LeBlanc, from Bearspaw Country Club. She took the win with +9 for the tournament. “I was kind of surprised … I think I did well despite the weather.”

Meg Nicholson, also from Bearspaw Country Club, battled to first place for the Mid Master Championship win despite the poor weather conditions. “Thanks to all the competitors. Without everybody playing we wouldn’t have this,” Nicholson said of the tournament.

Photos from the championship can be found on Alberta Golf’s Facebook page, here. 

Click here for full scoring.

OPELIKA, Ala. — Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, shot a 7-under 64 in warm conditions Thursday to take the first-round lead in the inaugural Barbasol Championship.

“It’s hot. When it’s hot like this, you’ve got to conserve energy,” Saunders said. “So, getting excited about a birdie or getting mad about a bogey just burns energy that you need to try to hit good shots. I try to walk like I’m in a daze out there all day and just stay very level.”

Saunders saved par with a 15-foot putt on the par-3 eighth hole and closed with a birdie on the par-4 ninth to cap his bogey-free round on Grand National’s Lake Course.

“I just putted a lot better,” Saunders said. “I’ve been playing really well lately, been hitting the ball as well as I’ve ever hit it in my career in the past few weeks, really last month. I just had been putting terribly. I finally just had a few putts go in today and that always turns over into a little bit of confidence and it was really just that.”

The 27-year-old former Clemson player is winless in 45 career starts on the PGA Tour, with a career best tie for second this year in the Puerto Rico Open.

“It is just the first round, yes, but it’s always nice to get off to a good start,” Saunders said. “You have to hit the ball well here and I did that today. I drove it well and I hit a lot of good iron shots. You don’t have to putt great here, I think, to shoot a good, solid score, but to shoot 7 under, I had a lot of putts go in for me today, which is nice. I haven’t seen that happen in a long time, so it was great.”

Jason Gore was a stroke back at 65. He birdied four of his last five holes.

“The golf course is just there for the taking,” Gore said. “It’s a great golf course. If these are the scoring conditions, not a breath of wind, greens were holding, you just kind of had to go out and take advantage of it.”

Stanford junior Maverick McNealy, the Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the Division I player of the year, was tied for third at 66 along with Martin Flores, Will Wilcox, Carlos Ortiz and Carlos Sainz Jr.

McNealy, playing alongside Saunders, had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.

“I love to play and I love to compete,” McNealy said. “To compete against the best in the world and on a golf course like this that’s in perfect condition and do all that, that’s what every kid dreams of, playing on the PGA Tour. So, I’ve just had a blast. It’s all fun for me.”

Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton topped the group at 67.

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 98, opened with a 68.

Web.com Tour money leader Patton Kizzire had a 71. He’s from Montgomery and played at nearby Auburn.

“I hit the ball really well,” Kizzire said. “My putting was pretty suspect. That was about as bad as I’ve putted in a long time. Feel like I turned a 64 or 67 to 71, which is not a whole lot of fun. But I’m encouraged by the way I’m hitting the ball and just looking forward to tomorrow.”

Canadian Roger Sloan posted an even-par 71 opening round today.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The two main characters from Chambers Bay brought their games across eight time zones and an ocean Thursday and set the tone at St. Andrews for what could be another riveting battle at the British Open.

Spieth quickly seized on his opportunity for a third straight major with six birdies in his first 11 holes, fought through a chilly wind on the inward nine and closed with a birdie for a 5-under 67 that put him two shots out of the lead.

Johnson, whose three-putt from 12 feet on the final hole cost him a shot at the U.S. Open, looked as daunting as ever. He simply overpowered the Old Course with such force that he hit wedge into 10 of the par 4s and had an eagle putt on another. With a pair of big par saves on the tough closing holes, he played bogey-free for a 65 and for at least a day made good on a warning he made earlier in the week.

Asked about Spieth’s chances to sweep the four majors, Johnson said, “Well, I’m playing the next two so we’ll have to see.”

This was hardly a two-man show.

The six players who were one shot behind at 66 included former British Open champion Paul Lawrie and two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen. Jason Day, coming off his scary bout with vertigo symptoms at the U.S. Open, was back on his feet and back in the hunt. Most impressive from that group were Zach Johnson and Danny Willett, who posted their scores as the temperature dropped and wind stiffened late in the afternoon.

Spieth was joined at 67 by Louis Oosthuizen, the last Open champion at St. Andrews.

“If D.J. keeps driving it the way he is, then I’m going to have to play my best golf to have a chance,” Spieth said.

The real test might come from the weather.

Spieth and Johnson got a break by playing in the morning when St. Andrews was ripe for scoring – 10 of the top 12 scores came from that side of the draw. That didn’t help Tiger Woods, who hit into the Swilcan Burn on the opening hole, made only one birdie and shot 76.

“Guys have been shooting good numbers,” said Woods, a two-time Open champion at St. Andrews. “Unfortunately I did not do that.” Instead, he was headed for a missed cut for the third time in his last four majors.

The afternoon wave suffered in chill and wind so strong that Phil Mickelson hit driver and 3-wood and didn’t reach the 465-yard 13th hole. He said he had to hit 5-iron for his third shot on the par-5 14th. Johnson was pin-high with a 3-wood in the morning. Mickelson made only one bogey on the back nine and shot 70. He called the conditions “fun,” though his smile might not last if the morning group doesn’t face the same conditions.

“We were at a significant disadvantage today,” Mickelson said. “And hopefully, if we’re able to play an entire day tomorrow, it will even itself out.”

The first 26 groups had an average score of 71.46. The last 26 groups averaged 72.62.

Rickie Fowler, coming off a victory in the Scottish Open, said the final seven holes was “hanging on for dear life.” He made two bogeys, one eagle and 15 pars for a 72.

The forecast was for rain early Friday and wind calming as it clears, followed by stronger gusts in the afternoon. Saturday could have gusts approaching 40 mph.

Any duel between Spieth and Johnson is void of animosity. They played in the same group, and during one long wait on the 17th tee, they laughed and chatted as if this were an opening round at a regular PGA Tour event.

“No chat about the U.S. Open at all, as I wouldn’t imagine there would be, other than talking about the differences in the course,” Spieth said. “But I enjoy playing with Dustin. I’ve played a lot of golf with him.”

And he knows what to expect from golf’s most athletic figure. Johnson hit driver on all but three holes, leaving him wedges into the par 4s (except for three longer holes into a hurting wind on the back nine) and a 7-iron that Johnson stuck to 10 feet for eagle on the par-5 fifth hole.

“I’m going to hit driver on every hole if I can,” Johnson said.

Spieth already has shown at the Masters and U.S. Open that power isn’t everything. And while he laid back on several holes – Johnson’s tee shots were on average 36 yards longer – Spieth can score.

He birdied four of the first six holes with putts inside 12 feet and took a share of the lead with a 10-foot putt on the par-3 11th. His lone mistake came in bunkers – a pot bunker in the 13th fairway he had to play out sideways, and the Road Hole bunker on the 17th. He blasted out to 6 feet and missed.

“I’ve played enough golf with him to where I believe in my skill set, that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has,” Spieth said. “I expect when he stands on the tee it’s going to up there miles and down the fairway. I also expect that I can birdie each hole when I stand on the tee – it just happens to be a different route.”

Not many can appreciate the route Spieth is taking. Only five other players since 1934 have won the first two majors of the year. Only Ben Hogan has won the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in the same year. No one has won all four.

The key for Spieth in the first round was to stay close, and that’s what he did – not in driving distance, but by score, which ultimately is all that matters.

Canadian Graham DeLaet signed for an opening round 1-under 71 while David Hearn was 2-over on the day with a score of 74.