Zach Johnson struggles to find rhythm in PGA Championship first round

HAVEN, Wis. – Zach Johnson capped an up-and-down front nine in the first round of the PGA Championship with a 30-foot birdie putt, but couldn't carry that momentum into the back nine.

The Cedar Rapids native finished the day with a 3-over-par 75, tied for 86th, eight strokes back of leader Dustin Johnson.

A roller-coaster front nine saw Johnson bogey and birdie thrice. After recovering from a bogey on the par-5 second by birdying the par-three third, Johnson chucked his ball into Lake Michigan when he couldn't save par on No. 4.

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He followed that up with another six-stroke bogey on No. 5, but responded with birdies on two par fours – No. 6 and No. 9.

Yet Johnson, looking for his second major victory of the year after winning the British Open last month, couldn't make up any ground on the back nine, bogeying the par-3 12th and par-4 No. 13. After four straight pars, he finished the round with a bogey on the final hole, a par-4.

The conditions were much windier at a course Johnson isn't particularly fond of for the afternoon groupings, including the marquee group of Johnson and the world's top two ranked players – Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.

The winds are whistling at the Straits course. August 13, 2015

The winds are whistling at the Straits course. #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/4C5albqqAH

— PGA.COM (@PGA_com)

McIlroy, the defending champion, and Spieth, the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open champion, each reached the clubhouse 1-under.

The grouping will tee off the second round at 8:05 a.m. Friday.