Zach Johnson tied for second after first round of British Open

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - Another British Open start and another sign of Zach Johnson on the championship's iconic yellow scoreboards. Johnson fired a first-round 6-under 66 in the tougher late afternoon conditions Thursday at St. Andrews' Old Course.

Dustin Johnson leads at 7-under, but Zach Johnson will likely have an easier draw with the weather tomorrow. He plays early while most of the other players near the top play late like Dustin.

On Thursday, Johnson got off to a fiery start, stringing together six birdies and no bogeys through 10 holes, only one off the lead.

But as Johnson made the turn, he knew he was coming back into the wind for his final nine. Regardless, what goes through a competitor's head when you're up that quickly with plenty of golf left?

'Actually it was more of a ‘hang-on' thing for me at that point,” Johnson said. 'I knew the wind was into me.”

So Johnson just plodded along with pars until he reached the famous 17th hole, which sits right next to the St. Andrews Hotel - the players' residence for the week.

'I did not hit a good drive on 17,” Johnson said of the only hole he bogeyed Thursday. 'Obviously I missed it on the proper side, but I smashed a 3-wood there and it rolled up the bank and came back down. I'm hitting 7-irons in there in the practice round. It's substantially harder.”

But that comes with the territory at the Old Course. Certain fairway bunkers come into play more when the wind shifts. And in eastern Scotland along the coast, wind is never a stranger to any links course, let alone the most famous in golf.

'It was just about capitalizing when you had opportunities,” Johnson said. 'I mean, I putted great. I putted good when I had some makeable ones. There's something to be said about hitting solid putts on these types of surfaces.”

Johnson kept his putting momentum going as the wind picked up late afternoon. On 16, he poured in a knee-knocker from four feet to save his par. On 18, he drained his final putt of the day from about 10 feet after a solid stroke.

'I've embraced the fact that you don't have to be perfect,” Johnson said of what he's learned about attacking links golf. 'You've just got to try to hit that ball solid. Solid shots usually pan out. They may not be phenomenal, but hit solid shots.”

Johnson knew that Thursday afternoon - although harder than the morning - was still not the toughest condition of the course. Knowing that he was in a great leaderboard position, Johnson refused to look at what could have been.

'I think the moment I start dwelling on that, then I don't really execute properly,” Johnson said. 'You start putting more pressure on yourself to have to hit shots. I was just having a good time.”

Johnson admittedly slept in for his late time Thursday and watched some of the championship during his warm-up routine in the gym.

He will be the one out early this morning, and who knows? He may be the player to catch come late morning.