'Average' opening round for Johnson at PGA Championship

“Nondescript” would describe Zach Johnson's first round at the PGA Championship.

“All in all,” Johnson said, “it was very average.”

“Very average” doesn't feed the bulldog.

Johnson shot a 2-over-par 74 at Hazeltine National Golf Club Thursday to put himself behind the 8-ball. He is seven strokes behind leader Tiger Woods. Few people in this or any world have spotted Woods seven shots and come out ahead.

While Johnson says he can't get caught up in worrying about making the 36-hole cut today, doing so will be a challenge. His tee time is 2:05 p.m., the forecast is for strong afternoon wind, and the greens will be spiked up.

Oh, and the course will still be 7,674 yards long and punishing if you miss the fairway by even a few feet. All of Johnson's four bogeys Thursday came courtesy of the rough.

On his second hole of the day, the 606-yard par-5 No. 11, he used a hybrid 3-iron to hit from the rough. The ball went about 15 yards, and Johnson did well to finish the hole with a bogey.

“I did a lot of good things,” Johnson said, “hit a lot of solid shots. My driver cost me two bogeys, that's the way I look at it.”

This is shaping up as a conundrum of a year for Johnson. It's been very good, but not whole.

He almost certainly will set a career-best for winnings in a PGA Tour season, with more than $3.8 million already deposited.

He has two tournament victories, four top 5s, six top tens and a fourth-place standing in FedExCup points.

Good stuff. Real good stuff.

But in the majors, he missed cuts at the Masters and U.S. Open and tied for 47th at the British Open. He has one under-par round in nine in majors.

“I just can't quite get on top of it,” Johnson said. “It seems like I get a little momentum and then I deflate a little. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm trying to be too precise.”

Johnson has missed the cut in the last three PGAs.

He may need to improve upon his Thursday score today to break that streak.