Column: Dustin Johnson gets swagger back at Northern Trust

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SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Open prides itself on being the most open of all majors with some 9,000 players from all walks of golf having a chance to compete. Open, indeed. RELATED: Leaderboard | Richard Bland: Five things to know The weekend at Torrey Pines features major champions and major contenders, players who are unknown or unheralded, all of them still within reach of that U.S. Open trophy. Nine shots separated first from last. It starts with Richard Bland, a 48-year-old from England who finally won on the European Tour last month in his 478th try. Bland had a 4-under 67 and walked off Torrey Pines with his name atop the leaderboard in only his fourth major. His first one was 23 years ago. Russell Henley had a chance to build a two-shot lead Friday afternoon when he stood over an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth. He missed, and then watched his 2-foot par putt spin out of the cup. That gave him a 70 to join Bland 5-under 137. They will be in the final group Saturday, with plenty of heavy hitters behind them and getting far more attention. Former Open Championhip winner Louis Oosthuizen (71) and Matthew Wolff (68), the U.S. Open runner-up last year at Winged Foot, were one shot behind. Another shot back were two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (67) and Jon Rahm (70), a past winner at Torrey Pines and former world No. 1. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka were at even par, only five shots behind. They were on the same score. They will not be in the same group. Also at even-par 142 was Justin Thomas, who had a 68. “Most times if I’m five back going into a Saturday, I need to probably make 12, 15-plus birdies on the weekend to hang in there,” Thomas said. “But this is a U.S. Open. It’s a little bit different.” Henley doesn’t know much about Bland except that he pays a little attention to golf worldwide and recalled hearing about his British Masters win to end his long quest for a victory. “I’m sure he knows nothing about me, too,” said Henley, a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR who has played 26 majors without a top 10. Bland’s victory in the British Masters made him the oldest first-time winner in European Tour history. That also was the start of a three-tournament series for the leading 10 players to get into the U.S. Open. Travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated the 36-hole qualifier in England. This is only his fourth major — twice at Royal Birkdale in 1998 and 2017, once at Bethpage Black for the U.S. Open in 2009 — and he came in on a high note. “A lot of guys have a lot more on the CV than I do,” Bland said. “But I’m here to compete and give it everything I’ve got.” Oosthuizen, coming off a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship, finished with two pars in the morning to cap off a 67 to share the first-round lead with Henley. He didn’t get any lower in the second round and shot 71, but was right in the mix. So was Wolff, a surprise only because he lost all joy playing golf after such a hot start out of Oklahoma State that he walked away from the game for two months, even missing a major at the PGA Championship. He returned to the toughest test in golf and shot 70-68, two-putting for birdie on the last hole. “It’s awesome that I came out here and played well, but I think more importantly, I’m just getting closer to being more comfortable and being happy and enjoying it,” Wolff said. “I feel like I’ve done a very good job of enjoying it, but I’ve still got a long way to go to keep a level head. Like I said, I’ll probably be working on the same thing that I’m working on now for the rest of my career.” Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy were headed the wrong direction. Johnson, who missed the cut in the Masters and PGA Championship, dropped to 4 over until a late rally gave him a 73 and a spot in the weekend. He was seven behind. McIlroy had to birdie two holes down the stretch for a 73. He was six behind. The 36-hole lead at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open was 3-under 139. The course is strong as ever with enough wind, though a marine layer has kept sunshine from baking out some of the greens. Then again, the weekend awaits. The weekend will include Phil Mickelson, whose deft scrambling kept him inside the cut line and he finished with a birdie for a 69. He was seven shots behind in his quest to complete the career Grand Slam. Bland will be a big part of the weekend, and that’s the charm of the U.S. Open. “I love that about the game,” defending champion Bryson DeChambeau said after a 69 left him five shots behind. “Anybody, any age group, can play this great game and compete and contend. If you’re got the skill set to get the ball in the hole in the least amount of shots, you can be up there with the young guns.” Bland is the classic journeyman, happy to be making a living at golf for more than two decades, disappointed to have not won until he broke through last month, not nearly surprised as most everyone else that he was tied for the U.S. Open.

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Jordan Spieth will defend his title against a strong lineup that includes multiple other high-profile U.S. Open cuts, as the PGA TOUR travels some 100 miles north from testy Shinnecock Hills to a more birdie-friendly TPC River Highlands next week for the Travelers Championship.  FedExCup titleholder Justin Thomas and Masters champion Patrick Reed also headline a field that features eight of the top 15 in the world rankings. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk will also return to the site where he carded the TOUR’s first 58 just two years ago. FIELD NOTES Bubba Watson, a two-time winner on Hartford’s outskirts, and THE PLAYERS Championship winner Webb Simpson also help bolter a post-Open lineup with 13 of the world’s top 30. Patrick Cantlay, whose 60 in the 2011 edition remains the lowest PGA TOUR round by an amateur, returns to River Highlands for the first time since 2014. He tied for 24th that year but missed two cuts in later visits. TPC River Highlands is set to welcome 50 players who teed it up at Shinnecock Hills this week. Hogan Award winner Doug Ghim, last year’s U.S. Amateur runner-up, makes his pro debut on a sponsor invite. Other exemptions went to former Illinois teammates Nick Hardy and Dylan Meyer. FEDEXCUP Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day all seek to bounce back after a rough two days at Shinnecock Hills. A bogey/bogey finish Friday kept Spieth from playing the weekend, while tough openers left McIlroy (80) and Day (79) unable to recover. Each of the past four Travelers winners have triumphed after competing in the U.S. Open, though Russell Knox’s 2016 win gets an asterisk. An Olympic shakeup that year moved the Travelers to August. Spieth has a chance to join Phil Mickelson (2001-02) as the only man to go back-to-back in Hartford. Just four New Englanders have won in Hartford, though two came back-to-back in 2005 (Brad Faxon) and 2006 (J.J. Henry). The others are Paul Azinger (1987, ’89) and Bob Toski (1953). Comedian George Lopez, ESPN’s Chris Berman and Boston sports legends Ray Allen (Celtics) and Tim Wakefield (Red Sox) top the marquee for the Wednesday celebrity pro-am. COURSE TPC River Highlands, 6,841 yards, par 70. Marking its 35th year as a PGA TOUR venue, the Pete Dye design overlooking the Connecticut River is the third course housed on the property dating back to 1928. Dye completely overhauled the footprint in 1982, and Bobby Weed provided an upgrade nine years later in consultation with former TOUR pros Roger Maltbie and Howard Twitty. Nos. 15-17 play around a four-acre lake, helping create a finish considered among the most thrilling on TOUR. River Highlands is the site of the TOUR’s only 58, when Jim Furyk reeled off 10 birdies and holed out for eagle at the par-4 No.3. 72-HOLE RECORD 258, Kenny Perry (2009). 18-HOLE RECORD 58, Jim Furyk (4th round, 2016). LAST YEAR Spieth’s first visit to River Highlands produced a highlight-reel finish last season, holing a bunker shot on the first hole of a playoff to dispatch Daniel Berger and celebrate with an emphatic shoulder bump with caddie Michael Greller. Unable to stave off Berger’s late charge in regulation, Spieth watched as his blast from 60 feet away dove into the cup on the second trip through No. 18. Berger nearly rendered the celebration premature when he just missed a 50-foot birdie try, but the FedEx St. Jude Classic winner came up shy in his bid to sandwich two wins around the U.S. Open. Berger forced the playoff with three birdies in the final six holes of regulation, erasing a three-shot deficit with a 3-under-par 67. Spieth became just the second man since World War II to collect 10 PGA TOUR victories before turning 24, taking up company with Tiger Woods (15 wins). HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (featured groups), 3:30-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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