NORTON, Mass. – There have been no shortage of opinions this week regarding the redesigned 12th hole at TPC Boston, but it did provide some entertainment for fans early Friday.
Justin Thomas was the first player to aim left off the tee and go down the adjacent 13th fairway, taking the 12th's fairway bunker complexes out of play and surprising the gallery in the process.
“I knew that they were going to be confused, or not know what was going on,” said Thomas, who opened with an even-par 71. “But I just felt like that was the best way to play the hole today. I definitely hit it a little left of where I wanted, too, so that was even more left of where they thought it was going to be.”
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Officials played a forward tee for Friday’s opening round at the 12th, but it still ranked as the course’s toughest hole with a 4.521 stroke average.
A few players in the afternoon wave also took t..

NORTON, Mass. (AP) Now that he’s finally won again, Dustin Johnson is starting to look as dangerous as ever.

One week after Johnson ended a five-month dry spell brought on by a back injury, he easily handled the early cold and a steady wind at TPC Boston for a 5-under 66 to take a one-shot lead in the opening round of the Dell Technologies Championship.

And the world’s No. 1 player made it look easy on a tough day for scoring.

He started with a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 10. He made the turn with a 6-iron from 220 yards that sailed high and rode the left-to-right wind into 4 feet for eagle. When another big tee shot settled into a divot on the reachable par-5 second hole, he laid up short of the water and still made birdie.

”Put together a pretty good score,” Johnson said.

Masters champion Sergio Garcia opened with five birdies on the front nine, and then saved his day with a par on his final hole. He hooked his tee shot into the trees, got a bounce into the rough, laid up an..

NORTON, Mass. – We’ve seen this before from Dustin Johnson, one dominant performance after another that results in a series of victories that can feel like a blur.
Johnson began his week with a 5-under 66 for the early lead at the Dell Technologies Championship, a round that included an eagle at the par-5 18th hole.
Following his playoff victory last week at The Northern Trust, it seemed like more of the same. Or maybe it feels like spring, when Johnson won three consecutive events, including two World Golf Championships, to move to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
That run, ended when Johnson injured his back on the eve of the Masters, and although he’s felt healthy for the last few months, something has been missing.
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“When you win, you're playing well. So it gives you a lot of confidence,” Johnson said. “For me, that was one thing that was probably lacking a little..

NORTON, Mass. – Following one of his poorest putting weeks this season, Marc Leishman arrived at TPC Boston early and with a plan.
Leishman, who missed the cut last week at the playoff opener with rounds of 35 and 32 putts, was on the course on Tuesday, three days before the event’s Friday start, with just a putter and a golf ball.
“Just did a little bit more work on the speed, charted the greens a little bit more than I probably would have otherwise here this week,” he said on Friday following his round. “Just came out here and rolled a few balls.”
Dell Technologies Championship: Articles, video and photos
Current FedExCup Playoff points standings
The result was a 4-under 67 that moved him into a tie for second place. More importantly, he needed just 27 putts and ranked first in the field on Day 1 in strokes gained-putting.
“I’m happy with all the work that I've put in early in the week. It paid off today, and hopefully can keep the ball rolling the next few days,” he said…