The Open Championship 2013 Leaderboard: Golfers Who Will Stay in Top Spots

It wasn’t all bad from Muirfield on Day 1.

Zach Johnson was one of the golfers who didn’t have many issues on the course for the first round of The Open Championship. Johnson enters Friday with a one-shot lead after he put together a near-perfect round of golf. The 14th was the only hole that gave him enough trouble that he couldn’t make par or better.

The front nine was far from difficult for Johnson. He birdied the third hole and then went on a run from the fifth to the seventh where he made eagle, then birdie and then another birdie. By the time he was ready to play the back nine, Johnson was already five under.

Johnson was great to start the back nine, playing one under through the first four holes. But then he got to the 14th and his flawless day was ruined. Even though he couldn’t make it through the round without a bogey on his scoreboard, it was still an impressive round from the 2007 Masters champion.

Here’s what Johnson thought of the conditions, per the PGA Tour’s Twitter account:

This is only the second time in Johnson’s career that he’s led after a round at a major—the other, of course, being the fourth round at Augusta six years ago. The first-round leader has only gone on to win The Open Championship five times in the history of the tournament, though, according to PGATour.com.

While Johnson may not win the entire tournament, he should enter the weekend somewhere in the top 10. Expect these two golfers to stay in the mix as well.

The Open Championship Complete Leaderboard

Dustin Johnson

Close, but no cigar.

That’s been the motto for Dustin Johnson at The Open Championship the past two years. In 2011, he finished two under, which was good for a second-place tie with Phil Mickelson. Last year, Johnson finished seven shots behind the leader, but still finished in the top 10.

Will this finally be the tournament where Johnson wins his first major?

Kelly Tilghman of The Golf Channel thinks he could be dangerous:

After the round Johnson put together on Thursday, I would have to agree. He was brilliant on the front nine at Muirfield, shooting four under without a bogey or worse on his scorecard. The back nine wasn’t as pretty, as he bogeyed three holes, but an eagle on the 17th got him back toward the top.

If Johnson would’ve played better from the 12th to the 16th, there’s a strong chance that he’d be the leader entering Friday. But that didn’t happen, which is still fine. He just needs to be a bit more accurate from the tee box, as he hit 64.3 percent of the fairways. He was great on the greens, though, as he needed just 2.2 putts per GIR.

Johnson has one win on the PGA Tour this season, but that came during the first week of the year at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. With the way he played on Thursday, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins his second this week at Muirfield.

Brandt Snedeker

Brandt Snedeker was so, so close a year ago at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

The former Vanderbilt Commodore shot three under to finish tied for third place and four shots back of the champion, Ernie Els. Not only was it the first time Snedeker finished in the top 10 at The Open Championship, it was the first time he made the cut in four tries.

Snedeker’s bound to make the cut this year too.

The American started off strong, shooting two under through the first five holes. Then, Snedeker got himself into a bit of trouble. He double-bogeyed the sixth and then bogeyed the seventh. He turned things around though, and didn’t bogey another hole throughout the round.

Snedeker finished Thursday at three under and just two shots off of Zach Johnson for the tournament lead. With the way he hit the ball during the first round, he should be able to put together a strong second round. He’s been great at hitting fairways and greens throughout the year on the PGA Tour, and that’s continued at Muirfield.

There’s also a strange trend that may work in Snedeker’s favor, per Tilghman:

While it’s a little creepy to think we could have back-to-back-to-back major champions who are all 32 years old and in the top 10 in the world, it is possible.

*All statistics are via PGATour.com and ESPN unless otherwise noted.