Northern Trust 2017: Russell Henley Holds Slim Lead over Dustin Johnson

Russell Henley sits alone in first place through the first round of the 2017 Northern Trust at Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, New York.

At six under, Henley has a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson, while Scott Brown, Chris Kirk and Camilo Villegas are tied for third at four under.

Based on his recent results, Henley is an unlikely leader in the Northern Trust.

After tying for fifth in the Greenbrier Classic in July, he tied for 37th, 66th and 71st over his next three events. In addition, slow starts put him on the back foot at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship. In both cases, he was four over after the first round.

Thursday represented a vast improvement, which Henley credited to a simple, conservative approach to the opening round.

"I don't know what the key is, or the secret," he said, per the Associated Press (via CBS New York). "I just tried to hit the fairway, make sure I hit the green when I was in the fairway, and the greens are great and I rolled in a couple of putts."

Maintaining his lead won't be easy, but PGA Tour Media noted at least one metric bodes well for Henley over the next three days:

Johnson made the turn at one under, with the ninth hole portending what was to come. He nearly carded a double eagle as his approach bounced just over the cup, courtesy of the PGA Tour's official Twitter account:

Johnson settled for a par on No. 9 but birdied two of his first four holes on the back nine to begin his climb up the leaderboard. With two more birdies on the 16th and 18th holes, Johnson claimed sole possession of second.

The 2016 U.S. Open champion was a model of consistency Thursday, hitting 12 of the 14 fairways and reaching 16 of the greens in regulation.

Johnson has cooled off somewhat following his blistering start to the year. His last victory came in the WGC-Mexico Championship in March. That drought may end Sunday if he can carry over his strong first-round performance.

Plenty of golf's other top stars are well within striking distance of Henley. Rickie Fowler and PGA champion Justin Thomas tied for 12th at two under, while Jason Day and Jordan Spieth are tied for 20th at one under.

A Northern Trust title may already be out of reach for Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama, though. The former is three over and in a tie for 95th, while the latter is seven spots back after going four over.