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Johnson fails to settle, Lancaster grabs surprise lead

Masters champion Zach Johnson couldn't settle in at home, shooting a one-under 70 and falling six strokes off the lead through the first round of the John Deere Classic on Thursday.

Neal Lancaster shot seven-under to grab a one-shot lead over Duffy Waldorf, Paul Stankowski, Kenny Perry, Scott Gutschewski and Jason Dufner.

Ranked 15th in the world and the only top-45 player in the tournament, Johnson started on the 10th hole and appeared to be hitting his stride when he birdied the 15th and 17th. That put him at one-under, but his putting prevented him from making a run, which explains why he called the round "very mediocre."

This was not the start he had in mind, but it was in line with his previous showings at TPC Deere Run. Johnson grew up just over an hour away, and he considers this his home event even though he has never finished higher than 20th.

Maybe it was no surprise the magic that carried him to a shocking victory at the Masters and showed up again when he won the AT&T Classic near Atlanta in May was missing.

"I missed some very short putts," Johnson said. "I actually had some unfortunate breaks, too. I hit it in three divots -- two on the front and one on the back. That really just kind of put me in a position where I had to try to get on the green."

Lancaster was a surprise leader.

His lone US PGA Tour victory was at the 1994 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, and he said he has not played well for six years. His highest finish in three tour events this year was 24th at the AT&T Classic, and he hit so poorly on the range on Wednesday that he stopped. He didn't bother going to the putting green all week because that part of his game deserted him years ago.

He fared well on Thursday, finishing with eight birdies and one bogey.

While Lancaster grabbed the lead, Johnson took center stage.

A gallery of about 75 trailed him, cheering just about every shot -- good or bad.

Johnson knocked a 5m birdie putt wide before tapping it in for par, a fitting conclusion to his round.

"I feel I'm in a good position," Johnson said. "It's only Thursday. I'm certainly not out of the golf tournament."

John Daly was one-over after his first round, while defending champion John Senden was in danger of missing the cut after shooting seven-over.
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