Robert Allenby was one of nine players to shoot a four-under 67 in the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Bill Hass, Carl Petterson, and Allenby were the only three of the nine co-leaders to open their first round on the front nine. The other six co-leaders began their day on the 10th hole.
Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, and Fred Couples were three of six players one shot back. Defending champion Steve Stricker opened with a two-over-par 73, tied for 91st place. Phil Mickelson, who won the tournament in 2008 and 2009, shot an even par 71, good enough to be tied for 40th place.
Dustin Johnson, who was late for his tee time and a mere six seconds from getting disqualified from the tournament, blamed his caddy for his tardiness. Per Emily Kay at Waggle Room:
Johnson said his looper Bobby Brown confused the 8:12 a.m. pro-am tee time with the 7:32 a.m. time he was supposed to start his first round, according to the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson. Johnson incurred a two-shot penalty for missing his Thursday start by about four minutes and finished the day at 2-over 73.
“I don’t look at my time,” Johnson told Ferguson. “I leave that up to Bobby.”
As the tournament progresses, check back with this StoryStream for tee times and leaderboard updates. And for more on the Northern Trust Open, check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.