But as the old adage says, the scorecard doesn't need pictures, and Johnson's round puts him in good position heading into Friday. The minor-league veteran posted a round of 2-under 70 to open the United Leasing Championship, giving him a solid chance to make the cut for the second consecutive week. After a string of eight consecutive missed cuts leading into Wichita, making the cut again in Indiana would serve the six-time Web.com Tour winner well.
"I really didn't play that great," Johnson said. "Out here, getting under par is a pretty tough task anyways. So yeah, I'm pretty happy."
Heading into the ninth hole at even par, Johnson moved up the board quickly with an eagle on the short par-5. A 10-foot putt was all it took after a laser-like approach, and just like that Johnson was in red numbers.
After missing a 6-footer and bogeying the par-3 11th, Johnson quickly bounced back with an approach to 6 feet and birdie on 12. Aside from a difficult up-and-down from left of the green on 14, the rest of Johnson's round consisted of easy two-putt pars.
And he's still not quite sure how he managed. Johnson said he struggled in the practice rounds, posting high numbers that would not serve him well in a tournament setting. To compensate, he played two full rounds on Tuesday in an effort to learn the course better. So far, it looks like the extra work paid off.
"I wasn't feeling comfortable with the course on Tuesday," Johnson said. "I actually played 36 holes, which I never do...I'm usually good for 18 holes, but I needed to see it again. There's some tricky spots."
Although Johnson said he usually likes to have some fun during practice rounds, he knows that this week required a bit more 'work'.
"A lot of times, we'll have just fun practice rounds, a little gambling game or something," Johnson said. "But this week, we had to do a lot more homework. Especially this course, (because) it's one of the toughest we'll play."
Even after the Tuesday grind, Johnson was still in search of a confidence boost prior to teeing off Thursday. Interestingly enough, the veteran said he felt a little better about his chances to score well after seeing Omar Uresti post a morning 65.
"It actually helped me," Johnson said. "When you see that, you're like 'it's doable'. It definitely was kind of a good sight to see, although you don't want to be seven behind starting the day."
Despite his early-week struggles, Johnson managed to buckle down and fight his way to an opening 70. There is no guarantee that Friday will be the same, but a 70 certainly beats plenty of other possibilities.
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-After an extended stay in the media center, I had a nice talk on the patio with a sports reporter from a local news station. He told me he just graduated from West Virginia last May, and was grateful to get such a solid job right out of college.
He told me to be prepared for the long hours if I decide to embark on a career in journalism - he is in the midst of 14 consecutive days of work, most being 12-hour days. But the most important thing? He loves it.
He also told me he was impressed with my questions to Uresti, and I appreciated the compliment. But then again, considering I walked with Uresti during his round, I better have been able to come up with some decent questions.
Knowing I had followed Uresti, another reporter asked me how to pronounce the name 'Uresti.' Hey, I guess I'm now the expert on Omar around here. Good stuff.
-When I tracked down Kevin Johnson on the 9th green, he immediately looked at me and asked, "Where the heck have you been?"
I told him I had been following Omar in the morning, and he said, "Well, you just love the orange, don't you?"
Kevin Johnson is just the man.
I then asked him if he had just eagled the hole, in confirmation since I hadn't seen his tee shot.
"Yep, eagle. How about that?," he said.
How about that, indeed.
I then told him I was going to follow him for the back nine.
His response?
"If I were you, I'd be sitting in that air conditioning (in the media center)."
- In Johnson's group was James Sacheck, a young TCU grad who qualified for the Web.com Tour with a solid finish at Q-School. Following him were his parents and his wife. His dad told me that he tries to make it to at least one event a month. Cool to see. Sacheck struggled to a round of 75, but his dad remained friendly to me the whole time - talking to me about school and Delone Carter (a former Syracuse running back who plays for the Colts).
On the 14th hole, a par-4 with woods lining the right side of the fairway, Mr. Sacheck told me he was looking to relieve himself in the woods. He asked me to look at the hole marshal, asking if I thought the marshal was a man or a woman - as this would apparently inform his decision.
At first, he said he thought it was a woman.
But after a few seconds? "We'll say it's a man."
No harm, no foul, Mr. Sacheck.
-On the 14th green, Johnson decided to take relief from a sprinkler head to the left of the green. Playing partner Paul Claxton asked if he needed a rules official, but the seasoned Johnson knew what he was doing and said it wouldn't be necessary.
Walking off the green, Johnson saw a rules official and called out, "Thanks for the help back there!"
The official responded, "Well, what did you need?"
Johnson responded with one simple phrase. "Absolutely nothing."
Then on the next hole, Sacheck needed a ruling, and the official was called over.
After the official made the ruling and drove away, Johnson yelled, "We knew we'd need you eventually."
The guy's a character.
-Then after the round, I walked up to the media center and found Johnson digging through a cooler in a fruitless search for a bottle of water. We got to talking about how his caddy loves to smoke cigarettes and drink Mountain Dews on the course (you know, just a generic discussion), and Johnson suddenly suggested that I should caddy for him sometime this summer.
He told me he would think about it and left the room. Seconds later, he popped his head back in and asked if I knew how to caddy. I told him that I had caddied for my friend (Kyle Jeziorski) in Buffalo district tournaments before, which is true.
He then asked me if I was a decent player, and I told him that I can shoot in the high 70's and low 80's if I play well.
Of course, he had a one-liner ready. "Heck, you're better than me."
Trying not to get too excited here.
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