Golf: Johnson puts her troubles behind her

BILL BLIGHTON reports from North Carolina

Trish Johnson emerged from the deepest slump of her career to move among the leaders in the opening round of the United States Women's Open Championship at wind-swept Pinehurst, North Carolina, yesterday.

The 30-year-old from Bristol defied the tough pine needles course and a gusting wind to score one over par 71, which left her just one stroke off the early lead held by the Americans, Kris Tschetter and Jenny Lidback.

Three years ago Johnson won twice on the US circuit and had 12 top-ten finishes in 15 events but since then she has struggled to make an impact and she admitted that, despite winning $330,000 (pounds 220,000) when finishing 10th in the 1993 US rankings, she also suffered financially.

"I am like Laura Davies, when I win money I tend to spend it," she said. "I just like to go out and buy things."

They include two houses and it became increasingly difficult to meet the mortgage payments when she slithered to 102nd in the rankings the following year.

She added: "It looked as though my career was really taking off, then it nose-dived and I have no idea why. The last three years have been the most amazingly frustrating period of my life. My confidence just drained away."

Johnson has never been the most accurate drivers of the ball but it was her failure with the putter which really did the damage. As recently as last week she described her putting as "horrendous", but a tip from Australia's Carrie Webb turned it around. She explained: "Carrie suggested I line up the putter to the hole before addressing the ball and it worked immediately. Just seeing the ball go into the hole on the practice green restored some of my confidence."

Johnson's putting became so suspect that she successfully experimented on the greens with a sand iron during tournaments and it was the realisation that the club was heavier than her putter which brought another transformation. She added: "Now I have a really heavy putter which is like a mallet and it's working well."

The Solheim Cup stalwart might have become the first player to beat par 70 but missed several good chances, with her only birdie coming at the 10th, where she pitched to 12 feet before converting the putt. She still played solidly in a wind which was expected to gather greater force later in the day, when Davies was scheduled to try for a second successive major title after her victory in the LPGA Championship three weeks ago.