South Carolina man Dustin Johnson once again leads after the first round in the third straight golfing major this year. The 31-year-old finished Day 1 of the US PGA Championship 2015 at the Whistling Straits on Thursday with a six-under-par lead.

Johnson also led following the end of the first round of the British Open Championship as well as the US Open this year.

David Lingmerth of Sweden remains the American's closest competitor at -5, while World No 1 Rory McIlroy and World No 2 Jordan Spieth ended the day with a -1 score.

Golfing veteran Tiger Woods, meanwhile, had a forgettable start as he recorded three-over-par at the end of the round to finish with a score of 75.

It was a pretty content day for Johnson, and he stated that being patient during the course did help.

"Today I thought I did a great job of just staying patient, hitting the shots that the course allowed me to hit. And I struck the ball well today. So I was very pleased," Johnson said.

"Today, I really felt like I had my ball under control a lot like I did at the U.S. Open. So I feel a lot more comfortable right now. We'll just have to see what happens. It's only the first round, we've still got a lot of golf to play."

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All eyes were on McIlroy, considering the fact that he comes to the golfing major after an injury-layoff that saw him miss the British Open earlier this year.

"I have full confidence. It [the ankle injury] doesn't bother me one bit," McIlroy said.

There was one moment in the day when the defending US PGA Champion had to take an awkward stance, and roll up his pants to have a swing at the ball, that was almost in the water.

"The only thing I was trying not to do was get my feet wet," he continued. "Because if the water gets through this shoe and through, then the tape gets wet and then that would be a little more than just sort of annoying or uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

"I just had to remember to hit it hard," McIlroy added.

For Spieth, the round wasn't so bad as he finished under-par, and that's what mattered going into the next three days.

"Under par was a good round this afternoon," said Spieth, who also praised McIlroy's game.

"I didn't see any difference in his [McIlroy's] game," Spieth added. "He seems a hundred percent ready."

Meanwhile, the 278th ranked Woods rued his chances on the day. 

"I hit it great today but I absolutely made nothing," Woods said of his round that included just two birdies.

"It was one of the worst putting rounds I've had in a long time. I just never had the speed right. I think I made one putt all day," the winner of 14 major titles, added.

The trio -- Zach Johnson, Spieth and McIlroy -- will tee off at 8:05 am local time (9:05 am EST, 6:35 pm IST, 2:05pm BST).

Dustin Johnson tees off with Jason Day and Rickie Fowler at 1:20 pm local time (2:20 pm EST, 11:50pm IST, 7:20pm BST).

Where to Watch Live

The US PGA Championship 2015 -- second-round tee-off -- starts at 7:45am EST (5:15pm IST, 12:45pm BST).

The championship will be broadcast in India on Ten Golf (5:30 pm onwards).

The UK audience can catch it live on Sky Sports 4 (7pm onwards). The live streaming option is on Sky Sports Live and Sky Go.

US residents can watch the golfing major at TNT (2-8 pm), with the option of live streaming HERE.

Live streaming is also available on the official website.