Dustin Johnson birdied three of his last six holes on Friday, finishing with an approach to eight feet on the 489-yard closing hole, for a 67 that gave him a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth going into the weekend at The Northern Trust.
DJ has missed nine birdie chances from 10 feet or closer at Liberty National but he still leads. He adds that to his impressive FedExCup playoffs-opener record: two wins albeit at other courses.
‘I’ve got a lot of control with the golf ball and hitting a lot of really nice shots and rolled in a couple putts today which is nice, but still feel like I left quite a few out there,’ Johnson said.
‘I’m in a good position heading into the weekend, and if I can keep swinging the way I am, I think it’s going to be a good weekend.’
The weekend does not include Masters champion Tiger Woods, who withdrew a few hours before his second round citing ‘a mild strain to the oblique’.
This is Woods’ first withdrawal in the middle of a tournament since February 2017, two months before fusion surgery on his lower back. Woods remains hopeful to play next week at Medinah.
Spieth (64) started the playoffs on the bubble at 69th in the FedExCup standings.
Now he must battle the demons that have plagued him in recent months and as recently as last week’s Wyndham Championship. Spieth started the weekend on the same score where he stands currently, but a third-round 77 had him miss the 54-hole cut.
Back at the top, Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed are two shots behind, and Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy among those another shot back.
McIlroy survived a rules incident on the par-three 14th. He was assessed a two-shot penalty from the bunker after he went to remove a small stone next to his ball, but realised when he touched it and it disintegrated that it was a clump of wet sand from a brief storm delay.
The original ruling was a penalty. The PGA TOUR reviewed it as McIlroy played the last four holes, spoke to him after the round and determined that was no intent to improve his lie.
That turned his his 70 into a 68.
‘The reason I called someone over is I don’t want anything on my conscience, either,’ he said. ‘I feel like I play the game with integrity and I’m comfortable saying that I didn’t improve anything. I thought it was a rock. It wasn’t. I moved my hand away, and then I was like, “I don’t know if I’ve done anything wrong here.”
‘It came down to me and they said, “OK, are you comfortable telling us you didn’t improve your lie?” And for me, I am comfortable saying that.’
Missing the cut meant the end of the season for at least two dozen players who would not be among the top 70, which includes Bubba Watson. Sergio Garcia would appear to be a casualty having started at No 65 and not making it to the weekend.
The leader, Dustin Johnson, has had a quiet year since winning a World Golf Championship in Mexico City for his 20th career victory. Another year passed without winning a Major. He was runner-up in the first two Majors, but he hasn’t finish better than 20th since the PGA Championship.
Northern Trust leaderboard (USA unless stated):
130 – Dustin Johnson 63-67
131 – Jordan Spieth 67-64
132 – Abraham Ancer (MEX) 67-65, Troy Merritt 62-70, Patrick Reed 66-66, Jon Rahm (ESP) 64-68
133 – Andrew Putnam 69-64, Justin Rose (ENG) 65-68, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 68-65, Wyndham Clark 67-66, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 65-68
134 – Ian Poulter (ENG) 68-66, Kevin Kisner 64-70, Harold Varner 67-67
135 – Brian Stuard 66-69, C.T. Pan (TPE) 68-67, Justin Thomas 67-68, Im Sung-jae (KOR) 67-68, Andrew Landry 68-67
136 – Joel Dahmen 67-69, Dylan Frittelli (RSA) 69-67, Bryson DeChambeau 68-68, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 68-68, Shane Lowry (IRL) 69-67, Kevin Na 69-67, Danny Willett (ENG) 66-70
137 – Corey Conners (CAN) 66-71, Ryan Palmer 70-67, Patrick Cantlay 70-67, Vaughn Taylor 69-68, Max Homa 66-71, J.T. Poston 67-70, Adam Scott (AUS) 68-69
