Tiger Woods pays tribute to US Open leader Dustin Johnson
Saturday 16 June 2018 01:24, UK
Tiger Woods led the plaudits for US Open leader Dustin Johnson after getting a close-up view of the world No 1 in imperious form over the first two days at Shinnecock Hills.
Johnson carded four birdies against just one dropped shot as he closed on four under par at the halfway stage, making him the only player to be in red numbers for the tournament.
The world No 1 comfortably outshone playing partners Woods and Justin Thomas, with all aspects of his game firing and on course to emulate his victory at Oakmont in 2016.
Johnson got the start he wanted as he followed a cast-iron par at the 10th with a birdie at 11, converting an excellent tee shot to 10 feet, and he did well to get up and down to salvage pars at 13 and 14.
He just missed out on birdie at 15 before atoning with a good pitch-and-putt for a four at the long 16th, and his sharp short game helped him save par again on the next two holes as he turned with the outright lead on three under.
But, having hit a perfect tee shot at the first, Johnson made his worst swing of the week and tugged a wedge into a greenside bunker from where he splashed out to 12 feet and missed the putt.
The 33-year-old steadied himself with a good par save at the next, and he got back to three under with a perfect putt from 15 feet at the fourth.
Johnson could not go at the fifth green in two after yanking his drive into sand, and he left a long birdie putt an inch short on the next before opening up a three-shot lead over the field with a remarkable 45-foot putt down the hill at the seventh that had just enough pace to drop in the front.
Two safe pars capped another composed performance as he looks to become the first man to win a US Open following victory on the PGA Tour in the preceding week.
"Dustin was in complete control of what he's doing," said Woods, who was 14 shots behind Johnson after 36 holes. "He's hitting the ball so flush and so solid. I know it's windy, it's blustery, and it was raining early, but he's hitting right through it.
"It was good to see because I watched a little bit of it last week and he was doing the same thing down there, but he's brought it up here and is doing it under these conditions, and he's got beautiful speed on the greens.
"Every putt looked like it was going to go in. Even if it didn't, just had that look and that pace."
Johnson, who arrived on the back of his dominant victory at last week's FedEx St. Jude Classic, was understandably delighted with his first 36 holes but is taking nothing for granted heading into the weekend.
"I like where par is a good score on every hole no matter what club you've got in your hand, or what hole it is," said Johnson. "A par is a really good score around here. The fairways are fairly generous, but with crosswinds on every hole, they're still tough to hit.
"And even though you're in the middle of the fairway, a lot of times with a wedge you've still got to hit a good shot just to give yourself a 15 or 20-footer for birdie.
"But there's still a lot of golf left, and there's still 36 holes left no matter what position I'm in. Going into tomorrow, I'm going to stick to my game plan, stick to trying to play the holes how I have the first couple days and see what happens."
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