Johnson’s game shows signs of life at Riviera
Riviera might be all Dustin Johnson needed to snap out of his mediocre play.
A runner-up the last two years, Johnson shot a 5-under 66 despite making birdie on only one of the par 5s and was tied for the lead with Troy Merritt among the early starters Friday in the Northern Trust Open.
Merritt, who picked up his first PGA Tour victory last year at the Quicken Loans National, had a bogey-free 66.
They were at 8-under 134.
Jordan Spieth was headed home, though not without a brief fight.
Spieth, the No. 1 player in the world, opened with a 79 and knew he would have needed something in the low 60s to have a chance of making the cut. He made it hard on himself with two early bogeys, then ran off four straight birdies around the turn to get within range. But he made bogey on No. 2 with a poor iron shot to end any realistic chance. Spieth made eight birdies in a round of 68 and missed by at least four shots.
“Coming into the day, the hard part is trying to make enough birdies, and I did that,” Spieth said. “Just too many mistakes.”
Locally, Steve Wheatcroft shot 4-over-par 146 and Brendon Todd shot 1-over 143. Neither made the cut.
Two tied for LPGA lead: England’s Holly Clyburn shot a 7-under 65 Friday to take a share of the second-round lead with 46-year-old Scottish golfer Catriona Matthew at the Women’s Australian Open.
Clyburn and 1996 champion Matthew (69) had 36-hole totals of 8-under 136 on The Grange’s West course.
They held a one-stroke lead over four players Germany’s Caroline Masson, who shot 71, China’s Lin Xiyu (67), South Korea’s Jenny Shin (70) and Haru Nomura of Japan (68).
Locally, Rachel Rohanna shot 8-over 152 and did not make the cut.
Holman leads Maybank: Australia’s Nathan Holman shot a 6-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Maybank Championship Malaysia at the Royal Selangor Golf Club.
Holman, who had an opening round of 64, had seven birdies to reach 13-under at the halfway mark. Richard Bland of England also shot 65 on Friday to stay within two shots of the lead.