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Zach Johnson gets game in first year of pro competition

PGA Tour rookie Zach Johnson is making it look easy in his first season on the PGA Tour.

Johnson, the BellSouth Classic winner this month, shot a 4-under 68 on Friday to match Steve Lowery and Steve Stricker at 5-under 139, good for the clubhouse lead in the suspended second round of the Shell Houston Open. Lowery shot a 69, and Stricker had a 70.

Thirty-six players who were unable to finish because of darkness -- including John Riegger and Neal Lancaster, who both were one stroke back -- were scheduled to complete play Saturday morning. Riegger had one hole to play, and Lancaster had three left.

Vijay Singh (66), Paul Azinger (67) and Patrick Sheehan (71) finished at 4-under 140, and Justin Leonard (70), Mark Calcavecchia (69) and Scott Hoch (68) were among the players at 3-under 141.

"I made a couple bogeys but really only hit one or two poor shots," Johnson said.

That's been his story for the past month and a half.

The 28-year-old Johnson, the player of the year last season on the Nationwide Tour, finished 13th in the Honda Classic six weeks ago, sixth at Bay Hill the following week and then won the BellSouth. He's 15th on the money list with almost US$1.16 million.

"I feel like I'm playing about like I was last year," he said. "I was really consistent last year and I was able to make a lot of cuts. Out here, everybody hits it good, it's just a matter of who makes the putts. My putting feels good, my rhythm feels good."

Johnson opened with a 71 on Thursday and was 5 under for the tournament after 10 holes Friday when lightning and thunder halted play. When play resumed about two hours later, he promptly birdied No. 11, rolling in a 57-footer.

"That was lucky, complete luck," he said.

He bogeyed the par-3 13th, rebounded with a birdie at No. 16 before surrendering a shot with a bogey at 17. He finished with a par on 18 in near darkness.

Lowery birdied his last three holes in the twilight.

"It was a game of momentum because of the break," said Lowery, who has only one finish in the top 25 in nine events this year. "I played good early, and then we had the break and kind of went out and made some pars and three birdies at the finish, so it's up-and-down momentum all day."

Stricker is trying to rebound from a disappointing 2003, when he finished in the money only eight times and just once in the top 25. He came to Houston ranked 182nd on the money list.

"This game is so fickle," he said. "At one time I was supposed to be a good player and supposed to do these things, and people knew who I was ... Now it's the opposite, and it makes you work hard at it."

He had an early tee time and took advantage of calmer conditions, particularly the wind that grew to a steady 20 mph with stronger gusts in the afternoon.

Singh, the world's second-ranked player, bounced back from an opening 74.
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