Defending champion Dustin Johnson made only one mistake during his second round 68, but it cost him the outright lead at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Friday.
With a clutch of players nipping at his heels, overnight leader Johnson surrendered a one-stroke advantage with a bogey on the 17th to fall back into a tie with five others on 10-under par.
Having patiently moved to the head of the pack, the American now jostles for space at the top of the leaderboard with compatriots Bryce Molder, Paul Goydos and J.B. Holmes, along with Germany’s Alex Cejka and Australian Matt Jones.
PHOTO: AP
“I struggled a little bit today on the putting green,” Johnson said. “Other than that I’m hitting it very well. I’m very comfortable where I’m at.”
David Duval is one stroke behind after shooting a 68 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Johnson, who had three birdies, including one on the 13th to take the lead on 11-under, was pleased to have had only the one dropped shot.
“I got off to a kind of a rocky start, but made some good pars,” he said. “Then I started hitting it better coming around the last few holes. I had a bunch of opportunities and made a couple of birdies.”
Johnson will play his third round at Spyglass Hill, considered the toughest of the three golf courses used in the rotation.
“I like Spy, fits my eye well,” Johnson said. “I played a few rounds there, so I’m comfortable with all the holes.”
Goydos played his second round at Spyglass and had the best round of the day of the leaders, a seven-under 65.
It marked the American’s first sub-70 round at the course in 14 appearances at the event.
Goydos, named an assistant Ryder Cup captain by Corey Pavin, has set a goal to play well enough to get on the team. A strong finish here would get him closer.
“Obviously you set goals,” Goydos said. “You should have different levels of goal-setting throughout the year.”
Duval was also among the leaders for a brief period, reaching 10-under with a birdie on the sixteenth at Pebble Beach. He fell back to nine-under after a bogey on the par-three 17th.
“I’m hitting the ball mostly pretty good,” said Duval, who has been battling back spasms. “Had to shake a few putts in on these greens and not got much trouble, so kind of the recipe you need to have out here.”
The former world No. 1 has now notched together two sub-par rounds, only the fourth time in the last 24 events. On the three previous occasions, Duval struggled to take the form into the final two rounds, his highest finish a tie for 59th.
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