Dustin Johnson powered through two punishing rounds at Oakmont Country Club on Friday to seize a share of the lead at the weather-disrupted US Open Golf Championship.
World No. 6 Johnson carded the first bogey-free round of the tournament with a first-round 67 that put him one shot behind unlikely first-round leader Andrew Landry.
He grabbed a share of the lead with a second-round 69 as some half the field tackled 36 holes on the demanding Oakmont course due to weather delays that knocked the tournament off schedule on Thursday.
Photo: EPA
“I am in pretty good shape, so the physical part is no problem, but definitely mentally, you have got to make sure you stay sharp all day, because you cannot go to sleep on any shot out here,” Johnson said.
His four-under total of 136 had him atop the leaderboard with Landry, who hit just one shot on Friday, but made it count.
Landry was standing over a 10-foot birdie putt at his final hole, the ninth, when play was halted for the day on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Texan, ranked 624th in the world, calmly knocked it in then took the rest of Friday off, and was to start his second round yesterday morning, with those that make the cut to then start the third round.
However, for Oakmont’s fiendish greens, firming up despite the torrential rains of Thursday, Johnson could well have supplanted Landry.
He missed a string of birdie attempts from the 10-foot range, but said he could not be unhappy with two birdies and a bogey in the second round.
“They are so hard to putt,” Johnson said. “No matter how close you are to the hole, they are tough to putt. I hit so many good putts today that I thought were going in and burned the edge or lipped out. That is just how it goes. I mean, these greens are tough.”
The leaders were chased by England’s Lee Westwood, who was three-under after one round.
Scott Piercy and Spain’s Sergio Garcia were in the clubhouse on two-under 138, both carding even-par second rounds, while Ireland’s Shane Lowry was two-under through his first 18.
American Daniel Summerhays notched a remarkable seven birdies in a five-under 65 that put him in the clubhouse on 139, leading a group of seven on one-under.
Rory McIlroy, the 2011 US Open champion, bogeyed the last three holes of his first round for a seven-over 77 that left him 11 shots off the pace.
World No. 1 Jason Day did not start the first round until Friday, but once he did, his misery lasted twice as long as McIlroy’s.
The Australian’s first-round 76 included a double-bogey at the par-four seventh, where he was in two bunkers and needed two attempts to get out of one of them.
He had managed to regain some ground with three birdies and two bogeys leaving him five-over for the tournament with three holes remaining when play ended.
Phil Mickelson was seven-over with two to play at the end of the day.
Jordan Spieth, aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the US Open title since Curtis Strange in 1989, was two-over after one round.
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