Dustin Johnson shot his second consecutive 7-under 63 on Saturday to jump into the lead after two rounds of action at LIV Golf Tulsa in Broken Arrow, Okla.
Johnson carded eight birdies against just one bogey to improve to 14 under for the tournament. He now holds a two-stroke lead over South African Branden Grace, who led the field after the opening round before posting a 3-under 67 on Saturday.
“I’m just doing everything a little bit better, driving it well, wedging it good, starting to roll in some putts,” Johnson said. “I mean, obviously when you’re shooting low scores, everything is going well.”
Johnson had the chance to finish the second round with a three-stroke lead over Grace, but he bogeyed the par-4 18th after tallying birdies on Nos. 15-17. Grace had birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 but settled for bogeys on two of his final three holes to fall further behind Johnson.
“Just got to make the crucial putts when it comes your way,” Grace said. “I hit a few today which could have been a total different story, maybe could have done two or three better, but just didn’t take advantage of when it headed my way, but I need to take advantage of that (Sunday).
“I don’t expect him to go backwards, so I need to go forward and push, and that’s what I’m hoping to do.”
Bubba Watson sits in third after recording a 64. Bryson DeChambeau finished his bogey-free round with seven birdies and shared low-round honors with Johnson, putting up a 63 to vault 14 spots into fourth.
“I scored really well (Saturday),” DeChambeau said. “My golf swing didn’t feel as comfortable as it did yesterday, but I scored better today, so I feel like I’m starting to golf, even though I’m not where I want to be.”
Brendan Steele (69 on Saturday) and Australia’s Cameron Smith (68) are tied for fifth, while Richard Bland (67) of England and Brooks Koepka (65) both sit T7. A group of seven golfers are stuck in a seven-way tie for ninth, eight shots back.
In team action, 4Aces GC, the squad Johnson captains, leads at 26 under. Stinger GC sits one stroke back at 25 under, while Crushers GC — behind captain DeChambeau — is in third at 22 under.
–Field Level Media