Smith leads as Johnson struggles

Cameron Smith made a pair of 7-foot birdie putts to finish off his round of 4-under 68 to overtake Dustin Johnson going into the third and final day of the LIV Golf InvitationalChicago.

As easy as Johnson made it look in the opening round, yesterday at Rich Harvest

Farms was such a struggle that he shot over par for the first time in the 14 rounds he has played in the Saudi-funded series.

Johnson was lucky the deficit to Smith was only two shots. He came up well short of the green on the par-4 17th and had to make an 8-foot par putt, while Smith took the lead for the first time with his 7-foot birdie putt.

On their final hole at the par-5 18th,

Johnson’s approach took a hard hop over the green. After a free drop from the grandstand, he chipped weakly to 8 feet and missed his birdie putt. Smith was on the other side of the green, lagged a 60-footer to 7 feet and holed that for another birdie.

Smith was at 10-under 134.

They will be joined in the lead group today by Peter Uihlein, the former US Amateur champion who had the low round of the breezy day with a 66. That left Uihlein only three shots behind going into the last day.

Laurie Canter (68) and Charl Schwartzel (69), who won the first LIV Golf Invitational outside London, were four shots behind. The group five back included Lee Westwood, Charles Howell III and Bryson Dechambeau.

Smith won the British Open at St. Andrews and made $2.5 million. A victory Sunday would be worth at least $4 million.

‘‘It was tricky out there today,’’ Smith said. ‘‘I got a couple of breaks and DJ didn’t quite make the putts he usually does.’’

Phil Mickelson looked as though he might get a round under par until he made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch and shot 74 to fall 12 shots behind.