Johnson, Spieth, Fowler part of logjam
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. » Two swings cost Dustin Johnson the lead. It wasn’t long before Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler caught up to him in The Northern Trust, setting up a weekend of star power in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event.
Johnson, finally looking like the No. 1 player who looked unstoppable in the spring, appeared on the verge of building a big lead at Glen Oaks Club until consecutive tee shots wound up on the wrong holes and forced him to scramble just to escape with bogey.
Fowler made up a five-shot deficit in six holes playing alongside Johnson, making a 15-foot birdie on the last hole for a 66 to join Johnson and Jhonattan Vegas (65) atop the leaderboard. And then Spieth put together a stretch Friday afternoon reminiscent of his British Open victory, minus a shot from the driving range, in a 65.
Spieth began the back nine with five straight birdies, matching his longest birdie streak on the PGA Tour. It ended with a bogey on the par-3 15th when his tee shot rolled back into the water, but then he answered with a 40-foot birdie putt up the slope on the 16th.
Even without his best year with his best club, Spieth has won three times and captured the third leg of the Grand Slam. But his putter doesn’t leave him for long.
“Putter has been streaky for me this summer, which is better than just kind of notso-great, which it was before that,” he said. “So I’ve been able to mentally use one or two good putts to make me feel like I’m putting awesome.
“I got on the good side of the streak on the back nine today.”
He wasn’t alone in running off a string of birdies. Matt Kuchar looked as though he might miss the cut until his caddie encourage him to try to get back to even par. Kuchar ran off four straight birdies and kept right on rolling, ending his round of 64 with eight birdies on the last 10 holes.
Kuchar and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (68) were one shot out of the lead.
Chun leads in Canada; Henderson makes cut
OTTAWA, ONTARIO » In Gee Chun took the lead Friday in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, and Canadian star Brooke Henderson did just enough to stick around for the weekend at Ottawa Hunt.
Chun closed with a birdie on the par-5 ninth for her second straight 4-under 67, giving the South Korean player a two-stroke lead over Americans Mo Martin, Brittany Lincicome and Marina Alex.
“I really like playing in Canada, so just enjoy everything,” Chun said. “I was surprised how many people came out here. I know Canadian people like the sport. I really like it and appreciate it.”
Henderson, the 19-yearold fan favorite from nearby Smiths Falls, followed her opening 74 with a 69 to make the cut on the number at 1 over. Also closing on the front nine, she rebounded from a bogey on the par-3 eighth with a two—putt birdie on No. 9.
“At the end, Cristie Kerr, she hugged me and said, ‘More pressure than a major there,”’ Henderson said. “I said, ‘Yeah, it was.”’
Pieters misses cut, Webster leads
FARSO, DENMARK » Defending champion Thomas Pieters missed the cut at the Made In Denmark tournament, as Steve Webster took a one-shot lead after two rounds of the European Tour event on Friday.
Webster, who led overnight with Wade Ormsby and Matt Wallace, shot a 1-under 70 and was on 8-under overall at the Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort.