Big names climb leaderboard at Northern Trust

PARAMUS, N.J. — Tiger Woods pounded his tee shot into the middle of the fairway at the difficult par-4 18th hole at Ridgewood Country Club late Friday afternoon.

He laced his approach to the middle of the green, inside of 30 feet from the hole. Then he hit two terrible putts and tapped in for a bogey. It was a fitting end to a frustrating day. “I just never made any birdies,” said Woods, who finished the first two rounds at even par, limping into the weekend by making the cut on the number. “Five (birdies) for two days, that’s not going to get it done out here.”

That was especially true on this day, because nearly all of the other big names in golf took advantage of the fantastic scoring conditions at Ridgewood.

Brooks Koepka, who has won two of the last three majors, is tied for the lead at 10-under par with journeyman Jamie Lovemark.

Former World No. 1 Adam Scott is one shot back at 9-under par through 36 holes. Dustin Johnson, the current World No. 1, and Bryson DeChambeau, a rising American talent, are both two shots back at 8under par.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas are lurking at 6-under par and Jason Day is at 5-under par.

But the biggest name of all, Woods, couldn’t join in on the party. And it’s all the more frustrating because he struck the ball quite well. Woods hit 9 of 14 fairways for the second straight day. He hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. But he needed 35 putts to get around Ridgewood, sabotaging what should have been a low round.

“The name of the game is you’ve got to make putts and you’ve got to roll it,” Woods said. “No matter how good your drive is, you’ve still got to roll them and still got to make putts and I didn’t putt very well today. I had a hard time seeing my lines, and consequently, didn’t make anything.”

Koepka had no such problems. He was in the midst of a ho-hum round, even par through his first 11 holes. But a birdie at the 12th hole seemed to a waken him. He made eagle on the 13th hole, and then birdied his final three holes to shoot a 6under 66. Keopka played his final seven holes at 6-under par.

“If I’ve got the feeling,” Koepka said. “I feel like I’ve got it for a long time and I can keep it going, because I think people don’t realize, I’ve simplified the game so much. There’s no swing thought. There’s no anything. I’m not trying to work on anything while I’m out there. I’m just trying to hit the correct shot.”

That could be bad news for the rest of the field heading into the weekend.

Scott also finished strong on the back nine, with three birdies in a row starting at the drivable par-4 12th hole. He also birdied 17 to shoot 7-under 64, going 4-under on his final seven holes.

“It’s been good to play my way into (contention) for the weekend,” said Scott, who battled with Woods and Koepka two weeks ago at the PGA Championship. “(Today) is another big day and I’d like to have another taste of it on Sunday.”

Johnson was 1-over on his first nine holes and out of the picture after starting the round with a triple-bogey — his second triple in the first two rounds. But he also closed strong, playing the final nine holes in 5-under par to shoot a 4-under 67.

“I felt like I hit the ball very well,” Johnson said. “I hit a lot of great iron shots. Rolled the putter good, and other than the first hole, it was a really good day.”

But while seemingly everyone else closed strong, Woods could only limp home. He was 2-under through 13 holes, but made a bad bogey at the short par-3 15th hole after barely missing the green — his first of the day. And then he finished with a whimper by three-putting the 18th hole.