Johnson sinks putt on 18 to take one-shot
Masters champion Tiger Woods withdrew Friday from the opening FedEx Cup playoffs event with what he described as a mild oblique strain.
It was the first time Woods has pulled out in the middle of a tournament since the Dubai Desert Classic in February 2017, two months before he had a fourth surgery on his back to fuse his lower spine.
“Due to a mild oblique strain that led to pain and stiffness, I have to withdraw from The Northern Trust,” Woods said in a statement released by the PGA Tour. “I went for treatment early Friday morning, but unfortunately I'm still unable to compete.”
Woods, playing in only his second tournament since the U.S. Open in June, opened with a 4-over 75 on a Liberty National course so soft that only one other player had a higher score. It was his second-worst score in 89 rounds in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
He has said all year that there are days when his back doesn't feel as limber. In March, he decided not to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the road to the Masters because of lingering soreness in his neck. At the PGA Championship, he played only nine holes of practice in cold weather at Bethpage Black, where he missed the cut.
Woods stopped hitting full shots on the back nine of his pro-am Wednesday at Liberty National. After his opening round, he said his back was “a little stiff, but that's just the way it's going to be.”
He said he is hopeful to play next week in the BMW Championship at Medinah, where he won two of his PGA Championship titles.
If he plays, Woods likely would need to move back into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup to advance to the Tour Championship, where he is the defending champion. It was last year at East Lake that he capped off his comeback with his first victory in five years. Dustin Johnson is hitting the ball so well he doesn't have to make every putt. He made enough birdies Friday for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead in The Northern Trust.
Johnson holed an 8-foot putt on the 18th at Liberty National to take the lead going into the weekend of the FedEx Cup playoffs opener, a tournament he has won twice at other courses.
Spieth began the PGA Tour postseason not assured of advancing beyond the first event. He had a 64 and is one round away from having a chance to end a two-year victory drought.
Johnson was at 12-under 130.
Rory McIlroy had a 68 and was three shots behind, which was better than five. He originally was assessed a two-shot penalty in the bunker until it was rescinded based on intent.
Right when it looked as though everything would go wrong for Jordan Spieth, he had some fortune on his side during a trying season.
His solid round Friday in The Northern Trust was headed for a potentially bad ending when he sent his tee shot well to the right on the 464-yard ninth hole. Buried in deep fescue, he was allowed a drop because his feet were on the cart path. The next shot came out hot, but it hit a knoll to deaden the speed and took a big hop to the right to 18 feet for a final birdie and a 7-under 64.
Spieth, not even assured of advancing out of the first stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs, had a one-shot lead over Abraham Ancer among early starters in the second round. Troy Merritt, who led after an opening 62, played in the afternoon. There's still two rounds left, and Spieth still has memories of last week in North Carolina when he went from contention to missing the 54-hole cut in one round.
Still, the finish of this round was a sign that he can still get a good break or two.
“It's funny,” he said. “When things are going well, you do end up getting all the bounces, too. It's just amazing how it works. When you're playing well, you're confident, you're positive the whole time that it goes your way. And when you're not, they just don't. There's something to it.”
One hole earlier, he escaped a few bad breaks with a 10foot par save.
“Do I look at it as a massive turning point? No,” Spieth