THE LONE SURVIVOR
D.J. only player under par after Round 2 of U.S. Open
There were times when Ja ck Nicklaus, and l ater Tiger Woods, were dominating major championships when they were so far-andaway better than the rest of the field that their competitors wondered whether they were playing a different golf course.
This is not to say Dustin Johnson is — or ever will be — compared to Nicklaus or Woods, but as you peruse the U.S. Open leaderboard entering the weekend’s final two rounds at Shinnecock Hills, raise your hand if you think anyone’s going to stop him from winning his second U.S. Open by day’s end Sunday.
Johnson, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, has looked steadier and more in control than anyone in the field through 36 holes and he hasn’t shown any signs it might change over the next 36. He opened with a 1-under 69 on Thursday and followed it with a 3-under 67 on Friday to take a commanding four-shot lead into Saturday’s third round.
Johnson, who played in the morning wave of tee times in more difficult, colder conditions, has played so well and — unlike most of the competitors behind him on the leaderboard — averted any round-ruining blowup holes that he left a number of them wondering aloud whether he’s due for one.
He leads Scott Piercy and Charley Hoffman, who are both even par, by four shots. Ian Poulter, who threw away a great round with a triple bogey on No. 8 (his 17th hole of the day), Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and defending champion Brooks Koepka are all 1-over.
While Johnson was playing his steady golf, a number of his fellow stars of the game crumbled. Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, to name a few, missed the cut.
“It shows how impressive Dustin Johnson is playing, because he played in much more difficult conditions and he’s beating everybody by a lot,’’ said Phil Mickelson, who overcame his opening-round 77 to make the cut after a 69 on Friday.
Johnson’s history with the U.S. Open is a dramatic one. He won in 2016 at Oakmont, his first and only major championship victory. That came a year after the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, where he three-putted the 72nd hole from 12 feet to lose to Jordan Spieth.
And here he is again — in contention.
“I like being in the lead for sure,’’ Johnson said. “It’s less shots you’ve got to make up. Right now I’m in a good position going into the weekend. [But] there’s still 36 holes left.’’
There were a couple of cautionary tales sitting in front of Johnson as he took his big lead into the weekend.
The first of those is Poulter, who had pulled to within a shot of Johnson’s lead at 3-under when he arrived at No. 8, then tripled it with a skulled greenside sand shot, a fluffed chip and chunked chip.
“I’m 1-over par in a U.S. Open; I’m not sure how else to look at it,’’ Poulter said, insisting on taking the positive view of his big-picture position rather than dwell on his one bad hole. “I’m right in it. I’m in the hunt. I’m happy. I’ll go and rectify a couple of those poor 7-irons I hit and we’ll have a nice dinner.’’
Another is Fleetwood, who went from shooting an opening-round 75 to the low round of the tournament with his 66 on Friday.
“It can switch like that,’’ Fleetwood said. “You just have to keep that in mind that you never know what’s going to happen, especially in a U.S. Open. So as long as you keep going and hang in there, something might happen. Or it might not.’’
When Stenson was asked if Johnson can be caught, he said even the world’s No. 1 player is “always catchable.”
Stenson played with Johnson at Shanghai last year when Johnson lost a six-shot lead in the final round.
“He’s a hole away from putting everyone else right back into it,’’ Rose said. “You just saw what happened to Ian Poulter. That could happen to D.J. I’m not saying it’s going to, but it could. That’s the nature of the U.S. Open. So to hang around is often the best form of attack.’’