Johnson, McIlroy vault into contention

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson stood out among a star-studded threesome that combined to shoot 18-under with just one bogey at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

After a sloppy first round, Johnson matched Friday’s low round with an 8-under-par 64 that put him four shots off Thomas Pieters’ lead.

“I did everything really well,” Johnson said. “It was a pretty easy 64.”

Johnson played with Rory McIlroy (66) and Tommy Fleetwood (68) in the European Tour event.

McIlroy has gone 36 holes without a bogey. He was five strokes behind Pieters, who was in the clubhouse at 12-under 132 after a 65 when McIlory’s eagle on 18 cut it to three.

“It’s massive,” McIlroy said. “Five shots to make up over the weekend is quite a lot especially with a bunched leaderboard.”

Jorge Campillo, who matched Johnson’s 64, was in second place at 8-under. Fleetwood, Alexander Levy and Ross Fisher were two back. PGA Tour: Andrew Landry leads the CareerBuilder Challenge after another low-scoring day in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County.

Landry shot 7-under 65 on PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus course to reach 16under. First-round leader Jon Rahm was a stroke back. He had two early bogeys in a 67.

Landry and five others in the top nine head up the hill to the Pete Dyedesigned Stadium Course for the weekend.

“It’s going to be a tough day,” Landry said. “I know that golf course can get a little mean, especially those last three or four holes.”

Jason Kokrak was 14-under after a 67 at Nicklaus. Two-time major champion Zach Johnson was 13-under along with Michael Kim and Martin Piller. Johnson had a 64 at Nicklaus.

Briefly: In Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Colin Montgomerie shot a second straight 65 to take a twoshot lead into the final round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, the season opener on the PGA Tour Champions. First-round co-leaders Gene Sauers and Jerry Kelly each shot 68 and were 12 under . ... Chapchai Nirat grabbed the clubhouse lead at 7-under 64 at the Singapore Open, a European Tour and Asian Tour event. Sergio Garcia was at 8-under with 10 holes to go when play was halted by rain. ... U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka has a wrist injury that will keep him out until the Masters.