Johnson keeps cool, leads FedEx St. Jude Classic
About two hours after Dustin Johnson’s eagle Friday morning at TPC Southwind, his brother waited at the bottom of the No. 8 green with a putter cover. Johnson had just saved par, getting up-and-down from a bunker on his second-to-last hole of the day, and wanted to celebrate.
Or at least as close to celebrating as he gets out on the golf course.
So he reached out to fist bump Austin Johnson, who serves as his caddie on the PGA Tour. “That was dirty,” Dustin said. “Filthy,” Austin responded. It was a rare glimpse of emotion from Dustin Johnson during a second round that proved to be as scorching as the temperatures at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. The No. 2-ranked golfer in the world will enter the weekend at 10-under par and atop the leaderboard following a round of 63.
The highlight was his 111-yard wedge shot on TPC Southwind’s No. 1, when his ball landed a few feet from the pin and spun back into the cup for eagle.
Johnson’s reaction was to simply wave his hand to acknowledge the crowd’s cheers. It was as if this feat was expected, more so than what he did out of the sand.
“He got more excited about that upand-down than he did holing out, just because of the degree of difficulty,” Austin Johnson said, “That was just a huge save to keep the momentum going.”
Johnson’s stoic demeanor, along with his length off the tee and improved finesse around the green, is part of the total package that allowed him to ascend to the top of the golfing world in recent years. After his 64-week run atop the world golf rankings ended last month, he could move back to No. 1 if he wins the FedEx St. Jude Classic for the second time this week.
On Friday, the 33-year-old showed off his full repertoire of shots after starting on the back nine with two bogeys on his opening four holes.
The surge began when he made the turn at No. 1 with that eagle. On the par-4 second, Johnson nailed his 114yard approach shot within nine inches of the pin en route to a birdie.
Another birdie followed on the par-5 third and suddenly Johnson had grabbed the outright lead at the event he won in 2012.
He then nearly hit his tee shot into the pond on the par-3 fourth. But a day after removing his shoe and sock in order to complete a chip shot birdie from
the rough at No. 12, Johnson put one foot on the stone wall separating the water from the grass and flopped another chip within two feet before getting up-anddown for par.
“I had it going pretty good,” Johnson said.
And yet it was hard to tell whether he was excited about these developments.
About the only time he reacted was to flash a thumbs up to two-time defending champion Daniel Berger after one of Berger’s shots on No. 3.
As Austin Johnson explained, “you can’t tell if he’s 5-over or 5-under. He keeps the same face.”
“Even when I hit bad shots, I don’t really get upset because it’s not the first time I’ve ever hit a bad shot,” Dustin Johnson said.
He wasn’t the only golfer on course to post a low score Friday.
Ryan Blaum and Andrew Putnam carded matching rounds of 6-under 64 in the morning and sit just one shot back of Johnson at 9-under for the tournament.
Brandt Snedeker, meanwhile, completed an 8-under 62, one shot off the TPC Southwind course record set by Bob Estes (2001) and Jay Delsing (1993). To do so, the Nashville native connected on 149 feet, 11 inches in putts.
“It’s one of those days you like to have,” Snedeker said. “You don’t have them very often out here where the hole looks like it’s the size of a beach ball and can’t miss a putt.” Others weren’t as fortunate. Berger, for instance, missed the cut and a chance at a three-peat by posting a two-round total of 1-over. Phil Mickelson was even and looked visibly frustrated during a roller coaster second round that featured five bogeys and five birdies. He sits at 4-under for the tournament heading into the weekend.
They’re all chasing Johnson, whose only issue seemed to be the sweat on his hands generated from temperatures that soared as high as 94 degrees. On his final hole, he complained that an errant tee shot into the rough was due to his 3wood slipping mid-swing.
But Johnson nonetheless ended the round with a six-inch birdie putt after a spectacular 159-yard approach shot. As the gallery surrounding the green roared its approval, he simply nodded his head and walked back to the clubhouse.
“When you’re playing well, or you’re around the lead or in the lead, you definitely feel the pressure. But I like it,” Johnson said. “It kind of makes me focus even a little bit more and it’s a spot I want to be in.”