JOHNSON LEADS, TIGER RALLIES
An efficient Dustin Johnson shot a bogey-free 67 on Friday to lead after two rounds of the WGC-Mexico Championship.
Tiger Woods shot a 66 and is six shots behind.
MEXICO CITY — Dustin Johnson putted for birdie on every hole Friday and shot a 4-under 67, leaving him bogey-free for 36 holes and two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy and Matt Kuchar going into the weekend at the Mexico Championship.
Tiger Woods got back in the game with a 66 that included a shot from a fairway bunker that dazzled the gallery. He still was six shots behind.
Johnson, who won at Chapultepec Golf Club two years ago when he was at the top of his game, was at 11-under 131.
McIlroy birdied his first two holes and quickly built a three-shot lead, only to be undone by a four-putt from the fringe at No. 9 that slowed his momentum. He had to settle for a 70. Kuchar had a 67.
LPGA THAILAND: In Chonburi, Thailand, South Korean golfer Jenny Shin snatched the lead at the LPGA Thailand with a birdie on the last hole of the second round at Siam Country Club Pattaya on Friday.
Shin bogeyed the sixth hole but sank five birdies in the rest of the round, including the par-5 18th. Her round of 4-under 68 put her at 11 under overall and one shot ahead of the field.
Three players were tied for second: Lizette Salas of the United States (68), Minjee Lee of Australia (69), and firstround leader Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea (71).
Two-time champion Amy Yang fired a 6-under 66 to be two shots off the lead in a tie for fifth with Americans Austin Ernst (66) and Amy Olson (67).
Moriya Jutanugarn set herself again as a strong local contender after her 68 lifted her into a share of ninth place with Carlota Ciganda of Spain, Katherine Kirk of Australia, and Ryann O’Toole of the U.S. They were four shots behind.
PUERTO RICO OPEN: In Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, D.J. Trahan birdied the final hole Friday at windy Coco Beach Golf and Country Club for a 5-under 67 and a share of the second-round lead with Nate Lashley.
Trahan had seven birdies and two bogeys in his morning round. The 38-year-old player won the last of his two PGA Tour titles in 2008.
Also playing in the morning wave, Lashley had six birdies and two bogeys in a 68 to match Trahan at 8 under. He’s winless on the PGA Tour.
Roger Sloan, Martin Trainer, Ben Crane and Roberto Diaz were a stroke back in the event that was canceled last year because of Hurricane Maria. Sloan and Trainer shot 67, and Crane and Diaz had 69s.
First-round leader Andres Romero followed his opening 66 with a 73 to drop into a tie for 12th at 5 under.