CBSSports.com (KFSM) – Dustin Johnson walked off the 18th green following his second round finish on Saturday with the same one-shot lead he had when that round started over 24 hours prior.
In between, Johnson dealt with multiple delays, got hot early and then had to grind through crazy wind conditions to post a 3-under 69 and enter the weekend 10-under, one ahead of Danny Willett.
Johnson was not phased despite mother nature’s best efforts to throw him off of his game with a three-plus hour rain delay Friday morning, the suspension of play due to darkness that night, and then a 10-hour, 28-minute wind delay on Saturday.
D.J. was hot on his first 10 holes of the day on Friday, posting four birdies and had no blemishes on his card. He was still 4-under for the round when he marked his ball on No. 14 and went back to the clubhouse due to darkness. That’s when everything took a turn.
The R&A brought everyone back out at 7 a.m. local time on Saturday in near 40 mph winds, which caused golf balls to oscillate on the greens — and some to flat out blow away. In those conditions, Johnson ended up three-putting the 14th for a bogey and then had to grind out a par on No. 15 before the R&A decided to stop play again.
After the 10-plus hour delay, Johnson and company returned to the course to finish off their round. The wind was still whipping around the course but balls weren’t rolling away on the greens, so they played through it. Johnson bogeyed No. 16 but rallied to close with a good par on the insanely difficult 17th hole and then drove the green and two-putted No. 18 for a birdie and the one shot lead.
Johnson seems completely apathetic to the weather and his plan of attack on the course seems totally unaffected by the ridiculous conditions he’s facing.
While others are pulling irons and playing the ball low off the tee to keep the ball out of the wind, Johnson keeps plucking the driver out of the bag and bombing. He’s betting on his power and accuracy off the tee against the wind … and so far he’s winning.
In calm conditions, he has no problems taking trouble out of play by hitting over it, and even with 25-plus mph winds trying to dissuade him from that game plan, he just keeps popping the ball over bunkers and deep down fairways.
What might be more impressive than his driving and ball-striking in the wind is his putting. Johnson’s putter let him down at Chambers Bay, but he’s bounced back with the flat-stick early at the British Open.
Fifty-nine putts through two rounds is usually not something to write home about, but that has him T19 in the field in fewest putts per round. Johnson’s playing partner, Jordan Spieth, who is considered by many to be one of the best putters on tour, struggled mightily in the wind on Friday and Saturday with 39 putts and five three-putts.
