Dustin Johnson missed his chance to put Northern Trust away

If Dustin Johnson’s putter had been going, he might have left the field in the dust.

Instead, the long-bomber scratched out a 4-under 67 in his second round of The Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City on Friday, giving him a one-shot edge over a star-studded leaderboard. That includes Jordan Spieth (11-under), Jon Rahm (10-under), Justin Rose (9-under) and Rory McIlroy (9-under).

“I felt like I gave myself a lot of chances and very makeable putts all day,” said Johnson, who finished with 27 putts on the day — including an 8-footer on 18 that he made for a birdie, giving him the outright lead going into the weekend of this first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

“Felt like I was rolling it good, too. I was burning the edges all day, but hitting my putts with good speed. I did stay patient and I knew I was hitting it good, so I was going to keep giving myself chances.”

Johnson won this event two years ago when it was held at Glen Oaks on Long Island, beating Spieth in a one-hole playoff. And for most of this day, it seemed as if Spieth were going to be the leader after his splendid 7-under 64.

The performance brought back memories of his best form — solid iron play, deft wedges and superlative putting. It also brought back memories of this past week, when an opening of 64-67 at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., was followed with a third-round 77 and a missed secondary cut.

Friday, Spieth went out in the morning in the calmer conditions, and playing alongside the unorthodox swing of 20-year-old Matt Wolff might have helped Spieth get over a mental barrier.

“[Wolff] swings his own swing, which I can certainly look at and say, maybe I don’t have to be perfect,” Spieth said, as Wolff finished two days at 2-under. “It doesn’t have to be textbook. Just be yourself. I can learn stuff from him. When you look back, it’s more similar to me when I was 20 than I am now, and I can actually learn how to get back to that style of golf, which is a better way to play the game.”

That’s a message that could be conveyed in Johnson’s game, as well. Later in that 2017 season, Johnson came to Liberty National as part of the U.S. Presidents Cup team and played well over a course that, back then, was playing a lot harder than the soft facsimile that exists this week in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.

“You know, if you’re hitting it well, every golf course sets up well for you,” Johnson said in his trademark deadpan. “I feel like right now, the last two days, I drove it well, and I’ve hit a lot of really good iron shots, and gave myself a lot of looks at birdie. If I can keep doing that the next two days, I think I’ll be pretty tough.”

While Spieth was playing in the morning, a ripple went through the crowd as Tiger Woods’ announced his abrupt withdrawal before his second round even started. Woods had shot an opening-round 75 and needed to go low to just make the cut, but cited “a minor oblique strain,” and pulled out of the tournament, still hoping to make it to the second leg of the playoffs next week in Chicago.

The low scores kept coming in, including a 65 from Abraham Ancer to get him in at 10-under, and a 64 from Andrew Putnam to get him to 9-under, tied with Rose after the Englishman’s steady 68.

“This golf course offers you the opportunity to attack because it’s soft right now,” Rose said. “You feel like you can make birdies, but you’ve got to respect it, too.”

So the big names are now all lined up, with a weekend of perfect weather on tap. It sure seems like it’ll be a race worth watching.

“It’s brilliant. A lot of big names,” McIlroy said. “It’s going to be an exciting weekend.”

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