Dustin Johnson still shows the way in The Open
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It was third time lucky for Dustin Johnson in the 2nd round of The Open.
The big-hitting American still leads the race for the Claret Jug after eventually posting a 2nd round score of 69 to add to his opening round 65 (-10), a last hole birdie putting him one clear of England’s Danny Willett.
Johnson’s day didn’t start so well when he bogeyed the only hole he played at 7am but after a long, long wait for the winds to die down – and revealing he had a quick nap – he recovered to finish strongly and to prove he’s ready to break his majors ‘duck.’
He added: “Yeah, I suppose I was maybe a little angry with what happened this morning. I don’t know, I was – everyone was out there, so it wasn’t like I was the only one on the course.
“Then again, I was almost laughing because the ball was just blowing across the green. But yeah, I was a little pissed when I made a bogey.”
DJ is back in the driving seat though in the past in majors he’s tended to do the donkeywork up front, only to blow it all away when it really matters on Sunday afternoon.
He revealed: “When it’s blowing this hard, it’s tough with everything. Driving the ball, especially with the crosswinds, it’s really hard to hit the fairway particularly coming in – it’s almost impossible to hit it in the fairway.
“But then the second shot is tough to get it the right distance and control the ball, just because it’s blowing so hard. It doesn’t matter if you shape it into it or if you turn it with it, it really moves. But everything is tough. The driving, second shots, putting. I mean, putting is very difficult when it’s blowing this hard.”
After Willett, heading the chasing back is local hero and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie (70, -8) who continues to turn back the clock with the support of fervent backing from the galleries.
Lawrie typically refuses to get carried away, saying: “I haven’t really thought too far ahead to be honest. There’s 36 holes to go.
“There’s a lot of world-class players in there. I think if you start getting ahead of yourself , you start kind of making mistakes and tripping up. All I’m thinking about is getting off the first tee tomorrow, into position, and pick my line that I want to hit it on, and make a good swing, and then you move on to the second shot at the first.
“I know it’s boredom, but as soon as you start getting ahead of yourself and dreaming, that’s when disasters happen. So one shot at a time. I know I’m playing good. I know I’m swinging good and I’m certainly putting better, but there’s a long way to go.”
You could say, Mr Lawrie is taking nothing for granted and is treading very, very carefully. He’s been around a bit, you know and knows the score….
