Dustin Johnson reacts after playing the second hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament on July 15, 2018.Dennis Schneidler/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
It keeps getting better for Dustin Johnson, even when he had to dodge rain in the U.S. Open.
Maybe it’s a matter that the tougher it is, the better it is for Johnson.
“You’ve got to play really good golf if you want to shoot a good score,” he said. “I like where par is a good score on every hole no matter what club you got in your hand, what hole it is. A par is a really good score.”
Johnson improved upon his first round and stretched his lead by shooting 3-under-par 67 on Friday at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y. He’s up four shots on Charley Hoffman and Scott Piercy.
It’s too soon for Johnson to consider the possibilities.
“There’s still a lot of golf left. There’s still 36 holes left no matter what position I’m in,” the 2016 champion said. “I’m going to stick to my game plan, stick to trying to play the holes how I have the first couple days and see what happens.”
Rain came in heavy at times, but Johnson didn’t flinch.
“I felt like (this round) was really solid in some tough conditions,” Johnson said. “Then it kind of let up a little bit for us, and then we got to finish in some nice weather.”
Johnson, who won last week in the St. Jude Classic to move to No. 1 in the world, pushed his advantage to three shots before most of the afternoon golfers began play. He’s at 4 under at the tournament’s midway mark.
Hoffman shot 69, giving a shot back with a bogey on the final hole.
Piercy, who was a first-round co-leader, is tied with Hoffman at even par after his 71.
“I’m right there,” Piercy said. “Couple good days, and, you know, as long as D.J. doesn’t run away with something, run away and hide.”
England’s Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and defending champion Brooks Koepka are tied for fourth at 1 over.
Fleetwood made a big move, seeming to benefit from a morning tee time by shooting 66. He finished on the front side with birdies on three of his last five holes. The Englishman had six total birdies in the round.
“Really it just kind of happened,” Fleetwood said, unable to come up with an exact reason for his success. “It was a really solid round. And just a couple of putts make all the difference really sometimes.”
Koepka matched Fleetwood’s 66 in an afternoon round. Koepka played the front side in 4 under, then had a couple of bogeys before birdies on the last two holes.
“It was nice to see some (putts) go in, and I think I’ve got these greens a little more figured out,” Koepka said.
Fleetwood knows he has made a mark and can be a factor.
“I know Dustin’s going well,” he said. “But I’m all of a sudden in a position where I can have a good round tomorrow and be up there for Sunday, hopefully.”
It wasn’t so good for Tiger Woods, who hasn’t made a U.S. Open cut since 2013. After his second-round 72 put him at 10 over for the tournament, he didn’t make the cut. He has gone a decade without winning a major. This marked his first U.S. Open since 2015.
“I’m not very happy the way I played and the way I putted,” Woods said. “I’m 10-over par. So I don’t know that you can be too happy and too excited about 10-over par.”
Woods, who was playing in the group with Johnson, said he’ll take a week off, hoping to rediscover his putting touch.
“Unfortunately, it’s just what I’ve done the last few events,” he said. “I just haven’t putted well. You know, if I would have putted like I did the beginning of the year with this ball striking, that would be ideal.
“Unfortunately, I just haven’t done that.”
Johnson began on the backside Friday and went 2 under on those nine holes, then encountered trouble with a bogey on No. 1. Birdies on Nos. 4 and 7 helped him stretch the lead.
Stenson shot 70 to remain in contention. He and Fleetwood were among those to finish in the early afternoon.
First-round co-leader Russell Henley shot 73 to slip down the leaderboard. He finished with bogeys on two of his last three holes as he was among the earlier finishers in the round.
“The wind and rain was a tough stretch in the middle of the round,” Henley said.
Gary Woodland posted an under-par score in the second round with a 69, but that only brought him to 8 over for the tournament.
The wet turf seemed to help scores at times.
“But with the conditions like this, this is not too tough,” Henley said of approaching the greens.