Dustin Johnson shot a 7-under-par round of 64 and tied Columbia’s Sebastian Munoz at the top of the leaderboard at the LIV Golf Indianapolis in Westfield, Indiana
Both players are at 16-under 126 through two rounds at the par-71 Club at Chatham Hills Course.
Johnson posted a bogey-free round and has not bogeyed a hole since shooting a four on the par-3 second hole on Friday. He birdied six holes in an eight-hole stretch in the middle part of the round, posting a score of 32 on both the front and back nines.
Munoz, who shot a 12-under 59 on Friday, looked like he would run away with the tournament after birdieing six of the first seven holes to reach 18 under. He was erratic on the back nine, playing even-par golf until hitting a poor tee shot on 18 and ending up with a double bogey to fall back into a tie with Johnson.
“I had a really great start,” said Munoz. “I kind of kept myself flowing from the momentum from yesterday. Got to, I think it was 6-under through 9, and then just a couple mistakes. Misjudgment of speed on 10 and then a really bad lie on 15 and unfortunately a bad swing on 18. I had my fair share of mistakes on that back nine. But yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.”
Johnson discussed trailing his playing partner by seven shots on the front nine.
“Obviously, he got off to a great start, I got off to a slow start, and I was seven back,” said Johnson. “But you’ve just got to keep trying to make birdies. Get it in the fairway and just get looks. That’s what I did. I did that from about 6 on in. I played really well.”
Six players are tied for third place at 12 under. Of those, Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Spain’s David Puig posted the best rounds of Saturday, each 8-under rounds of 63.
Meronk eagled the par-5 seventh and 13th holes.
Also tied at 12 under are Thomas Pieters of Belgium, Patrick Reed, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. Spain’s Jon Rahm, South Africa’s Brandon Grace and Bubba Watson are one stroke behind that group of six in a three-way tie for ninth.
Johnson is also looking forward to the challenge of what could be a match-play situation on Sunday.
“You’ve just got to play from the fairway here,” said Johnson. “If you can play out of the fairway, you get a lot of good chances, you can attack the golf course. But if you’re in the rough or fairway bunkers, it’s tough. But yeah, as long as I drive it well tomorrow, I think I’ll contend.”
Dustin Johnson grabs share of lead in Indianapolis
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Dustin Johnson grabs share of lead in Indianapolis
- Johnson posted a bogey-free round and has not bogeyed a hole since shooting a four on the par-3 second hole on Friday
Australia, Ireland out of T20 World Cup as Zimbabwe qualify after washout
- Zimbabwe will move on to face the West Indies, India and South Africa in the next phase
- Zimbabwe captain Skiander Raza hails side’s achievement, but warns of tougher battles
KANDY, Sri Lanka: The 2021 champions Australia were knocked out of the T20 World Cup on Tuesday, with Zimbabwe qualifying for the Super Eights after their match against Ireland was washed out without a ball being bowled in Kandy.
Zimbabwe joined Sri Lanka as qualifiers from Group B and will move on to face the West Indies, India and South Africa in the next phase. Ireland were also eliminated.
Persistent drizzle all day at the Pallekelle stadium kept the covers on and the umpires finally called it off at 5:30 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) with no prospect of beginning the minimum five-over match before the 6:10 p.m. cut-off time.
Australia, who had been beaten by Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, needed an Ireland victory to keep their hopes alive.
Zimbabwe are now on an unassailable five points with a game to still to come, while Ireland are third on three points.
Australia, on two points, have one game remaining against Oman on Friday, but cannot overtake Zimbabwe.
Australia had a shambolic build-up to the tournament
They lost leading pace bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to injury, while captain Mitchell Marsh missed the first two games after being hit in the groin in training and suffering testicular bleeding
Test great Steve Smith was left out despite being in terrific form top of the order in the Big Bash League and his expertise in playing against spin bowling.
COLOURFUL FANS
He flew in as cover last week and was formally added to the Australia squad at the weekend.
But then he was left out for the must-win game against Sri Lanka on Monday which saw an Australia middle-order collapse as they lost by eight wickets.
Zimbabwe captain Skiander Raza hailed his side’s achievement in reaching the last eight, but warned there were tougher battles to come.
“We have come this far. We will celebrate but we have a game against Sri Lanka to come,” said Raza.
“This is only a tick in the box and this is not the only thing that we set out for. Everyone loves an underdog story.”
Ireland skipper Lorcan Tucker was downcast after his side did not get to play.
“Obviously very disappointed to go out in this fashion, but completely uncontrollable,” said Tucker.
“Our batting failed. There were big moments in the tournament particularly against Sri Lanka when we dropped so many catches.
“Hopefully, we will handle these tough situations differently moving forward.”
The rain did not dampen the spirits of a hearty and colorful band of about two dozen Zimbabwe fans, who danced and sang throughout the damp afternoon to serenade their team’s qualification.
“I can tell you, whichever corner they’re sitting at, at any ground, they’ll be the loudest, and they have the songs,” said Raza of the fans.
“They just keep the vibe. They keep lifting us up when their energies are down — and in this weather, it can be sometimes.
“But when we hear them to push us on and we know the songs as well, it gives us that energy as well.”
