Dustin Johnson one clear at halfway stage of 144th Open after day of disruption
Last Updated: 19/07/15 7:39pm
Dustin Johnson continued to lead from the front in his latest quest to end his major misery after a windswept third day of the 144th Open at St Andrews.
Second round leaderboard
Johnson was one of 42 players unable to complete their second rounds on Friday following torrential thunderstorms in the morning, and he returned to the Old Course in conditions bordering on unplayable at 7am.
The US Open runner-up chunked his first shot of the day, a simple pitch onto the 14th green, and then watched in disbelief as winds gusting up to 45mph blew his ball back off the putting surface before he had a chance to put down his marker.
With the majority of the players having similar problems all over the course, play was suspended after just 32 minutes and resulted in a delay of 10 and a half hours, forcing the R&A to announce that the final round would have to be played on Monday for only the second time in Open history.
When the second round finally resumed at 6pm, Johnson recovered from his unfortunate bogey at 14 with three solid pars before he drove the 18th green and two-putted for a cast-iron birdie which capped a 69 and lifted him back to 10 under par, one ahead of England's Danny Willett.
"This morning when we started it was almost impossible, but I managed to hang in there and then when we just went out and restarted it was very tough, but managed to make some good pars and then birdie the last hole," Johnson said. "So it was a good way to finish the day."
Seeing the funny side
Asked about the incident on the 14th, where his ball was blown down a slope towards that of playing partner Spieth, Johnson added: "Fortunately it happened in kind of the end part of the second round, so we've still got a lot of golf to play, so it is what it is. Can't do anything to change it.
"When I went up to mark it I got probably an inch from the ground. My coin was about to hit the ground when it took off. Then I went to mark it again and I think it took off again. And then Jordan was running to his ball. It was pretty funny."
With Willett enjoying a day off having completed his second round on Friday afternoon, 1999 champion Paul Lawrie retained outright third place on eight under after parring the five remaining holes of his round, including a superb save from eight feet at 16, to close out a solid 70.
Australia's Jason Day birdied the last to salvage a 71 which got him to seven under alongside playing partner and 2010 champion Louis Oosthuizen, who hit back from a scrappy six at 14 with a birdie at the next before he parred in for a 70.
Hideki Matsuyama parred his four holes of the day to complete a superb 66 which kept him at six under, while Jordan Spieth remained five shots behind the leader after a birdie at the last offset a bogey at 17 as he returned a 72.
Sergio Garcia is also in the group at five under after he birdied the last two holes, including a stunning approach from the rough at 17 which hit the pin and settled six feet from the hole.
But it was another disappointing day for Tiger Woods, who returned to bogey his first three holes of the day at 13, 14 and 15, and a birdie at 16 - just his third of the tournament - was scant consolation as he missed consecutive cuts in majors for the first time in his career.
A 75 left the three-time champion languishing in a tie for 147th place on seven over par - a full 17 shots behind the halfway leader.
Meanwhile, Daniel Brooks conjured up the shot of the day when he made a remarkable hole-in-one at the short 11th, although it was not enough to avoid missing the cut by five shots.
