The most exclusive residence on this tony part of Long Island is the little patch of red on the U.S. Open scoreboard reserved for every golfer under par.
That’s where Dustin Johnson, your leader through two rounds at Shinnecock Hills, lives. And no one else. There high above the scuffling masses, he is totally alone with his thoughts, which admittedly appear to be as uncomplicated as an old Oscar Mayer jingle.
Taking his 1-under 69 on Thursday and applying two more coats of high gloss finish to it Friday, Johnson built his lead to four strokes over Scott Piercy and Charley Hoffman, both at even par. His 67 was one of 14 sub-par rounds on a Friday of more favorable scoring conditions, and was bettered only by the 66s of Tommy Fleetwood and defending U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka.
“Another really solid round,” Johnson assessed.
It left Johnson at 4 under overall going into the weekend and in a position where it is appropriate to ask: Can anyone catch him?
If not losing hope, the field is certainly losing sight of him. Johnson keeps this up, he’s going to be harder to find than Jimmy Hoffa.
But, said Justin Rose, from five strokes back, “He’s a hole away from putting everyone back into it. That’s the mentality you have to have.”
The world’s No. 1-ranked player, Johnson has demonstrated the unique ability to be unfazed by the vagaries of wind and slope that Shinnecock presents. He has been known to patiently bring down these tough, venerable courses, winning the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont by a tidy three strokes. He’s the horse for the course, attitude-wise.
“I like where par is a good score on every hole no matter what club you got in your hand and what hole it is,” he said.
A number of his more famous peers could not handle what Shinnecock was dealing. Those missing the cut included Tiger Woods (10 over), Rory McIlroy (10 over), Jordan Spieth (9 over), Jason Day (12 over), Matt Kuchar (12 over), Bubba Watson (11 over), Sergio Garcia (14 over) and Jon Rahm (15 over). So many ugly numbers.
Oh, a few did try to join Johnson in the high-class, under-par district. But they just couldn’t stick.
Ian Poulter got within a stroke of Johnson at 3 under with two holes to play. But then absolutely butchered Shinnecock’s No. 8, taking triple bogey despite a perfect drive. Skulling and chunking chips from the sand and the high grass on opposite sides of a green will do that to a fellow.
A bogey finish by Hoffman and a bogey-bogey close by Rose pushed them back to even par and 1 over, respectively.
And what became of former Georgia Bulldog Russell Henley, one of three players tied with Johnson after the first round? Shinnecock happened. Henley took one sizeable step backward, shooting 73 to fall six back of the leader.
Henley, who started his round on the back nine, took his big hit on his 12th hole of the day, the par-4 third. It was there he remained in the long grass so long that search parties were beginning to form.
First was the tee shot that wandered far left into the hay. Then a slash that advanced the ball all of 38 feet. Then another that traveled farther but did nothing to alleviate the misery of the tall grass. With his next convict-road-gang swing, he didn’t bother to face the green, opting just to try to hit sideways into the fairway. Only the ball shot through the short grass and into the opposite rough. Those are the makings of a triple-bogey 7.
It is Johnson’s unflappability – along with a game that won’t quit – that would seem to separate him from such situations in the weekend to come.
At only one point Friday did Johnson much alter his expression, displaying an honest smile on the exclamation point to his round – a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh. It moved slower than traffic on the Long Island Expressway at morning rush and plopped into the hole with its last ounce of momentum. How could you not celebrate that?
“I was more focused on just making sure I had good speed,” he said. “About halfway there it was on a really good line if it would just get to the hole. I guess it dropped right in the front door.”
Otherwise, it was day for flattening out the extremes a place like Shinnecock can inflict on even the best players. Johnson kept hitting fairways and greens and avoiding trouble like he was angling for a good citizenship award. And, he said, “My only bogey (one No. 1), I still had a decent look at par (from 12 feet),” he said. No fuss, no drama.
That’s Dustin Johnson Golf at its best. Which playing partner Justin Thomas defined as, “It’s just really good and really consistent. He drives the ball really well. His distance control with his irons is great. He’s a very, very underrated bunker player. And he’s putting the ball well. So, he pretty much has it all covered, I think.”
How you going to beat that?
Said another of the pursuers at 1 over, Henrik Stenson, “He’s going to be hard to catch, but I’ll let him answer those questions.”
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