SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Dustin Johnson was frozen in his follow-through for several seconds as he watched his ball roll slowly down the steep slope of Shinnecock’s Redan green — the one that caused so much controversy here 14 years ago. One fan loudly encouraged Johnson’s ball on its lengthy journey, and when it finally dropped the U.S. Open leader balled his right hand in a fist, bent his elbow at a 90-degree angle and stared into the grandstands. Throughout Friday’s round, even on this long attempt, Johnson never looked surprised by the route his putts were taking on Shinnecock Hills’ poa annua greens. There was no shock at an unintended turn or frustration with a misdirected strike. On almost every green, he either bent his knees as another ball barely missed its target or clenched his fist after in quiet celebration another successful stroke. “Every putt looked like it was going to go in,� said Tiger Woods, who played alongside Johnson and finished 14 strokes behind him. That’s why even this 45-footer for birdie hardly elicited any emotion. “I knew coming off the putter … (I) hit a really nice putt,� Johnson said. “About halfway there, it was on a really good line if it would just get to the hole.� It was the only long putt that he needed to make in an impressive 67 that gave Johnson control of the U.S. Open. At 4-under 136, he held a four-shot lead when he signed his scorecard. “He’s just hitting the fairways, keeping it in front of him and he’s playing DJ golf,� Justin Thomas said. “It’s just really good and consistent. He drives the ball really well. His distance control and his iron play, he flights it great. And he’s a very, very underrated bunker player. He had some great up-and-downs out of bunkers today and he’s putting the ball well. “So pretty much has it all covered, I think.� He does. Johnson is coming off a six-shot victory at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic that returned him to No. 1 in the world. He’s undoubtedly been the best player thus far at Shinnecock Hills. Johnson’s incredible length gets most of the attention, but that does a disservice to a well-rounded game that is well-suited for the multi-faceted examination that this historic course offers. He ranks in the top 20 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (1st), Approach-the-Green (12th) and Putting (20th) this season, and is eighth on TOUR in scrambling. He’s missed just six fairways through two rounds, and a strong short game minimized the number of high-pressure par putts that are so common at a U.S. Open. He only needed to make two putts outside 10 feet – both for birdie – on Friday, and 10 of his 14 par putts were from five feet or less. He’s made just four bogeys in the first 36 holes. “I like where par is a good score on every hole no matter what club you have in your hand,� Johnson said. They don’t come much tougher than Oakmont, where Johnson won by three shots in 2016. Shinnecock Hills has provided two drastically different tests this week, and Johnson has passed them both. High winds, with gusts in the 30s, buffeted this historic linksland Thursday. Johnson was one of just four players to break par on a day when the field hit less than half the greens in regulation. A cold rain fell for much of Johnson’s second round but he made just one bogey. “It was still breezy, but with the rain coming down it was cooler. The golf ball was going nowhere,� Johnson said. “The course played really long. Through our first 13 or 14 holes, it was playing very difficult.� Johnson has become a perennial contender at his national championship, finishing in the top four in three of the past four U.S. Opens. The only exception was last year at Erin Hills, when he missed the cut after the birth of his second son earlier in the week. He’s 7 under par in the past five U.S. Opens, and was a 12-foot putt away from also winning the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. “The harder it is, I know he thinks, ‘Good. Make it tough,’� said Johnson’s instructor, Claude Harmon III. “The worse the conditions, the easier it is for a guy like him because he literally has no pulse. “I think we’re just seeing Dustin get very comfortable in difficult situations on difficult golf courses because he’s really good. He’s very confident right now.� And for good reason.
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