Dustin Johnson fired a 7-under 64 on Friday and will head into the weekend at Pebble Beach holding a share of the lead with Beau Hossler at 12 under.
The World No. 1, who started the day two back, made noise immediately at the Monterrey course with three-straight birdies (Nos. 10-12). After a bogey on his sixth hole (No. 15), Johnson carded five more birdies over a seven-hole stretch en route to a low-round 64.
“I’m in a really good position here starting the weekend, but still got two rounds at Pebble which is probably my favorite out of the three courses and I really like playing there, it sets up well for me,” said Johnson.
“But I’m still going to have to go out and shoot a good score tomorrow at Pebble if I want to be in contention on Sunday.”
Hossler, the overnight co-leader, continued to impress on Friday and finished his second-straight day bogey-free with five birdies, highlighted by three red numbers on the par-5s.
“It was a solid round. Got the ball in play nicely off the tee, got myself some good birdie looks and kind of tried to take advantage on holes that were gettable today and try to make pars on some of the really tough par-4s out there,” said Hossler.
A pair of longshots in Troy Merritt and Julian Suri are two back at 10 under. Merritt, who had odds of 500-1, and Suri, listed at 150-1, posted matching 67s to sit T3.
On the other end of the spectrum, three of the tournament’s headliners – Jason Day (65), Phil Mickelson (65), and Jon Rahm (67) – each posted bogey-free rounds and lead a group of six tied for fifth at 9 under.
“It was a fun day and I love Monterey Peninsula. The fairways are wide and they feel pretty easy to hit. I hit a number of fairways and was able to make a lot of birdies,” said Mickelson.
“It’s fun to be in the mix, it’s fun to go over to Pebble Beach now and play two rounds on the weekend knowing that I have a chance and being in the thick of it. It’s just a fun place to play well.”
The all-star trio is joined by Steve Stricker (65), Aaron Wise (69), and first-round co-leader Kevin Streelman, who posted a bogey-free 2-under 69.
Defending champion Jordan Spieth bounced back on Friday, and finished with a 5-under 67 to move up 75 spots to T23. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy went the other way, and followed up a first-round 68 with a second-day 74 to plummet 71 spots to T87.
TOP 10: ROUND TWO
1 Dustin Johnson -12
1 Beau Hossler -12
3 Troy Merritt -10
3 Julian Suri -10
5 Phil Mickelson -9
5 Jon Rahm -9
5 Aaron Wise -9
5 Kevin Streelman -9
5 Jason Day -9
5 Steve Stricker -9
NOTABLES: ROUND TWO
13 Paul Casey -7
18 Matt Kuchar -6
18 Jimmy Walker -6
23 Jordan Spieth -5
23 Rafael Cabrera Bello -5
23 Patrick Cantlay -5
23 Pat Perez -5
39 Branden Grace -4
39 Bubba Watson -4
57 Charley Hoffman -3
57 Patrick Reed -3
70 Brandt Snedeker -2
70 Kevin Chappell -2
70 Gary Woodland -2
87 Chesson Hadley -1
87 Rory McIlroy -1
130 Kevin Kisner +3
136 Adam Scott +4
144 Stewart Cink +6
152 Peter Jacobsen +10
155 David Duval +12
STAT LEADERS: ROUND 2
Through two rounds of play.
DRIVING DISTANCE
1 Dominic Bozelli 338.7 (-2, T70)
2 Derek Ernst 335.6 (+6, T144)
3 Adam Schenk 330 (-2, T70)
DRIVING ACCURACY
1 Xin-jun Zhang 92.9% (-4, T39)
1 Ryan Blaum 92.9% (-4, T39)
1 Jim Herman 92.9% (+1, T110)
GREENS IN REGULATION
1 Will Zalatoris 88.9% (-7, T13)
2 Bubba Watson 86.1% (-4, T39)
2 Gary Woodland 86.1% (-2, T70)
PUTTS PER GIR
1 Patrick Rodgers 1.429 (-8, T11)
2 Aaron Wise 1.571 (-9, T5)
3 Troy Merritt 1.577 (-10, T3)
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
“I enjoy it. I really — I like being No. 1. I think it’s — for me it pushes me to keep working on the things that I’m doing and it kind of, it drives me to keep working hard. And all the guys out here are very, very good, so I know if I want to stay.”
– Dustin Johnson
Credits: PGA Tour Media, Getty Images, ASAP Sports