Hunter Mahan’s five-foot eagle putt on his next-to-last hole led to a 2-over-par 74, tying Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed for the lead in brutally windy second-round conditions in the WGC-Cadillac Championship on the TPC Blue Monster at Trump National Doral in Miami.
Mahan, who has won five times on the PGA Tour but not since the 2012 Shell Houston Open, bounced back from a triple-bogey 6 on the third hole, where he hit his tee shot into the water, and a bogey on No. 7.
“I felt stressed all day because I knew every shot had a big penalty written all over it, staring at bogey or worse,” said Mahan, who made his eagle on the eighth hole before two-putting from 52 feet for a closing par. “It was a really tough day.
“There wasn’t an easy shot out there and you know, you’re going to have to find a way to make some putts. One of those rounds where it could go south pretty fast, so you’ve got to grind it out and find a way to get a number up there and get to the weekend.”
Johnson, who captured the WGC-HSBC Champions in November, held a three-stroke lead earlier in the day but bogeyed three of his last six holes, missing a seven-foot par putt on the last hole that would have given him the overnight lead and finished with a 74.
Kuchar hit a brilliant approach shot from 195 yards on the final hole for a tap-in birdie to wrap up a 74, while Reed claimed his share of the lead with a 75, even though he made bogeys on three of his last six holes.
The four leaders were the only players to finish round two under par on a day when 113 balls wound up in the water at Doral.
Jamie Donaldson of Wales shot 70, low score of the day, and was one stroke back in a tie for second with Graeme McDowell, who had a 71, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who totaled 74, and Francesco Molinari of Italy, who came in at 75.
Tiger Woods bounced back from an opening 76 with a 73 that included a 92-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole and was in a tie for 25th, while No. 2-ranked Adam Scott of Australia, who can take the top ranking from Woods with a victory this week, also had a 73 and was tied for 21st.
Phil Mickelson made three consecutive double bogeys through No. 4, but rallied with five birdies to salvage a 75 and was tied for 25th.
