Scottie Scheffler became the 12th player in PGA Tour history to break 60 with a 59 in the morning wave at TPC Boston, and Dustin Johnson almost matched him in the afternoon.
DJ missed birdie putts on the last two holes and settled for a bogey-free, 11-under-par 60 to take a two-stroke lead over Scheffler (pictured) and Cameron Davis of Australia in The Northern Trust, first event of the PGA Tour playoffs.
The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings after this week will move on to the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago, with the top 30 going from there to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the 2020 FedEx Cup winner will be determined.
“I gave myself chances on 17 and 18, but anytime you shoot a number like this, you can’t be disappointed,” said the fourth-ranked Johnson, who claimed his 21st PGA Tour victory in June at the Travelers Championship.
“It hit the ball well yesterday, but didn’t make any putts, so I went to the practice green and worked on it. I hit the ball just as well today, gave myself a plenty of good looks and made a lot of putts.
“I just have to come out and do the same thing on the weekend.”
Johnson sank eagle putts of 41 feet on the second hole and five feet on the fourth hole, added seven birdies and was 11-under through 11 holes before finishing with seven straight birdies to record a 36-hole score of 15-under 127.
Playoff rookie Scheffler collected six birdies on each nine in his bogey-free 59, falling just short of Jim Furyk’s record of 58.
“You don’t ever really get too many opportunities to shoot a 59, so to be able to finish the job is really cool, and I definitely was nervous, very nervous over both those shots and coming down the stretch, but I think it helped me focus a little bit more,” Scheffler, who won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, said after making a five-foot birdie putt on the last hole.
“(The nerves and thoughts of 59 were) all in my head. It was just coming in and out and like, ‘Hey, it would be cool, just keep playing aggressive and keep trying to make birdies.’ I wouldn’t say I was thinking about it the whole time, but it crossed my mind now and then for sure.”
Davis, who was tied for the lead after the first round, birdied his first three holes and followed his opening 64 with a 65 by making five more birdies while finishing on the front nine.
Harris English, another of the four first-round leaders, shot a bogey-free 66 and is three shots back in a tie for fourth with Danny Lee of New Zealand, who had a 64, and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, who finished at 65.
Russell Henley, who also had a share of the first-round lead, totaled 67 and is another stroke behind in a tie for seventh with Kevin Kisner, who wound up at 66, while Si Woo Kim of South Korea carded a 64 and is five down in a tie for ninth with Matthew Wolff of Agoura Hills, who finished at 67, and Daniel Berger, who came in at 66.
Sixth-ranked Webb Simpson is tied for 18th after a 64, second-ranked Justin Thomas, the points leader and 2017 FedEx Cup champion, shot 67 and is tied for 20th, and top-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain is tied for 29th after a 67.
Two-time FedEx Cup champions Tiger Woods (71) and third-ranked Rory McIlroy (70) made the cut on the number along with defending champion and ninth-ranked Patrick Reed, who also had a 71, and 10th-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, who posted yet another 71.
Eighth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis missed the weekend by three strokes after a second 71, while fifth-ranked Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge, shot 72 and missed in his first start since winning the PGA Championship.
However, DeChambeau and Morikawa are in good shape moving forward, both starting the week in the top five of the FedEx Cup point standings.
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 and Cameron Davis of Australia in The Northern Trust, first event of the PGA Tour playoffs.){kind=link}