Zach Johnson has proven that his straight and steady game plays well in the Open Championship, and he’s at it again.
The 42-year-old Johnson, who claimed the Claret Jug in 2015 at St. Andrews, shot a second straight 4-under-par 67 and is tied with Kevin Kisner for the lead midway through the 147th Open at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland.
“I feel my game sets up for Open Championship courses,” said Johnson, who has finished 16th or better in six of his last seven appearances in the third major of the season. “I take what the course gives me and basically play the course backwards. You still have to hit good shots and I have been doing that. You have to hit the ball straight.
“Everybody says you’ve got to hit it low, knock down, punch it in. Yeah, you do. You’ve got to use the ground. You’ve got to know where to land it, all of the above. But you’ve got to hit it high. You’ve got to hit it left. You’ve got to hit it right. You’ve got to hold it. You’ve got to turn it, use the wind. You’ve got to do everything.
“The reverence I have for this championship and specifically that trophy, the Claret Jug, I’m not suggesting that someone doesn’t have a higher reverence for it, but I’d argue with them.”
Johnson and Kisner recorded 36-hole scores of 6-under 136.
Kisner, the first-round leader at 65, held a two-stroke lead until his 8-iron approach shot from 160 yards on the final hole went right and bounced into Barry Burn, leading to a double-bogey 6 and he finished with a 70.
“It just came out like a high flop shot to the right,” said Kisner, who has two PGA Tour victories but has never won a major. “It was weird. I don’t know if it caught something or what happened. You never know out of that grass. It was in a different grass than usual. It was wet, green grass instead of the brown grass. So I hadn’t really played from that too much. It was unfortunate to finish with a double bogey, but I’m playing well.
“The course was softer today because of the rain and I got off to a good start and was 2-under through seven holes. I like the way I have been playing and I love my position going into the weekend.”
Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State posted a 66 that included an eagle on the 14th hole and is one stroke back in a tie for third with Pat Perez of San Diego, who made his only bogey on the last hole of a 68, and 10th-ranked Tommy Fleetwood of England, who had a bogey-free 65.
Eighth-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the 2014 Open champion, totaled 69 and is two shots behind in a tie for sixth with Matt Kuchar (68), Tony Finau (71), and South Africans Erik van Rooyen (71) and Zander Lombard (71).
Defending champion and sixth-ranked Jordan Spieth carded a 67 and is in a tie for 11th that includes seventh-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, who had a 69, while fourth-ranked Brooks Koepka is in a tie for 18th after a 69.
Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods shot a second 71 and is in a tie for 29th that includes ninth-ranked Jason Day of Australia, who also has two 71s, and 2013 Open champion Phil Mickelson, who wound up at 69.
Third-ranked Justin Rose of England sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the last hole to shoot 73 and make the cut on the number.
Second-ranked Justin Thomas struggled to a 77 that included three straight double bogeys on the front nine and missed the weekend by one stroke, fifth-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain totaled 70 including two doubles to miss by two, and top-ranked Dustin Johnson had a 72 and missed by three.
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