DUSTIN JOHNSON TOOK control of the WGC-Mexico Championship at the halfway mark after a strong second round.
Johnson, who won the tournament for the second time in 2017, shot a four-under 67 on Friday to bump Rory McIlroy into a tie for second place with Matt Kuchar two shots back.
After a scorching start and an opening round 63, 29-year-old McIlroy could only back that up with a 70 on day two.
Johnson is now 11 under for the tournament.
But, he was not the only one to climb the leaderboard at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Naucalpan, Mexico.
Tiger Woods impressed during his second round. The 18-time WGC winner carded a five-under 66 to move into eighth place at five under.
He had six birdies, one bogey and an incredible shot from a fairway bunker to highlight his day.
Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia and Kuchar used rounds of 67 or better to enter the weekend in the top five.
Fleetwood had back-to-back eagles at the beginning of his round, and three total birdies, to card a six-under 65 – the lowest round of the day.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson started his recovery, tying Fleetwood for the Friday low. The American was reeling from an opening-round 79 that included eight bogeys. But he turned around and fired off six birdies for a bogey-free round on Friday.
Mickelson carded three consecutive birdies to start and was able to get his tournament total down to two over, good for a spot in a sizable tie for 39th place.
Justin Thomas did not fare well on the front nine. He ended up carding three bogeys after opening with a birdie on the par-three third hole. He sits in a tie for 16th place at three under.
Murray Kinsella, Andy Dunne and Gavan Casey look ahead to Ireland’s Six Nations meeting with Italy and discuss the week’s biggest stories in the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly.
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