Zach Johnson bogeyed his last hole Friday to
fall into a share of the lead after the second round of the John Deere
Classic.
Johnson, the 2012 champion, shot 4-under 67 and was joined the lead by William
McGirt, who carded a 5-under 66 in round two. The duo finished 36 holes at 12-
under-par 130.
Including a win at the Tournament of Champions earlier this year, Johnson owns
11 PGA Tour wins, while McGirt is looking for his first tour victory.
Johnson Wagner bogeyed his final hole at TPC Deere Run to fall out of a share
of the lead. Wagner carded a 65 and he shares third place at minus-11 with
Steven Bowditch (67) and Brian Harman (68).
Three-time champion Steve Stricker (65), Rory Sabbatini (70), Ryan Moore (67)
and former British Open winner Todd Hamilton (69) are tied for sixth at 9-
under-par 133.
Johnson started his round with a short birdie putt at the first. However, he
found sand off the tee on the par-3 third and that led to a bogey. Johnson
parred four in a row before converting a 14-foot birdie try on No. 8.
The 2007 Masters champion converted a birdie try from off the green at the
10th. After he birdied the 13th, Johnson drained a 16-foot birdie putt on the
14th to gain a share of the lead.
Johnson found the rough off the 15th tee and that led to a bogey that dropped
him one back. He quickly atoned for that mistake with a 6-foot birdie putt on
the 16th.
At the par-5 17th, Johnson reached the green in two and 2-putted for birdie to
take a 1-shot lead. However, he missed the 18th green with his approach and
walked off with a closing bogey that dropped him into a tie for the lead.
"Once again, a pretty solid day. Aside from maybe one poor miss, pretty solid.
I didn't do anything too flashy. My short game was decent. My putting was
great. Even the ones I missed were great," Johnson said. "A lot of positives
all around. I hate to be a tape recorder here, but I'm just really comfortable
here. Any wind, for the most part, I'm comfortable and any conditions. The
greens were receptive, so if you had the right yardage with the right club,
there's some aggressive shots you can have out there. A day that I felt like I
left some out there, but I felt like I stole a couple, too."
McGirt, who has missed the cut in five of his last eight starts, found sand
with his approach at the 11th and that led to an early bogey. He 2-putted for
birdie on the par-5 14th, but gave that shot right back at the 15th.
The 35-year-old reached the 17th with his second and again 2-putted for birdie
to get back to even-par for his round.
Around the turn, McGirt birdied the first four holes to jump to 11-under. The
birdies on the first, second and fourth all came from inside 10 feet. After
pars on five and six, McGirt rolled in a 22-footer for birdie on the seventh.
McGirt made it two in a row with a 13-foot birdie effort on the 13th. That
moved him to minus-13, but he stumbled to a bogey at the ninth, his last, to
fall back to 12-under.
"I was very pleased with it. I struggled early. I'm pretty sure I cracked my
driver, but couldn't get a replacement," McGirt said. "All in all, it was a
solid day. Nothing really happened on the back side starting out, then I made
the turn and (caught fire). I'll take two more just like."
