FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Statistically, Dustin Johnson was his predictably dominant self from tee to green on Friday at the PGA Championship. His putting, however, was another story.
Johnson was first in strokes gained: tee-to-green, first in driving distance and second in greens in regulation when he completed his second round. Unfortunately, he was also 68th in strokes gained: putting and has needed 62 putts through 36 holes at Bethpage Black.
“The greens are very subtle and you’re trying to read break, and I missed a lot of putts just playing too much break. But then you do that, and then you go and you don’t play enough and it breaks,” Johnson said. “They’re hard to read. I felt like I’m hitting good putts, so I need to keep doing that.”
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The good news for Johnson is that despite his less-than-stellar week so far on the greens, he remains in the hunt after a second-round, 3-under 67. He was tied for third place and three strokes off the pace when he completed his round.
The low point for Johnson on the greens came when he three-putted from 82 feet on the par-3 third hole (he started his round on No. 10), and he’s made just six putts longer than 5 feet this week. He had started Round 2 with five birdies in his first eight holes.
“I missed quite a few short ones there from 18 to 5,” Johnson said. “But if I keep giving myself chances, I feel like I’m rolling the putter well, just a couple misreads.”