Two-time major winner on seven under and five shots behind American Dustin Johnson after second-round back-nine collapse in Shanghai
Shanghai surprise: Dustin Johnson equalled te course record to move past Rory McIlroy (above) at the HSBC Champions in China Photo
Dustin Johnson was once witheringly described by US satirist Rick Reilly as "so dense, light bends around him". It is a reputation derived both from his somnolent South Carolina drawl and a penchant for spectacular miscalculations on the course - his wild flail out of bounds while contending at the 2011 Open being a prime case in point. Here at the season's final World Golf Championship in China, the 29-year-old was living up to his billing as an immovable object by building a five-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, thanks to yesterday's consummate second round of 63.
The 7,200 yards of Sheshan International represent a bomber's paradise and Johnson, a loping 6ft 5in athlete capable of dunking a basketball, plundered without mercy to erase McIlroy's overnight advantage and eclipse his rivals with no fewer than 10 birdies. "This course seems to fit my eye pretty well," he reflected. Would that we could have said the same of McIlroy, whose resurgence in Shanghai veered off track as he followed his opening 65 with an error-strewn 72, a detour to the lake at the 18th leaving the sourest taste.
While Johnson, five clear at 12 under par, ought to be installed as an early favourite to seize his maiden WGC title, nothing with this prodigiously talented yet maddeningly mercurial player ever quite proceeds to plan. He led into the final round of the 2010 US Open only to shoot 82, derailed his Open chances at Royal St George's by driving into the hay with five to play, and sabotaged his tilt at the 2011 USPGA by grounding his club in a bunker to incur a two-stroke penalty. The mental game is not exactly his forte.
Johnson is one of 22 Americans who have decamped across the Pacific to Shanghai, less for a love of all things Chinese than the fact that this is the first year the tournament counts towards the PGA Tour's £7.5 million FedEx Cup bonus. The extent of cultural appreciation was best expressed by Boo Weekley, who famously expressed his distaste for the 2007 Open at Carnoustie by saying: "Ain't no sweet tea, and ain't no fried chicken". Weekley appears not to have embraced the joys of travel in the six years since, to judge by his responses to local journalists after he moved alongside McIlroy and fellow Floridian Bubba Watson in joint second at seven under.
How did he like being in China, they asked. "It doesn't matter. We're here." Had he learned more about local life and people since a visit to the World Cup in Shenzhen? "Can't understand them." What authentic delights had he sampled during his week in Shanghai? "Hotel, golf course." When you come to a different part of the world, should you not try to see something? "I don't need to see nothin'."
With that eloquent contribution to Sino-American relations, Weekley beat his retreat. The only priority for a man who enjoys hunting hogs back home in the southern states was to chase down leader Johnson, who on previous evidence would struggle to keep the lead in his school play. McIlroy, likewise, was optimistic that he could bridge the gap quickly. "I'm in a decent position," he said, as he aims to win his first title of the year. "I still have a great chance of winning this."
So, too, does defending champion Ian Poulter, who surged into contention yesterday with a fine round of 67 to move to six under. There is a restlessness about the Englishman as he seeks to make sure that he doesn't end 2013 without a victory to his name. "You beat yourself up about it, that's for sure," he said. "But I'm playing well enough and making enough birdies to believe that I'm going to be close here."
Graeme McDowell was also ominously poised last night after a 69 to draw level with Poulter. The 2010 US Open champion has endured a fluctuating season, with two tour triumphs interspersed with dismal performances in the majors. "It has been a puzzling year, and one that I'll probably learn the most from," he said. His form has recovered of late, although he confessed yesterday that he found it "pretty demoralising" to be outdriven by 50 yards on every hole by playing partner Johnson. "He was putting it past me by the distance of a four-bedroom house," the Northern Irishman lamented. "With a nice garden."
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