Dustin Johnson grabs share of lead in Indianapolis

Dustin Johnson grabs share of lead in Indianapolis
Dustin Johnson of 4Aces GC tees off on the 4th hole during the second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis. (Reuters)
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Updated 17 August 2025
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Dustin Johnson grabs share of lead in Indianapolis

Dustin Johnson grabs share of lead in Indianapolis
  • Johnson posted a bogey-free round and has not bogeyed a hole since shooting a four on the par-3 second hole on Friday

Dustin Johnson shot a 7-under-par round of 64 and tied Columbia’s Sebastian Munoz at the top of the leaderboard at the LIV Golf Indianapolis in Westfield, Indiana
Both players are at 16-under 126 through two rounds at the par-71 Club at Chatham Hills Course.
Johnson posted a bogey-free round and has not bogeyed a hole since shooting a four on the par-3 second hole on Friday. He birdied six holes in an eight-hole stretch in the middle part of the round, posting a score of 32 on both the front and back nines.
Munoz, who shot a 12-under 59 on Friday, looked like he would run away with the tournament after birdieing six of the first seven holes to reach 18 under. He was erratic on the back nine, playing even-par golf until hitting a poor tee shot on 18 and ending up with a double bogey to fall back into a tie with Johnson.
“I had a really great start,” said Munoz. “I kind of kept myself flowing from the momentum from yesterday. Got to, I think it was 6-under through 9, and then just a couple mistakes. Misjudgment of speed on 10 and then a really bad lie on 15 and unfortunately a bad swing on 18. I had my fair share of mistakes on that back nine. But yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.”
Johnson discussed trailing his playing partner by seven shots on the front nine.
“Obviously, he got off to a great start, I got off to a slow start, and I was seven back,” said Johnson. “But you’ve just got to keep trying to make birdies. Get it in the fairway and just get looks. That’s what I did. I did that from about 6 on in. I played really well.”
Six players are tied for third place at 12 under. Of those, Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Spain’s David Puig posted the best rounds of Saturday, each 8-under rounds of 63.
Meronk eagled the par-5 seventh and 13th holes.
Also tied at 12 under are Thomas Pieters of Belgium, Patrick Reed, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. Spain’s Jon Rahm, South Africa’s Brandon Grace and Bubba Watson are one stroke behind that group of six in a three-way tie for ninth.
Johnson is also looking forward to the challenge of what could be a match-play situation on Sunday.
“You’ve just got to play from the fairway here,” said Johnson. “If you can play out of the fairway, you get a lot of good chances, you can attack the golf course. But if you’re in the rough or fairway bunkers, it’s tough. But yeah, as long as I drive it well tomorrow, I think I’ll contend.”


Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead

Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead
Updated 08 November 2025
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Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead

Aaron Rai uses rare feat to tie Tommy Fleetwood for Abu Dhabi Championship lead
  • He described the shot after the round, which left him at a 14-under 130 through 36 holes and tied with Fleetwood
  • To maintain a share of the lead, Fleetwood mixed seven birdies and a bogey to finish with a 66 following his opening-round 64

ABU DHABI: Aaron Rai holed his approach shot from 218 yards out to score a rare albatross, highlighting a round of 64 that left him tied for the lead after 36 holes at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday.

Rai entered the second round at Yas Links Golf Club two strokes behind a quintet of co-leaders, including fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, but quickly made up ground on the par-5 No. 2 hole. His second shot landed on the green and rolled into the cup, allowing him to pick up three shots on the hole.

He described the shot after the round, which left him at a 14-under 130 through 36 holes and tied with Fleetwood.

“The wind was a little bit down off the left and that green was so fast,” he said. “It slopes front-to-back, pitching a few yards on to the green, actually caught it a little bit clean off the face, the line was great. Finished around the front edge and chased its way down there. You couldn’t see it from the back of the fairway, so it was a nice surprise.”

To maintain a share of the lead, Fleetwood mixed seven birdies and a bogey to finish with a 66 following his opening-round 64. He is a two-time winner of the event and confident heading into the third round on Saturday.

“Really good day. I got off to like the perfect start. Birdie, birdie, birdie,” he said. “That was good, especially when you’ve had a good round the day before. They always say it’s hard to follow up a good round with another good one, or a low one with another one.

“Starting good was really important. I just did a really good job — I hit a lot of good shots but a few times today where I drove it into the rough and we read the lies really well. I felt like we did a great job of controlling the ball out of the rough, and that was really pleasing. I feel like I putted solid again; 6-under was a very good score.”

Rai and Fleetwood are two shots ahead of Andy Sullivan (67) of England, Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard (67) and Richard Sterne (68) of South Africa.

Irishman Shane Lowry, another past champion, is one of four players three shots behind the leaders at 11-under. He shot a 69.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, ranked No. 2 in the world, is 8-under for the tournament and tied for 20th place after back-to-back rounds of 68.