Johnson leads McIlroy in Mexico as Woods wows with spectacular shot

World No 3 Dustin Johnson is the new leader at the WGC-Mexico Championship after following up an opening 64 with a second-round 67 on Friday.

That put Johnson two strokes clear of overnight leader Rory McIlroy, who could only add a second-round 70 to his opening 63, and Matt Kuchar, who fired rounds of 66 and 67.

McIlroy started superbly with three birdies in his opening four holes but then found himself going in the wrong direction with a bogey at the sixth and then a double-bogey at the par-4 ninth after he needed four putts from 15 feet.

He steadied the ship somewhat with eight pars and a birdie on the back nine but it wasn’t enough to hold off Johnson, who added four birdies and avoided any blemishes on his card to take the lead on 11 under.

Lying a further two shots behind McIlroy and Kuchar are Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood after impressive rounds of 66 and 65 respectively.

Ian Poulter (68) follows a further shot back on six under alongside Cameron Smith (67) after recovering from a double-bogey start.

It was a good day for Tiger Woods who bounced back from his opening 71 with an impressive five-under-par 66.

Woods made six birdies thanks to a solid putting display on the greens, with his only blemish a three-putt from 60 feet on the 17th green for bogey.

He also made a stunning escape from a fairway bunker on the ninth, clearing the trees with a beautiful lofted shot that very nearly went in for an eagle-two and left the commentators in awe.

Phil Mickelson’s Friday bounce back was even more remarkable, as he went 14 shots better than his opening 79 to sign for a 65.

He lies on two over alongside Jordan Spieth, whose second-round 69 was also a much better showing than his opening 75.

Dustin Johnson

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