Dustin Johnson’s red-hot putter, a 24-stroke turnaround among Saturday takeaways at LIV Golf Boston

Thirty-six holes down, 18 to go in Bolton, Massachusetts, for LIV Golf Boston at The International. The par-70 track has been challenging so far this weekend, but it has also been vulnerable to low scores.

Just ask Dustin Johnson, who used a red-hot putter to fire a second-round 7-under 63. Johnson’s last win came in February 2021 at the Saudi International.

While his fellow-newcomer Joaquin Niemann lurks near the top of the leaderboard, world No. 2 Cameron Smith fell back Saturday. He’ll need something low Sunday to give himself a chance.

If you missed the second round, here are a few takeaways from the day outside Boston.

LIV Boston: Teams | Leaderboard

Something about New England

Dustin Johnson celebrates with the trophy after winning the 2020 Northern Trust at TPC Boston on August 23, 2020, in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Johnson must have a special place in his heart for this part of the country. In 2020, Johnson won the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.

A few months later, Johnson ran away with the Northern Trust at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, shooting 30 under through four rounds and winning by 11.

He’s now just 18 holes away from claiming yet another New England win as he sits 10 under through two rounds in Bolton, two back of the lead held by Talor Gooch, his 4 Aces teammate.

Cameron Smith's LIV debut stalls

Cameron Smith points playing his second shot on the first hole during the second round of the LIV Golf tournament at The International. (Photo: Richard Cashin/USA TODAY Sports)

Cameron Smith looked poised to challenge for a win in his debut LIV event after opening with a 6-under 64. However, the 29-year-old stumbled Saturday to a 1-under 69 and is now five back of the lead.

However, don’t put a large comeback past him, as he chased down Rory McIlroy just a few months ago at the 150th Open Championship held at St. Andrews.

Beautiful shot over the trees by Cam Smith 🌳✅#LIVGolf #LIVGolfBoston pic.twitter.com/Wlxl9ZTQCR

— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) September 3, 2022

An incredible bounce back

US golfer Sihwan Kim plays from the 4th tee on the first day of the LIV Golf Invitational Series event at The Centurion Club in St Albans, north of London, on June 9, 2022. (Photo by Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

It would have been tough to tell Sihwan Kim from a 10-handicap golfer on Friday. The Iron Head opened his LIV Golf Boston appearance with a 17-over 87.

Yes, you read that correctly.

However, Saturday was a different story. Kim bounced back with a 7-under 63, a 24-stroke difference.

Individual leaderboard

Position	Player	Score
1	Talor Gooch	12 under
2	Joaquin Niemann	11 under
3	Dustin Johnson	10 under
4	Anirban Lahiri	9 under
T-5	Jason Kokrak	8 under
T-5	Matthew Wolff	8 under
T-5	Bernd Wiesberger	8 under
T-8	Sadom Kaewkanjana	7 under
T-8	Pat Perez	7 under
T-8	Branden Grace	7 under
T-8	Cameron Smith	7 under
T-8	Louis Oosthuizen	7 under
T-8	Kevin Na	7 under