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
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 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
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 |
