CAMBRIDGE, Ontario -- Kevin Johnson fired a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Canadian PGA Championship. Johnson stands at 12-under-par 132 and is one ahead at Whistle Bear Golf Club.
Tom Johnson is alone in second place after a second-round, 6-under 66. He is at 11 under par at the midway point.
Jon Mills posted a 5-under 67 and is tied for third place with Rick Price, who carded a 3-under 69 on Friday. The duo is knotted at 9-under-par 135.
Kevin Johnson bogeyed the par-5 third, but rebounded at the fourth when his 9-iron stopped 15 feet from the hole and he drained the putt. He tapped in a 3-footer for birdie at the sixth, then closed his front nine with a 4-footer for birdie at No. 9.
The 38-year-old from Massachusetts parred his first two holes on the second nine. He landed in the left bunker with his three-wood second shot at the par-5 12th, but blasted out to 4 feet and converted the birdie try.
Kevin Johnson drained a 6-foot birdie putt at the 13th, then hit a spectacular 3-iron to 3 feet at the par-3 14th to set up his third birdie in a row.
He rolled in a 3-footer for birdie at the 16th, and holed a putt double that length for birdie at No. 17 to take the second-round lead.
‘I feel great over the ball now, it’s not like it’s a fluke or anything,’ said the three-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, who has yet to post a top-30 finish in 2005. ‘It’s kind of nice being in this position for a change.’
Tom Johnson, no relation to the leader, started on the back nine Friday and double bogeyed his first hole. He reclaimed both of the lost strokes with a 3-footer for birdie at 11 and an up-and-down birdie from the bunker at the par-5 12th.
He ran home a 6-foot birdie putt at the 16th and made it two in a row with a 12-footer at No. 17.
Tom Johnson sank a 15-footer for birdie at the first, then parred his next four holes. He kicked in a 3-footer for birdie at six and made it back-to-back birdies with a 18-footer at No. 7.
The 23-year-old, who turned professional last year, converted a 12-foot birdie putt at the ninth to get within one of Kevin Johnson.
‘I took a week off, didn’t touch a club and I feel fresh again,’ said Tom Johnson, who is winless on the Nationwide Tour. ‘I feel like I’m more mentally ready to go.’
Bryce Molder (70), Jason Buha (71) and Ken Duke (67) are tied for fifth place at minus-8. First-round leader Matt Bettencourt struggled to a 2-over 74 and is tied for eighth place with Kevin Gessino-Kraft (67) and Erik Compton (66). That trio came in at 7-under-par 137.
The 36-hole cut fell at 2-under-par 142 and Bubba Dickerson (144) and Casey Martin (150) missed the mark.
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