Dustin Johnson surges two shots clear on day three at Saudi International
Johnson finishes birdie-birdie to open up two-stroke lead with 18 holes to play in the European Tour's Saudi International
Dustin Johnson has given himself every chance of landing a second Saudi International title in three years after moving two strokes clear on day three at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.
Johnson, the reigning Masters champion, finished birdie-birdie to move to 13-under par and two shots clear of France's Victor Perez, who matched the American's round of 66.
Players with the most wins in the last 16 months across all tours:
Hatton: 4
D. Johnson: 4
Van Tonder: 4 (Sunshine Tour) pic.twitter.com/KtU03JxH1o— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 5, 2021
Johnson, 33, won this tournament in 2019 and finished second last year to Graeme McDowell.
It wasn't all picture perfect for the World No.1 on day three, however, as he was seen fatting his second shot into the par-5 4th hole. The only thing was, unlike us amateur hacks, Johnson still managed to recover from there to make a birdie!
WATCH BELOW:
Even Dustin Johnson 'fats it' sometimes...
But the response shows why he's World Number One.#SaudiIntlGolf pic.twitter.com/jtqLi9lC3H— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 6, 2021
Johnson birdied four of his opening 10 holes to move into the outright lead but then slipped back into a tie for the lead when making a double-bogey six after finding the water with his second shot at the tricky par-4 13th.
But like all good champions, Johnson bounced back superbly with birdies on his final two holes to move back in front by two shots.
Johnson was criticised by some fans and critics for shouting FORE during round two when his drive struck a volunteer on the back.
Social media has also been quick to compare Johnson's drive to one of Happy Gulmore's. WATCH the video above!
It's not just Perez in Johnson's rear-view mirror though with a host of big-name players lurking in behind, none more so than in-form Tyrrell Hatton who progressed to 10-under par alongside Tony Finau, Soren Kjeldsen and Andy Sullivan.
Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, George Coetzee, Viktor Hovland, David Horsey, Calum Hill and Ryan Fox find themselves four shots off the pace on 9-under par.
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