Johnson surges into share of lead in San Antonio

[April 21, 2018]  (Reuters) - Zach Johnson shot a blistering seven-under-par 65 to jump into a tie with Ryan Moore on nine-under 135 after the second round of the Texas Open on Friday.

The pair lead Andrew Landry (67) and Grayson Murray (69) by a shot, with Ben Crane (66), Canadian David Hearn (68) and Scotland's Martin Laird (65) two strokes further back on six-under.

Sergio Garcia (72) missed the cut for his second straight tournament after finishing at two-over-par. The Spaniard cut a frustrated figure at the fifth hole where he threw his driver into the bushes in disgust after hitting his tee shot.

The 38-year-old, who also missed the cut at the Masters earlier this month, was the only top-20 ranked golfer in the tournament.

Johnson had looked like he would struggle to make the cut in the first round when he was three-over through 13 holes but finished with three straight birdies on Thursday.

He carried that momentum into Friday's round, carding six birdies and a spectacular eagle at the short par-four fifth where he holed out from a greenside bunker. The only blemish on his card was a three-putt bogey on the ninth hole, his last of the day.

"Keep hitting fairways and keep putting myself in position to be aggressive," the 42-year-old said when asked what he will need to do to win the tournament.

Zach Johnson hits from the fairway on the eighteenth hole during the second round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament at TPC San Antonio - AT&T Oaks Course. Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

"I don't want to take my foot off the pedal because what I've learned certainly over the last so many odd years with these young guys is there's no fear.

"They are going full bore so there's no reason I shouldn't either," the two-times major champion said.

Fellow leader Moore shot a second-round 67 that included five birdies. The 35-year-old is the only player in the field not to bogey a hole at the Greg Norman-designed TPC San Antonio.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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