Palmetto Championship 2021: Dustin Johnson Trails by 2 Shots After 2nd-Round 68

The No. 1 golfer in the world is once again sitting close to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend.

Through two rounds of play at the Palmetto Championship, Dustin Johnson finds himself nine under par and in second place for consecutive days. He trails current leader Chesson Hadley (11 under) by just two strokes. 

The 2021 PGA season hasn't been too kind to Johnson.

After the 36-year-old finished the Sentry Tournament of Champions tied for 11th—and the following month's Genesis Invitational tied for eighth—Johnson began to struggle. 

He tied for 54th at the WGC-Workday Championships, tied for 48th at The Players Championship and then missed the cut at the Masters and the PGA Championship. Only once since February has Johnson finished a weekend in the top 15 (T13 at RBC Heritage). 

Johnson may finally be correcting course at Congaree Golf Club in his home state of South Carolina. 

Palmetto Championship Friday Leaderboard

1. Chesson Hadley (-11)

2. Dustin Johnson (-9)

3. Tain Lee (-7)

T4. Harris English (-6)

T4. Chez Reavie (-6)

T4. Erik van Rooyen (-6)

T4. Pat Perez (-6)

T4. Seamus Power (-6)

T4. Wilco Nienaber (-6)

T10. Garrick Higgo (-5)

T10. Rob Oppenheim (-5)

T10. Doc Redman (-5)

T10. Patrick Rodgers (-5)

Notables: T20. Ian Poulter (-2), T29. Matt Fitzpatrick (-1), T44. Brandt Snedeker (E), T53. Tommy Fleetwood (+1).

Full leaderboard available via PGA Tour

Recap

Johnson followed up his opening round of 65 with a second-round 68, but it was really just one mistake that held him back Friday.

A double bogey on par-four No. 18 following a drop penalty off the tee took Johnson from five under on the day to three under. It was just the second bogey on the day for Johnson, who sank two birdies to open the round before picking up four more on the back nine.

A bogey on par-four No. 13 was the only setback before Johnson reached the 18th. 

He'll enter Moving Day looking to gain ground on Hadley and stay in position to win his first tournament since he claimed The Masters in 2020. 

Contending with one of the best golfers on the planet is the PGA's newest member, Wilco Nienaber. The 21-year-old from South Africa has been an absolute force with the driver this week, ranking first in shots off the tee this weekend at 340.3 yards in his tour debut. 

Nienaber shot back-to-back rounds of 68 to begin the weekend and put himself inside the top five heading into Saturday. An eagle on Friday paired with five birdies helped erase four bogeys on the day as the rookie moved up 15 spots on the leaderboard. 

Only four players have earned a victory in their tour debut with Emiliano Grillo's 2016 Frys.com Open serving as the most recent. Nienaber is looking to join Russell Henley (2013), Henrik Stenson (2007) and Garrett Willis (2001) as the only other golfers to achieve the feat. 

He'll have to get past both Johnson and Hadley to make that happen. The latter certainly isn't making that task any easier. Hadley put together seven birdies on two bogeys Friday while hitting 72.22 percent of his greens in regulation. 

Fortunately for the leaders, the one-over-par cut line took a number of tour veterans out of play for the weekend. Kevin Kisner (+2), Padraig Harrington (+3), Brooks Koepka (+3) and Harold Varner III (+5) all failed to make it to the weekend.