Dustin Johnson moves to the top at Northern Trust

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Dustin Johnson has missed nine birdie chances from 10 feet or closer at Liberty National, which ordinarily might annoy him.

He's hitting it so well that he still leads the Northern Trust.

Johnson birdied three of his last six holes Friday, finishing with an approach to 8 feet on the 489-yard closing hole, for a 4-under-par 67 that gave him a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth (64) going into the weekend.

First-round leader Troy Merritt shot 70, and the Spring Lake Park product is one of four golfers two strokes behind Johnson, who has won this FedEx Cup playoffs opener twice at other courses.

"I've got a lot of control with the golf ball and hitting a lot of really nice shots and rolled in a couple putts today which is nice, but still feel like I left quite a few out there," said Johnson, who was at 12-under 130. "I'm in a good position heading into the weekend, and if I can keep swinging the way I am, I think it's going to be a good weekend."

The weekend does not include Masters champion Tiger Woods, and neither did Friday. Woods, who opened with a 75, withdrew a few hours before his second round was to begin because of what he described as a mild strain to the oblique that Woods says was causing pain and stiffness.

It's the first time he withdrew in the middle of a tournament since February 2017, two months before fusion surgery on his lower back. He said he was hopeful to play next week at Medinah.

He might be one round away from thinking more about winning. Spieth was on the same score (131) that he was going into the weekend last week at the Wyndham Championship, where he followed with a 77 and missed the 54-hole cut. His shots have been tighter, his misses not that severe and he even got some good fortune on his final hole that led to a birdie and a spot in the last group with a familiar face.

Johnson and Spieth have played together at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am each of the last five years.

The opening playoff event had a strong cast of contenders. Merritt, Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed two shots behind, and Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy among those another shot back.

Johnson's year has been quiet since winning a World Golf Championship in Mexico City for his 20th career victory. Another year passed without winning a major. He was runner-up in the first two majors, but he hasn't finish better than 20th since the PGA Championship.