New putter changes up Johnson's results

U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson made two eagles in a span of seven holes, shooting a 9-under 63 that gave him a share of the lead with Roberto Castro in the PGA Tour's BMW Championship in Carmel, Ind.

Johnson shot a 31 on the back nine on his way to a course record at Crooked Stick.

Castro (65) and Johnson were at 14-under 130 on the rain-softened course. For Castro, it's a last-minute bid to get to the Tour Championship at East Lake, just 15 minutes from his house.

Castro is at No. 53 in the FedEx Cup; only the top 30 make it to the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake in Atlanta.

Johnson made a big change before Friday's round: He switched to the TaylorMade Spider putter.

"I was just struggling to get the ball to come out on the line I was seeing," Johnson said. "No matter what I did, how much I practiced, training aids, whatever. It just wasn't working. So just decided to switch it up."

When asked about the physics involved, Johnson said: "I don't go into that stuff — as long as it goes where I'm looking."

Denny Hamlin won the pole for the Sprint Cup Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

It will be the first pole start of the year for Hamlin but his 24th consecutive start inside the top 10. Hamlin's average starting position, 6.1, is the circuit's best since Jeff Gordon had a 5.0 average in 1995.

Hockey: Chicago Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa's injury suffered Thursday was minor, coach Ralph Krueger said, and Hossa is "good to go." Hossa was pulled from a Team Europe exhibition game, part of preparation for the World Cup of Hockey, for what Krueger called a "lower-body setback." … The Edmonton Oilers signed veteran forward Kris Versteeg to a professional tryout contract. Versteeg, 30, split last season with Carolina and Los Angeles, finishing with 15 goals and 23 assists in 77 regular-season games.