Tiger Woods paid tribute to Dustin Johnson after the world number one clinically coped with tricky conditions to lead the U.S. Open.
The wind at Shinnecock Hills has caused real problems over the first two days of the tournament, with big names Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth all failing to make the cut.
But the in-form Johnson sits on four under after a round of 67 on Friday - making him the only player to be under par - to raise the prospect of a second U.S. Open title in three years, impressing Woods in the process.
"Dustin is in complete control of what he's doing. He's hitting the ball so flush and so solid," Woods told a news conference. "I know it's windy, it's blustery, it was raining early, but he's hitting right through it.
"It was good to see because I watched a little bit of it last week [as he won the St. Jude Classic] and he was doing the same thing down there, but he's brought it up here and is doing it under these conditions.
"He's got beautiful speed on the greens. Every putt looked like it was going to go in. Even though it didn't, it just had that look and that pace."
Johnson is four clear of fellow Americans Scott Piercy and Charley Hoffman, while defending champion Brooks Koepka is in a five-man group on one over par.
