Instead of moving on, Johnson can move up PGA leaderboard

The juxtaposition was stark here late Friday afternoon.

On the 14th green, Tiger Woods had a tap-in birdie to go to 6-under-par for the PGA Championship. Heck, it was more like a sneeze-in putt.

Zach Johnson, meanwhile, was on the neighboring 13th tee. Having dropped four shots in a five-hole span, he was at 6 over and in grave danger of missing the 36-hole cut, with the cut-line at 4 over.

But there are reasons Cedar Rapids' Johnson is the 22nd-ranked golfer in the world. One is intestinal fortitude. Another is talent.

After parring the 13th, Johnson birdied No. 14 and eagled the 640-yard, par-5 15th to get to 3-over. He parred his way home and will keep playing here this weekend.

It's the first PGA cut he has made since 2005.

Some would have wilted in the Hazeltine National heat knowing they needed to shave two shots in the last five holes to make the cut. Johnson viewed it differently.

“It fires you up even more,” he said. “I just had to remain patient. I was hitting solid shots.”

Johnson has shot 73-74, but he's playing better than his scores indicate.

He agrees.

“My game's been good, it feels good,” he said. “I'm doing the same old things. I just have to commit and stay with it.”

A dark feel to Johnson's round surfaced on the par-3 No. 8. His tee shot hit a bank in front of the green and tumbled back into the water surrounding the green, costing him a penalty stroke.

His shot from the drop zone, about 65 yards out, was a beauty. But he missed the 3-foot bogey putt and jumped from 2 over to 4 over.

“I misjudged the wind,” Johnson said. “Immensely. I almost hit one club less.”

His second shot on the par-4 No. 12 landed in an gruesome spot, plugged in the lip of a greenside bunker, leading to his second-consecutive bogey.

But the darkest hour, as it turned out, was right before the dawn.

“After that, I was solid,” Johnson said. “Especially putting.”

His tee shot at the par-4 14th, shortened by tee-location to 299 yards Friday, rolled off the back of the green. His chip left him his own sneeze-in for birdie on the hole.

OK, it was more like a tap-in unless you have serious allergies. But it injected some optimism back into making the cut. Then came fairway, green, 35-yard eagle putt on 15.

“Good drive, good second shot, good putt,” Johnson said.

Good summation.

He made a 10-foot par putt on 18 to take good feelings into the night. After he spent a little time on Hazeltine's putting green, that is.

Who knows what could happen this weekend? The John Deere Classic isn't the PGA Championship, but Johnson was under the cut-line for a little while Friday at the Deere last month.

When that tourney was over, he was tied for second. He's six shots out of second (and 10 behind Woods), but Saturday is called Moving Day at golf tourneys for a reason.

If nothing else, many spectators were pleased Johnson will still be here today and Sunday.

“There must be a thousand Iowans here, at least,” Johnson said, and many of them let him know of their presence throughout this venue. “It's unbelievable.

“I left over 110 tickets at will-call. I have high school friends here, college friends, sponsors, a slew of family and family friends. Drake has a major Minneapolis contingent.

“It's fantastic.”

Their guy tees off today at 9:01 a.m., playing with Rich Beem.

Tiger's in the stratosphere.

But everyone else is within sight.