This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Los Angeles • Dustin Johnson is closing in on that elusive victory at Riviera, and a shot to reach No. 1 in the world.

And he still has a long way to go.

Johnson made two tough pars around the turn and poured it on late with three birdies over his last four holes for another 5-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the Genesis Open. It was a good place to be Saturday afternoon, except he was only halfway home at rainy Riviera.

The tournament lost an hour to fog Thursday, then seven hours when heavy rain and wind arrived in southern California on Friday, and two more hours Saturday morning to get the course cleaned up for play.

So what day is it?

"Saturday," Johnson said. "Yeah, I think it's Saturday."

He was at 10-under 132 and had a one-shot lead over Pat Perez, who birdied his last two holes for a 66, and Cameron Tringale, whose wedge from 82 yards flew straight into the cup on No. 18 for a birdie and a 64.

Jhonattan Vegas finished his second round well before lunch with four pars for a 68. He was in the group at 7-under 135 along with Patrick Rodgers (67) and PGA Tour rookie J.T. Poston (69).

Sam Saunders, who opened with a 7-under 64 on Thursday and didn't play at all on Friday, stumbled to a 77. He was right on the cut line and was in danger of becoming the first player in four years to go from leading the first round to missing the cut until a long birdie on the 17th. Saunders was nine shots behind.

The PGA Tour got a big break when 71 players made the cut, making it possible to complete 72 holes by Sunday. The third round began Saturday afternoon, though the last two groups did not tee off because of darkness and will face 36 holes on the final day. The weather had cooperated enough that players no longer could lift, clean and place their golf balls in the short grass.

Johnson was in control of his game and the focus going into a marathon Sunday.

He said earlier this year that Riviera was the one tournament he wanted to win outside the majors because of his love for the course and how much he loves it, even though it has given him nothing but heartache. He has had a chance to win four times in the last five years.

Now, a victory might be enough to move him to No. 1 in the world. Johnson would have to win the Genesis Open and have world No. 1 Jason Day finish out of the top three to go to No. 1 for the first time.

"I don't really worry about that," Johnson said. "I want to put myself in position to win this golf tournament. That's really all I care about is what it takes to get it done here. The rest of the stuff, the points and the world golf rankings, yeah, I would like to get there but I'm not worried about it."

Day had another 70 and was eight shots behind and tied for 40th.

Jordan Spieth, coming off a victory at Pebble Beach, managed his 19th consecutive round under par on the PGA Tour with a 68 even though he felt as though he hit it short and crooked most of the week. He was at 5 under and in a tie for 11th.

Perez was coming off a bogey on the par-5 ninth when he drove left of the 10th green and hit what he thought was as good a shot as he could that ran onto the green toward the pin. It kept rolling into a bunker, though he hit a nifty shot from the sand to 3 feet for par.

"Another birdie," he said as he walked off the green, paying homage to a 313-yard hole that bedevils him.

He saved his best work for the end of the round, chipping in from birdie from deep rough on the 17th and stuffing his approach into 8 feet for birdie on the 18th. Perez already has made a remarkable return from shoulder surgery, winning in his third tournament back in Mexico. Now he's headed back to Mexico in two weeks for a World Golf Championship, and a big Sunday could set him up for another WGC at the Dell Match Play.

Perez said his shoulder pain started to return in Phoenix, but he has shortened his swing and expects no trouble over as many as 36 holes Sunday.

Tringale ran off three straight birdies on the front nine and didn't drop a shot, saving his best for his final shot. After driving right into the eucalyptus trees on 18 and coming up short, he holed out for a 3 to get into the final group.

"Heard it hit the flag and then when people started going crazy, figured it had gone it," he said. "It was a fun way to end."

Now, the tournament feels as though it's just getting started..

Tour Champions

In Naples, Fla., Miguel Angel Jimenez birdied two of the last four holes to take a one-stroke lead over Fred Couples and Kevin Sutherland into the final round of the Chubb Classic. Jimenez birdied the par-4 15th and par-5 17th in a bogey-free 5-under 67 that got him to 12-under 132 at The TwinEagles Club. Couples shot a 65 in perfect conditions. Sutherland had a 63 for the best round of the week.

Women's Aussie Open

In Adelaide, Australia, American Lizette Salas shot a 2-under 71 to take a two-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Women's Australian Open at Royal Adelaide. South Korean-born Australian Su Oh had the round of the day, a 68, and was tied for second with fellow Australian and 36-hole leader Sarah Jane Smith (74) and Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand (73). —

Saturday's scores

Genesis Open

Riviera Country Club, Los Angeles

Purse: $7 million

Yardage: 7,322; Par 71

Second Round

a-denotes amateur

Dustin Johnson 66-66 — 132 -10

Pat Perez 67-66 — 133 -9

Cameron Tringale 69-64 — 133 -9

Jhonattan Vegas 67-68 — 135 -7

Patrick Rodgers 68-67 — 135 -7

J.T. Poston 66-69 — 135 -7

Scott Brown 68-68 — 136 -6

Charley Hoffman 68-68 — 136 -6

Luke Donald 68-68 — 136 -6

Kevin Na 67-69 — 136 -6

Cameron Percy 66-71 — 137 -5

Jordan Spieth 69-68 — 137 -5

Jason Kokrak 67-70 — 137 -5

Anirban Lahiri 70-67 — 137 -5

Ollie Schniederjans 68-69 — 137 -5

Matt Kuchar 69-68 — 137 -5

Adam Scott 68-69 — 137 -5

Branden Grace 67-70 — 137 -5

Charles Howell III 70-67 — 137 -5

Zac Blair 70-68 — 138 -4

Martin Laird 70-68 — 138 -4

Brian Stuard 69-69 — 138 -4

Ben Crane 68-70 — 138 -4

Wesley Bryan 69-69 — 138 -4

John Huh 66-72 — 138 -4

Cameron Smith 69-69 — 138 -4

Thomas Pieters 70-68 — 138 -4

Kyle Stanley 72-66 — 138 -4

Jim Furyk 69-69 — 138 -4

J.J. Henry 69-69 — 138 -4

Daniel Summerhays 66-73 — 139 -3

Graeme McDowell 69-70 — 139 -3

Keegan Bradley 69-70 — 139 -3

Nick Watney 69-70 — 139 -3

Billy Hurley III 67-72 — 139 -3

Padraig Harrington 67-72 — 139 -3

Stewart Cink 70-69 — 139 -3

Sergio Garcia 72-67 — 139 -3

James Hahn 70-69 — 139 -3

Byeong Hun An 67-73 — 140 -2

K.J. Choi 70-70 — 140 -2

Jason Day 70-70 — 140 -2

a-Sahith Theegala 67-73 — 140 -2

Phil Mickelson 67-73 — 140 -2

J.B. Holmes 71-69 — 140 -2

Justin Rose 69-71 — 140 -2

Jimmy Walker 70-70 — 140 -2

Jamie Lovemark 70-70 — 140 -2

Brett Stegmaier 66-75 — 141 -1

Alex Cejka 71-70 — 141 -1

Ryan Palmer 68-73 — 141 -1

Bud Cauley 71-70 — 141 -1

Patton Kizzire 70-71 — 141 -1

Graham DeLaet 73-68 — 141 -1

Paul Casey 69-72 — 141 -1

Peter Malnati 71-70 — 141 -1

Patrick Reed 72-69 — 141 -1

Seung-Yul Noh 71-70 — 141 -1

Sung Kang 71-70 — 141 -1

Adam Hadwin 68-73 — 141 -1

Sam Saunders 64-77 — 141 -1

Whee Kim 68-74 — 142 E

Bill Haas 71-71 — 142 E

Justin Thomas 71-71 — 142 E

Tyrone Van Aswegen 74-68 — 142 E

Chad Campbell 71-71 — 142 E

Mark Hubbard 73-69 — 142 E

Webb Simpson 71-71 — 142 E

Brendan Steele 69-73 — 142 E

Nick Taylor 74-68 — 142 E

Jonathan Garrick 72-70 — 142 E

Failed to make the cut

Kyle Reifers 74-69 — 143 +1

Tony Finau 69-74 — 143 +1

Scott Piercy 72-71 — 143 +1

Camilo Villegas 70-73 — 143 +1

Marc Leishman 67-76 — 143 +1

Robert Streb 69-74 — 143 +1

Vijay Singh 72-71 — 143 +1

Si Woo Kim 75-68 — 143 +1

Greg Chalmers 72-71 — 143 +1

Ricky Barnes 72-71 — 143 +1

David Hearn 70-73 — 143 +1

Harold Varner III 73-71 — 144 +2

Harris English 71-73 — 144 +2

John Senden 70-74 — 144 +2

Ken Duke 71-73 — 144 +2

Bryce Molder 74-70 — 144 +2

Luke List 72-72 — 144 +2

Ryan Moore 70-74 — 144 +2

Brandt Snedeker 73-71 — 144 +2

Charlie Beljan 68-76 — 144 +2

Rob Oppenheim 75-69 — 144 +2

Kevin Dougherty 74-70 — 144 +2

Soren Kjeldsen 74-71 — 145 +3

Matt Every 76-69 — 145 +3

Danny Lee 71-74 — 145 +3

Billy Horschel 74-71 — 145 +3

Blayne Barber 70-75 — 145 +3

Shawn Stefani 69-76 — 145 +3

Aaron Baddeley 70-75 — 145 +3

Michael Kim 71-74 — 145 +3

Jon Curran 74-71 — 145 +3

Kevin Streelman 75-70 — 145 +3

Jim Herman 68-78 — 146 +4

Geoff Ogilvy 73-73 — 146 +4

Rich Berberian, Jr. 77-69 — 146 +4

Steven Bowditch 78-68 — 146 +4

Spencer Levin 71-75 — 146 +4

Francesco Molinari 72-75 — 147 +5

Troy Merritt 70-77 — 147 +5

Hunter Mahan 74-73 — 147 +5

Brooks Koepka 75-72 — 147 +5

Mackenzie Hughes 76-71 — 147 +5

Cody Gribble 72-75 — 147 +5

Kevin Chappell 71-76 — 147 +5

Derek Fathauer 75-72 — 147 +5

Andrew Loupe 70-77 — 147 +5

Chez Reavie 75-72 — 147 +5

Carl Pettersson 77-70 — 147 +5

Johnson Wagner 78-69 — 147 +5

Charl Schwartzel 74-74 — 148 +6

Fabian Gomez 71-77 — 148 +6

Hideki Matsuyama 68-80 — 148 +6

Kelly Kraft 76-72 — 148 +6

Kevin Tway 76-72 — 148 +6

Brian Harman 69-79 — 148 +6

Ernie Els 75-73 — 148 +6

Hudson Swafford 75-73 — 148 +6

Grayson Murray 72-77 — 149 +7

Ryo Ishikawa 72-79 — 151 +9

Morgan Hoffmann 73-78 — 151 +9

Ben Martin 73-78 — 151 +9

Kevin Hall 79-72 — 151 +9