Zach Johnson made a strong start to his Sony Open title defense in blustery conditions Thursday when birdies on two of the last three holes lifted him into a six-way tie for the lead in the opening round. Johnson, who won last year's title by two shots, fired a five-under-par 65 at Waialae Country Club to set the pace with fellow Americans Davis Love III, Ryan Palmer, John Merrick and PGA Tour rookie Troy Merritt, plus Australian Robert Allenby. Masters champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina eagled the par-five 18th on the way to an adventurous 66 to lie one stroke off the lead with nine other players. The straight-hitting Johnson was delighted with his round, having shrugged off an early bogey at the par-four fifth with a flawless run of six birdies in the last 11 holes. Tour veteran Love, bidding for his first victory since the 2008 Disney Classic, and Palmer each birdied their final holes to jump into a share of the lead. Merritt, who won last year's PGA Tour qualifying tournament, was the surprise package at the top of the leaderboard, recording six birdies and a lone bogey in his debut appearance on the US circuit. Twice winner Ernie Els and 2005 champion Vijay Singh, each making their first starts on the 2010 PGA Tour, opened with matching 69s. Lynn sets pace Britain's David Lynn fired a four-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after a Joburg Open second round disrupted by thunderstorms Friday. Lynn's 12-under total of 130 gave him the narrowest of advantages over South African Charl Schwartzel (68), the European Tour money-list leader. Sharing third place on 132 at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club were South Africans Jbe' Kruger (69) and Hendrik Buhrmann (64) and British pair Darren Clarke (69) and Danny Willett (67). Lynn made five birdies and one bogey on a soggy East course. The opening two rounds at the tournament co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the South African Sunshine Tour were played on the East and West courses. The event now moves exclusively to the East layout for the final two rounds. Schwartzel said: “The East is definitely the more daunting one and you need to hit a lot of good iron shots to give yourself birdie opportunities..” Briton John Parry and Andrew Curlewis of South Africa were seven-under with three holes still to play when darkness fell. They need to complete their rounds Saturday morning. First-round leader Neil Schietekat of South Africa could only card a 72 for 134. Among the players to miss the cut were 2008 US Amateur champion Danny Lee of New Zealand and defending champion Anders Hansen of Denmark, the highest-ranked player in the field at number 39 in the world.
