KAPALUA, Maui » Most of last year’s winners "bomb and gouge" Kapalua’s Plantation Course. Zach Johnson, who leads the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the midway point, picks at it with precision.

After a 7-under-par 66 Saturday, Johnson is three shots up on defending champion Dustin Johnson (66), Matt Kuchar (68) and Jordan Spieth (70). The leader is at 13-under 133.

All four are in the top 25 of the World Golf Rankings. Through 20 to 25 mph winds, they are taking the Plantation apart, one way or another.

Johnson & Johnson tee off in the final group at 12:41 p.m. today. Dustin is the one who bombed and birdied all four par-5s Saturday, after getting three of four in the opening round.

Zach, who has seven top-10 finishes in his past 10 official starts, birdied none of the par-5s Saturday. He has missed six straight par-5 opportunities after starting birdie-eagle on Friday.

"I’m very comfortable, if anything, as a competitor," said Zach, who stared down Tiger Woods in his last start. "One of my goals every year is those par-5s, and I’m a little bitter about that right now. I’m a little upset about that, but I’ll get over it. I mean, I played 7 under on the rest of the holes, so 14 holes. I’ll get it back."

And then, the man who turns 38 next month and counts the 2007 Masters and 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii among his 10 victories grinned and bared another annoyance.

"I just hate three-putting," he added. "Two yesterday, one today. One for par and two for bogey yesterday."

He was bogey-free Saturday, something he accomplished 10 times last season — second only to Webb Simpson. Johnson also has 20 one-putts this week, which leads the 30-man field.

He is in the top of every meaningful statistic at the Plantation except driving distance, no real surprise for a sub-6-footer who weighs 160 pounds.

The world’s ninth-ranked golfer is in a zone, even on a massive Maui golf course where he has just one top 10 in six previous appearances. He was 18th last year, making just 12 birdies in a wind-shortened 54 holes.

He has 15 already this year. Johnson seized the lead Saturday with his second straight birdie putt of 20 feet plus, at No. 8, and stretched it despite parring the final four holes.

"It’s becoming (a course for me)," he acknowledged. "I’m just getting more and more comfortable here. I feel like I know how to prepare before I get here more than in the past. I take a lot of time off. I’m not afraid to do that, and I know when to get back at it and I know what to do when I get here."

He has always known what to do at Waialae Country Club, where the PGA Tour’s first full-field event of 2014 starts Thursday. The flat, narrow layout with small greens fits his precise game.

It is a sign of his game’s sophistication and comfort level — Johnson won $4 million last year — that he can now tame anything a golf course and Mother Nature throw at him.

"I’m playing here because it’s here and next week is a great golf course for me," Johnson said. "I think Humana (at La Quinta in two weeks) is great — those venues are great for me, because the courses aren’t monstrous."

The Plantation is. That’s why Dustin Johnson destroyed it last year. He leads the field in driving distance again this year, averaging more than 300 yards.

Saturday, in normal trade winds, he became the first this year to reach the 663-yard closing hole in two and launched one drive 379 yards. He led briefly Saturday after birdieing five of his first eight holes.

"This golf course sets up well for me," he said. "I can reach all the par 5s and there’s a few short holes where you can drive it up close to the green. So if I chip it and putt it well, I’m going to shoot a good score pretty much every time."

Kuchar is looking for his fourth top-10 here. Spieth, 20, is a TOC rookie and last season’s rookie of the year. He has just one bogey so far.

The lead foursome combined to win five tournaments and $18 million last year. Dustin Johnson already has a victory in "2014" and $1.4 million after winning a World Golf Championship in the fall start of the new 2013-14 wraparound season.

These guys are good, and Zach Johnson says everybody is getting better, with Spieth one of the prime examples.

The rookie’s goal today is simple, at least figuratively:

"Just go catch Zach."

TODAY’S TEE TIMES

10:07 a.m.: John Merrick, Derek Ernst
10:18: D.A. Points, Brian Gay
10:29: Jonas Blixt, Jimmy Walker
10:40: Scott Brown, Boo Weekley
10:51: Russell Henley, Bill Haas
11:02: Martin Laird, Billy Horschel
11:13: Patrick Reed, Sang-Moon Bae
11:24: Chris Kirk, Woody Austin
11:35: Gary Woodland, Harris English
11:46: Jason Dufner, Adam Scott
11:57: Brandt Snedeker, Ken Duke
12:08 p.m.: Ryan Moore, Kevin Streelman
12:19: Webb Simpson, Michael Thompson
12:30: Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth
12:41: Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson

SECOND ROUND SCORES

Kapalua Plantation Course
Yardage: 7,452; Par 73