Although Dustin Johnson’s change to a TaylorMade Black Limited Edition Itsy Bitsy Spider putter was a topic everyone wanted to talk about during the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick G.C., Johnson himself didn’t get caught up in the hype.
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It was the US Open champion’s third win in his past eight tournaments and his 12th PGA title since 2008.
DJ’s main challenge is likely to come from Paul Casey – second behind Rory McIlroy at the Deutsche Bank Championship last week – and JB Holmes, who carded a 67 yesterday.
Overnight co-leader with Johnson, Robert Castro hit a disappointing two-over-par round of 74 to finish at 12 under. On yet another pick-and-place day at the Stick, both players reached the rather-short par-5 in two, but Johnson was closer. Unfortunately, Johnson dropped his own eagle at the 15th right on top of him, essentially sealing the victory.
DeChambeau earned $180,000. The 2015 NCAA and U.S. Amateur champion got into the field as a non-member with enough PGA Tour money to have placed in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup had he been eligible.
European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke has already made his picks, but he may wish he had waited like the United States’ Davis Love III.
Schwartzel, Holmes and Scott were in a pack sharing fourth on 276 that also included Americans Ryan Palmer and Matt Kuchar. “I made some nice shots after the first few holes”.
After picking up wins in back-to-back starts at the US Open and Bridgestone Invitational over the summer, DJ picked up his third big win of 2016 with a dominant weekend performance at the BMW Championship in Carmel, Ind.
The 30-man Tour Championship, which carries a $10m (£7.54m) prize for the victor, is in Atlanta on 22-25 September.
Perhaps, just as important, is the fact he now leads the FedEx Cup with just the Tour Championship to play.
“I’m seeing the lines pretty well out here, I’ve got pretty good speed and it’s going where I’m looking”, Johnson said.
The third round already was scheduled to start late because of morning storms in the forecast, which pounded Crooked Stick and delayed that time by 1ﾽ hours. “You have to go out there and hit as many greens and fairways as possible and make as many putts. I just think, yeah, it’s something that’s really incredible to watch”.
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He was in position to potentially lock up his spot in the Tour Championship until closing with a 77 from the final group at the TPC Boston on Monday.
