US Open champion Dustin Johnson birdied four of the final five holes to open up a three-shot lead over Paul Casey after the third round at the BMW Championship in IN on Saturday.
Advertisement
After firing a third-round 68 to start Sunday with a three-shot lead over Paul Casey, Johnson looked human through the first three holes of the round – making two bogeys to allow Casey to pull even with him at 17-under par.
Johnson collected two eagles, holing a 15-yard bunker shot at the par-five ninth and sinking a 25-foot putt at the 15th en route to his sizzling score at Crooked Stick in Carmel.
World No. 1 Jason Day (67), FedEx Cup points leader Patrick Reed (70) and Monday’s Deutsche Bank Championship victor Rory McIlroy (72) all trail by 10 strokes.
Victory puts him in pole position heading into The Tour Championship in Atlanta later this month, the week before the Ryder Cup, in which Johnson will be one of United States captain Davis Love III’s key players. I rolled the ball really nicely today. There were three holes left for Johnson to try and snag his third win of the season in addition to his U.S. Open and Bridgestone Invitational titles. “You don’t always have your best game, and I was able to finish it off and get in the Tour Championship”.
Casey was referring to the season-ending Tour Championship in two weeks, where the top five entering the 30-man tournament are assured of the overall FedEx Cup title with a victory. “He has got the best attitude in golf”.
“I don’t think it’s anything he hasn’t dealt with before”, Martin said. Adam Scott finally got some putts to drop and with birdies on the last two holes, he shot a 67 and joined Matt Kuchar (68) at 11-under 205. It’s just not going to happen very often.
“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.
But they finished before Johnson was done making birdies, and both were seven shots behind. But Johnson’s reply was swift and decisive, grabbing an eagle of his own moments later to maintain his three-stroke advantage.
Advertisement
Big-driving Johnson, the 2010 BMW victor, went 15-under on the par-5 holes this week as he converted a 54-hole lead into a title for the third time in seven career opportunities.
