The back side was mostly without drama until Johnson came to the par-5 15th with a three-shot lead over Casey.
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Roberto Castro, who shared the 36-hole lead with Johnson, stumbled to a 74 to fall to fourth on 204, one stroke ahead of United States compatriot Matt Kuchar and Australia’s Adam Scott. He ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch to regain control Sunday, left Paul Casey feeling helpless by matching his eagle putt late in the round and sailed home to a 5-under 67 for a three-shot victory at Crooked Stick.
His 23 under performance set a record over 72 holes at the BMW Championship. “When he gets on his game maybe he’s the best ball-striker in golf, maybe the longest, and he showed it today”.
World No. 1 Jason Day has always struggled to remain healthy throughout his career, and his recurring back problems struck again Sunay during the final round of the BMW Championship.
An eagle on the 15th hole smoothed his path to a three-shot win over England’s Paul Casey, who shot also shot a 67 on Sunday. The defending champion was three-under for the tournament and two-over for the day.
“I played really solid, drove it really nicely, wedged it really good”, Johnson said.
The final round at Crooked Stick became a race in two as the final pairing of Johnson and Casey went head-to-head.
“I got an A, too, bud”, he said.
With his third win of the year, Johnson jumped to the top spot on the FedEx Cup points list as the top 30 players advance to the season finale Tour Championship in Atlanta in two weeks.
Asked if he had done enough to be picked, Fowler said, “I would like to think so”. “So I’ve done so far a really good job of that and I would like to continue it over the weekend”. Johnson finished 11 strokes clear of fourth place.
Holmes tied for fourth, key for him because the big hitter from Kentucky also needs a captain’s pick to play in the Ryder Cup.
Day was leading the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average going into the BMW Championship.
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In Johnson’s sights now is the possibility of a $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup – or certainly a big payout regardless – as well as creeping closer to Day’s No. 1 world ranking. “Definitely feel like I can get better with some things and hopefully improve by the time I get to East Lake”.
