Dustin Johnson birdied four of the final five holes to move into a three-shot lead after the third round of the BMW Championship in Indiana.
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Day’s withdrawal came as world No.2 Dustin Johnson powered home to win at Crooked Stick Golf Club by three shots.
Johnson jumped to top spot on a FedEx Cup points list as the top 30 players advance to the season-finale Tour Championship in Atlanta in two weeks.
World number one Jason Day remained in fourth place in the standings despite having to withdraw after nine holes on Sunday due to a back injury.
“I hit a couple of squirrelly shots there”, he said.
“I played really solid all week”. That assures the Englishman that he can win the FedEx Cup and its $10 million prize outright if he can win the playoff- and season-ending Tour Championship in two weeks in Atlanta. He is now third in the FedEx Cup standings. It wasn’t my best ball-striking day. “I put in a new putter, and it really worked this week”.
The 32-year-old American, who captured his first Major title in June at Oakmont, sank three birdie putts in a row starting with a 10-footer at the par-four 14th, then a tap-in on the par-five 15th and lastly a seven-footer at the par-four 16th.
With no tournament on the PGA Tour next week the U.S. team are planning a team-bonding weekend at the Minnesotta venue as they look to right the wrongs of 2014 and win back the trophy for the first time since 2008.
Eighteen birdies and one eagle putt later, Johnson was at 18-under 198 and closing in on his third victory of the year.
As great as Johnson’s season has been, even if he finishes second at East Lake, he won’t win the overall title if Reed, Scott, Day or Casey shoots the lowest score over 72 holes.
And there was the cold-blooded eagle on the 15th hole, after Casey, for a few precious moments at least, trimmed the deficit to a single shot.
“The ease to which Dustin Johnson makes it look, especially when he’s starting to wedge it in the past year like he has and his putting, is a great thing”.
No player on the PGA Tour – not Jason, not Rory, not Jordan – makes extraordinary golf look as simple as Johnson. “You don’t always have your best game, and I was able to finish it off and get in the Tour Championship”. J.B. Holmes is a further shot back, while Roberto Castro slipped to 12 under after a 74 and Adam Scott is joined by Matt Kuchar at 11 under.
“He thinks simply, which helps in his golf game”, Spieth 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.
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The PGA Tour is off next week.
