America’s Dustin Johnson stormed to top of the FedEx Cup standings after cruising to a three-shot victory over England’s Paul Casey at the BMW Championship in Indiana.
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During the third round of the BMW Championship on Sunday (NZ time), the Spanish golfer slammed the club into the ground so hard it bent in half, leaving him to finish the day putting with his wedge.
Now Johnson will try and replicate something else only Woods has done: Win the Tour Championship as the No. 1 player in the FedEx Cup points race going into the final event.
The defending champion and world No. 1 Jason Day was forced to withdraw mid-round because of a back injury, while Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson all dropped out of the top-30 and will miss the final event of the PGA Tour season this week. The Tour Championship for the top 30 players starts September 22 at East Lake. Day has been able to manage his back problems well in the past. His unmatched skill set also worked against him, because shouldn’t a player who can drive the ball that long, and that straight, and possess such obvious gifts win multiple times a year and capture majors in bunches?
“Hopefully I’m saving my best for last, that would be a great way to finish the year”, Scott said.
Johnson said he was delighted with the way he played all week, the win due in no small part to the new Spyder putter he put in his bag after hitting just one practice putt with it before the tournament. Fowler would have made it to the Tour Championship if Holmes made either a birdie or a bogey.
“Afterward”, Johnson said, “I was like, man, I could have gave a good fist pump there. I don’t think it’s anything that he hasn’t dealt with before”, Day’s manager Bud Martin said. It enabled Woodland to move up one spot to 20th place in the FedEx Cup standings.
Big-hitter Johnson has plundered the par-fives, playing them in 11-under, and his length has become an even more valuable weapon on a course softened all week by heavy rain.
Any of the top-five ranked players can win the playoffs with a victory in Atlanta.
“Hopefully, he’ll be ready for Atlanta”, Martin said.
Whether Day is a starter at the Tour Championship in a fortnight remains to be seen but the opportunity to pocket $10 million might be enough to quell the pain.
Johnson delighted fans with another display of long hitting but also displayed a deft touch on slow greens at Crooked Stick in Carmel.
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Roberto Castro (74), who shared the 36-hole lead with Johnson, fell to fourth on 204, one stroke ahead of USA compatriot Matt Kuchar and Australia’s Adam Scott.
