Dustin Johnson reacts after sinking a long putt on the 15th hole during the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016.
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After opening his final round with a birdie, successive bogeys allowed Casey to draw level and share the lead, before birdies at the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth and a front nine of 33 reasserted Johnson’s authority.
It enabled Woodland to move up one spot to 20th place in the FedEx Cup standings.
The BMW Championship might have been his most complete performance of what already has been a big year.
He finished at 23-under 265 and went over $9 million in earnings for the year, along with taking the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup to the finale in two weeks at East Lake for the Tour Championship.
Day was leading for the Vardon Trophy as the season low scorer but is now ineligible due to the withdrawal.
Day withdrew from the final round of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick, Indiana, today after playing eight holes. Unfortunately, Johnson dropped his own eagle at the 15th right on top of him, essentially sealing the victory.
The best thing for Johnson to do is just win the tournament, but even if he doesn’t, he is nearly assuredly the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Casey, with his second consecutive runner-up finish, snuck into the top five in the standings. He will also likely accomplish Woods has done an astonishing 10 times, which is take home the Player of the Year hardware at season’s end.
“I played really solid, drove it really nicely, wedged it really good”, Johnson said. Castro quickly shook off a third-round 74 by making the turn in 32, and after starting the week at No. 53, he heads to Atlanta No. 21 in the FedEx Cup race.
“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 more I practice, the more I’m in the situation, the more I know what to do and what to expect in the situations and kind of know what shots that I can hit and not to hit and I like it”, he 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. “I don’t think about, ‘Oh, I need to get to No. 1.’ I’ve just got to go out and just keep winning and keep having a chance to win on Sunday”.
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He has gone from the guy who couldn’t close out the big tournaments to the one who has won a major championship, a World Golf Championship event and a FedEx Cup playoff event in the same season, setting up a shot at the overall FedEx Cup title and PGA Tour Player of the Year honors.
