Hend eagled the par-5 15th and birdied the last, while Nino Bertasio had a double-bogey seven on the 18th to slip to second place at 13 under.
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Johnson carded a four-under 68 in Saturday’s third round at the 2016 BMW Championship to bring his overall score to 18 under, giving him a three-stroke lead over the field with 18 holes to play.
He holed a fearless 24-footer for a par at 13 to avoid what looked like being his first bogey for the day then ended on a high with successive birdies when he knocked in a 14-footer at the par three 17 and a 10 footer for a three at the last.
The U.S. Open champion joined fellow American Roberto Castro (65) at 14-under 130, three strokes clear of Englishman Paul Casey (66).
After registering a 73 on Thursday, Day rebounded with a 67, which began with him making a trio of birdies on the front nine, which included a 20-foot putt at the sixth.
Johnson will be going for his third victory of the year, which would move him to the top of the FedEx Cup going into the finale at the Tour Championship in two weeks and make him a heavy favorite to win PGA Tour player of the year and the Vardon Trophy.
Biggest disappointments: Roberto Castro, who held the 18- and 36-hole leads, didn’t make a single birdie, posting a 2-over 74 that has him six back and now outside the FedEx Cup top 30.
Castro, of Peruvian and Costa Rican heritage, fired his second consecutive 65 to share the lead as he bids for his first tour triumph. “That was really the only reason I changed”.
“It was nice to make those to give myself a chance to think I can win a golf tournament tomorrow”, Scott said.
World No.6 Adam Scott tried to apply some heat to US Open champion Dustin Johnson but a late surge left the American in complete control with a round remaining at the US PGA Tour’s penultimate playoff event in Indiana. “I didn’t have any confidence on the greens over the first two days but I tried to hang tough”, he said.
“You know where he got it, don’t you?” caddie/brother Austin Johnson said. This would hugely increase his odds of taking home the ultimate prize – the top seed can finish as low as 29th out of 30 at the Tour Championship and still have a mathematical chance of winning, depending on what other players do.
Still in the mix was J.B. Holmes, who shot a 68 and was four shots behind. With respect to Hazeltine, U.S. captain Davis Love III will announce three of his four captain’s picks on Monday.
Anyone in the top five only has to win the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus.
The pair needed to finish in the top three to advance but with Baddeley 12 shots off the pace and Leishman a distant 19 shots back it would take a miracle for either to survive.
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He mentioned after the round that he fixed his putting posture, which allowed him to feel more confident with his stroke. They were at 4-under 140, 10 shots out of the lead.
