Overnight leader Dustin Johnson survived an early wobble to win the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick and move top of the FedEx Cup standings with one event to go.
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As Scott surged he was briefly within three shots of the lead before Johnson birdied 14, 15, 16 and 18 to stamp his authority.
Anyone in the top five only has to win the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus.
Casey, who also went round in 67, was three shots back, with American Roberto Castro third on 17 under.
Defending champion and world No1 Jason Day was forced to withdraw after incurring a back injury on the ninth tee.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in every part of my game, ” Johnson said.
DeChambeau shot a 1-over 71 to match Gonzales (68), Lindheim (66) and Etulain (67) at 7-under 273. However, he was still able to record his third straight fourth-place finish. “I don’t think it’s anything that he hasn’t dealt with before”, Day’s manager Bud Martin said.
The timing is particularly bad for Fowler because Davis Love III makes three of his captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup on Monday, with another one right after the Tour Championship.
“To keep a clean sheet, I was very happy with”, said Casey, who posted a bogey-free round in “ugly” conditions. Four of his six birdies came on a five-hole stretch from Nos.
Matt Kuchar and 2013 Masters champ Adam Scott head a classy chasing pack but Johnson is undoubtedly the one to catch. “When he gets on his game maybe he’s the best ball-striker in golf, maybe the longest, and he showed it today”. “I’m going to go out there and play good golf and see what happens”. Unfortunately, Johnson dropped his own eagle at the 15th right on top of him, essentially sealing the victory.
Johnson seeks his third title of the year after the US Open and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone invitational. If he wins at the Tour Championship, he also earns $10 million for winning the FedEx Cup. He could still win the Tour Championship to salvage what has been a mildly disappointing year (for him), but that got slightly more hard with the T42 finish at Crooked Stick. He only cared about two tournaments this year – the Olympics and the Ryder Cup.
However, he is still expected to play in the season-ending Tour Championship which begins at East Lake in Atlanta on September 22. There’s quite a few things that I’m going to go home this week and work on.
Holmes looked in danger of missing the top 30 to make the Tour Championship when he doubled the 14th, but hung on for a 74 to make the finale on the number.
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He is now third in the season-long points list, giving him a chance to win it all in two weeks time.
