A day after striking just 2 fairways, Johnson struck 11 of 14 on Sunday. He struck 13 of 18 greens, and he made just a single bogey.
” Obviously, the video game is in good form,” Johnson stated. “Ive got a great deal of self-confidence in everything Im doing today. And Ive played well over the last four occasions, and Im comfortable in the spot that Im in.
” Even the 2 Sundays [PGA and BMW] where I didnt win, I seemed like I played really strong rounds. Simply a number of people played a little better. [Monday] is more of the very same. I simply require to head out and focus on what Im doing and shoot the least expensive score I can.”.
That appears easy enough. And for Johnson, maybe it is.
Thats how Johnson can be leading total but trailing in strokes.
Schauffele started at 14th and hence began at 3 under par– 7 strokes back. Jon Rahm, who was in second place, was 2 back and now finds himself 6 strokes behind Johnson.
All players knew the rules, and their play has actually certainly been affected by where they started Friday.
The bottom line is that it will be tough to capture Johnson in Mondays last round.
” Hes showcased what he can do,” stated Schauffele, who will play the last round with Johnson. Weve seen him do it for 20-plus years now, and I simply have to attempt and be better. “. “Those guys attempting to chase him down, theyre probably going to have to shoot 6, 7, 8 under to have a possibility,” stated Harris English, who is well out of contention.
Bear in mind that not all is lost for those who appear to be in an useless pursuit. 2nd place in the FedEx Cup is worth $5 million, with 3rd paying $4 million and fourth administering $3 million. Those differences are very little less than a first-place check at a bulk of PGA Tour events.
Even the last-place finisher here gets $395,000, so almost everybody gets to go house delighted. Few feel better about their games than Johnson does.
This is the fourth successive occasion in which Johnson will take a 54-hole lead into the final round. He led after 3 rounds at the PGA Championship last month, shot a 68 and finished tied for 2nd, 2 shots back of winner Collin Morikawa.
At the Northern Trust 2 weeks ago at TPC Boston, Johnson shot a second-round 60 and travelled to an 11-stroke success as English watched in awe in the last group.
” Its really remarkable,” English stated. “Theres really nothing you can do about it. I saw he struck maybe 2 fairways the other day and still shot what he did.
” I mean, if he hits the ball like everyone knows he can and the way hes putting– I havent seen him putt that well in a long time. The work he and Austin [Johnsons caddie and sibling] have actually been doing on the greens is extraordinary, and hes on a run right now. Its tough to stop.”.
A week earlier, Johnson shared the lead at the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields, shot a final-round 67 with a long birdie putt on the 18th green to connect Rahm, who finished with a 64, and after that lost to a long birdie putt in a playoff.
In his previous 19 rounds dating to the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Johnson has run out the 60s simply twice, with his worst rating a 71 in the opening round at Olympia Fields.
ATLANTA– If you can manage the little matter that Xander Schauffele has the most affordable rating of the week however still tracks by 5 strokes heading into the last round of the Tour Championship, all is great.
Naturally, that situation was bound to play out when the PGA Tour reconfigured its season-ending, 30-player occasion at East Lake to have simply one winner of the Tour Championship– and hence the FedEx Cup title.
That is certainly no knock on Dustin Johnson, who is playing some incredible golf at the minute and is a day away from a massive, $15 million payday that opts for the FedEx Cup title.
He leads Schauffele and Justin Thomas by 5 shots, but he has played those 54 holes in 2 more strokes than Schauffele, who began the week in 14th place in the strokes-adjusted format now utilized for the Tour Championship.
To obtain how this is playing out, you simply need to purchase in to the concept that the leader in FedEx Cup points entering the Tour Championship was going to be rewarded with a lead on a head and the scoreboard start toward that windfall.
Jon Rahm, who was in 2nd place, was 2 back and now discovers himself 6 strokes behind Johnson.
” Hes showcased what he can do,” stated Schauffele, who will play the final round with Johnson.” Obviously, the video game is in good type,” Johnson stated. Just a couple of men played a little much better. I just need to go out and focus on what Im doing and shoot the lowest score I can.”.
