Thoughts of a Dustin Johnson runaway at the Tour Championship were dispelled on Saturday when he faltered late to fall back into a tie for the third-round lead with Kevin Chappell in Atlanta, Georgia.
Johnson, the hottest player in the game coming off a victory, squandered a chance to take a stranglehold on the tournament when he double-bogeyed the par-four 17th, compounding a poor drive by clipping a pine tree with his second shot.
He was on the wrong end of a three-shot swing as Chappell birdied the same hole from 10 feet.
Photo: Brett Davis, USA TODAY
US Open champion Johnson steadied the ship to birdie the par-five 18th for a one-under-par 69, his eighth consecutive round in the 60s, but one that left him ruing what might have been.
“This course is very difficult off the tee and I missed a couple of drives on the back nine and made a couple of bogeys and a bad double-bogey there on 17,” he said before accentuating the positives.
“I’m happy with my position. I felt like I played well today. A couple of loose drives and it’s easy to make bogeys around here ... so if I make a mistake I don’t let it bother me,” he added.
Chappell fired 68 to join Johnson at eight-under 202.
Johnson’s stumble let a bunch of players back into the hunt, with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (66) and the US’ Ryan Moore (66) two shots behind, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (68) three back, despite a triple-bogey at the 14th.
Johnson, top seed in the FedEx Cup standings, will clinch the season-long points race and its US$10 million bonus if he wins the tournament.
However, Chappell, 15th in the standings, is unlikely to claim the FedEx Cup top prize even if he wins the tournament. He is a three-time runner-up on the PGA Tour this year.
“I was so proud of myself the way I hung in there... I was able to turn it around [with a chip-in birdie at the 12th],” said Chappell, who has just one bogey in 54 holes.
McIlroy, sixth in the points list, gave himself a crack at the US$10 million with three birdies in the final six holes.
“I knew D.J. [Johnson] was a few shots ahead of me and if there’s anyone I’m looking at this week, he’s the guy,” the former world No. 1 said. “I’m going to need something similar, if not better, tomorrow. I shot a good one and that’s all I could do today.”
South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel posted consecutive eagles, the second from 140 yards out at the par-four seventh, in carding 66 to vault within five shots of the lead.
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