OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Dustin Johnson says his game looks similar to last week, when he took the easiest of his 23 career wins.
It just doesn’t look that way at the BMW championship.
Any par at Olympia Fields is hard work and Johnson played the last 13 holes on Saturday with nothing worse. It’s what led him to a 1-under 69 and a share of the lead with Hideki Matsuyama, leaving them as the only under-par players to enter the final round.
“I feel like it’s quite similar, obviously these conditions and the greens are much more difficult,” he said. “This is pretty much an important league venue, and the conditions, the way it’s set up, is playing just like a major.”
Matsuyama, who had a three-shot lead at the start when he punched a bunker for the eagle at the start and stuck a tight wedge for the bird on number 4, fell with a series of bogeys and held it. together for a 69.
“Great start and then I had to hold out,” Matsuyama said. “I just tried to do what I could to stay, and I was happy with how it went.”
Johnson and Maruyama were 1 under 209. Everyone else was above average for the final round.
Sunday is a last chance for some players to be in the top 30 advancing to the FedEx Cup final and a final round for others – like Tiger Woods – to prepare for the US Open on a ground that plays just as hard.
Patrick Cantlay only hit five fairways and didn’t make a birdie as he fell from a draw for the lead with a round with a 75 that left him five shots behind and could cost him a place in the Tour Championship.
Rory McIlroy had to play with his left hand to escape the base of a tree by starting the back nine with a bugbear, and he finished with a throw he thought would be long, came to 70 feet shorter and resulted in a three putt. bogey for a 73. He was still only three shots back assuming he plays.
McIlroy said after the round his wife is expecting their first child, news they shared with family and friends but was revealed during the NBC broadcast. He said his caddy and best friend, Harry Diamond, kept a phone in his pocket so he wouldn’t miss a call. And if it’s time, he said, “I’m leaving.”
Jon Rahm equaled the low round of the day at 66 which could easily have been a better shot if it wasn’t for a mistake that not even he could believe. He forgot to put a marker on the green before picking up his golf ball on number 5, freezing in his footsteps when he realized what had happened.
“I was thinking of someone else or something else … and yes, I just caught the ball without scoring it, as simple as it sounds,” Rahm said after a round that left him only three behind. “I can’t really give you an explanation. It’s one of those things that happens in golf. I never thought it would happen in my professional career, but here we are.”
A week ago at The Northern Trust on a rain-softened course with little wind, Johnson was 22 under par in three rounds and had a five-shot lead. It was easy. This does not.
Joaquin Niemann had a 68 and was part of group 1 in 211 which included Adam Scott (70) and Mackenzie Hughes (69). Another blow back were the likes of Rahm, Bubba Watson, Brendon Todd and Kevin Kisner, who had 15 pars, two birdies and bogey for his round of 70.
Rounds like that go a long way at Olympia Fields, the former US Open course that plays like one with its greens that are thick, rough and rock hard and windy enough to make fairways narrower than they are.
“I’ve been playing good and bad this week, and I’ve pretty much got the same score every day,” said Scott, whose superb play in the bunker kept him close. “I saw today, however, that if I hit well, there is a chance to put some putts. One of this leading group will shoot 4 under tomorrow, 4 or 5 under I’m sure.”
Matsuyama is looking to finish three years without a win. Johnson is looking to win for the second time in seven days, as well as positioning himself to be seeded at the Tour Championship, which would allow him to start the tournament with a two-shot lead under the staggered start.
For players like Niemann, Hughes, and Scott, they’re just trying to get to East Lake in Atlanta. All of them are one round away on a golf course where small mistakes can lead to bogies or worse on almost any hole.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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