OLYMPIA FIELDS, Illinois (AP) – Even with so few people around, Jon Rahm could hear from across the Olympia Fields clubhouse that Dustin Johnson had a 45-foot birdie in the final hole to force a Sunday playoff in the BMW championship.
Resilient as ever, Rahm went out and did his magic.
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From one end of the 18th green to the other, Rahm’s 65-foot putt rolled down the ridge and into the cup, causing a roar so loud it almost made up for the lack of spectators.
“I knew how good the DJ sounded. I wasn’t expecting anything else,” Rahm said. “I was fully confident that he would make it to the playoffs and I was hoping to win it. I never thought I would do another 50, 60 feet, a couple of breaks in there, to end up winning it.”
Johnson remained No. 1 on the FedExCup chart while Rahm rose to No. 2 at the start of the TOUR championship this week.
Rahm’s big birdie putt on the first extra hole spared him the thought of his mistake in round three, when he picked up his ball on the fifth green without scoring it, leading to a one-stroke penalty and his only bugbear of the weekend.
He snatched the second nine on Sunday on the road for a 6-under 64, the lowest round of the week, to finish at 4-under 276.
Johnson, a 54-hole leader for his third consecutive tournament and who won with 11 shots last week at TPC Boston, took three of his first four holes to open a three-shot lead, dropped a couple of shots around the corner and then delivered into the clutch with his 45-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 67.
Joaquin Niemann, the 21-year-old Chilean, also had a brisk run with a 67 and was leading until a bugbear on 14 and no birdies the rest of the way. He tied for third with Hideki Matsuyama, who had a 69.
Tony Finau finished with a 65 and finished three behind. They were the only five players under par at Olympia Fields.
Rahm has won for the second time this year at the PGA TOUR and the eleventh time in his career worldwide.
Mackenzie Hughes also had reason to celebrate.
He was on the verge of entering the top 30 advancing at East Lake when he caught a bogeyman on the 17th. Needing a par on the 18th, he approached the front bunker, splashed 1.5 meters and raised both arms. when he fell.
Niemann also entered the top 30, although he was chasing the win all day.
Adam Long and Kevin Streelman were eliminated and Long suffered the worst of those fates. He was screened 30th in the FedExCup until Corey Conners was put to three 5-foot putts for double bogey on the final hole. This allowed Billy Horschel to gain enough places in the standings to move up to 30th and last place by three points over Long.
The top 30 are guaranteed spots in at least three majors next year, along with the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua to kick off the year. The winners-only event is leading the top 30 in the FedExCup from missing three months of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tiger Woods has lost all the action. He scored a double bugbear on his 17th hole for a 71, making this the first time he has been above par in all four rounds of a tournament since the Bridgestone Invitational in 2010.
Woods failed to reach the TOUR championship for the second consecutive year. Now he gets a two-week break before the US Open at Winged Foot and Olympia Fields has proved a good test.
