CARMEL, Ind. — Powerful off the tee and relentless with the putter, Dustin Johnson didn’t give anyone much of a chance Sunday by closing with a 5-under 67 to win the BMW Championship by three shots and move to the top of the FedEx Cup.
Johnson won for the third time in his last eight tournaments dating to his first major at the U.S. Open, and this might have been his most complete performance.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in every part of my game,” Johnson said.
Paul Casey did just about everything he could, including two early birdies for two-shot swings that erased a four-shot deficit in two holes. Johnson answered with a pair of birdies and he was on his way.
Casey made a 25-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole to get within one shot, but that lasted only as long as it took Johnson to make an 18-foot eagle putt on top of him to keep the margin at three shots.
Casey was runner-up in his second straight FedEx Cup playoff event, losing to Rory McIlroy a week ago. His consolation, along with $1,836,000 in those weeks, was the No. 5 seed at the Tour Championship in two weeks. That means he only has to win there to capture the $10 million bonus.
Rickie Fowler won’t have any chance at all.
Fowler, who started the week at No. 22 in the FedEx Cup, closed with a 71 and finished 59th. He was bumped out of the top 10 by the smallest margin in the 10-year history of the FedEx Cup – 0.57 points behind Charl Schwartzel, who closed with a 64.
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. Fowler won’t have another chance to audition, though he might get picked Monday, anyway.
Asked if he had done enough to be picked, Fowler said, “I would like to think so.”
“I’ve done basically everything I can do as far as schedule and playing,” said Fowler, who left the Olympics to play the following week on the PGA Tour. “It would have been nice to play better to make the pick a lot easier on him. But whether he has his mind made up or is still thinking, that’s up to him.”
Fowler’s hopes came down to J.B. Holmes in a finish that had nothing to do with the trophy. Fowler would have made it to the Tour Championship if Holmes made a birdie or a bogey. Holmes would have been eliminated with a bogey.
He drilled it down the middle of the fairway, hit the green, lagged a 40-foot putt to 4 feet and made it for par for a 74.
“I envisioned it being a little bit better than that going into the day, but that’s how it is,” Holmes said.
“You don’t always have your best game, and I was able to finish it off and get in the Tour Championship.
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