Dustin Johnson celebrates a birdie on the 17th hole Saturday during the third round of the Northern Trust at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. Johnson followed with an eagle on No. 18 to complete his round of 7-under 64 and take a five-shot lead into the final round of the FedEx Cup playoff opener. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
NORTON, Mass. — Dustin Johnson arrived at the TPC Boston this week, headed to the practice range and then looked at his swing coach.
“He said, ‘Bro, what am I supposed to be working on again?’” Claude Harmon said Saturday as he watched his pupil set another personal record in The Northern Trust.
Johnson isn’t doing much wrong at the moment, a daunting prospect to the guys trying to chase him. His birdie-eagle finish gave Johnson a 7-under 64 and stretched his lead to five shots over Harris English and Scottie Scheffler in the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
The finish would have come in handy the day before. Johnson was an astounding 11-under par through 11 holes Friday and had the golf world curious if he would go as low as 57 to set the PGA Tour record. Instead, he finished with seven straight pars for a 60, his best ever, but not what it could have been.
Johnson put that behind him and looked just as good. Instead of the fast start, it was a big finish. He rolled in a 20-foot birdie on the 17th, and then holed a 40-footer up a ridge and down toward the hole for eagle on the par-5 18th.
That put him at 22-under 191, his lowest 54-hole by three shots.
In his mind, there is still work to be done.
“I’m in a great position and like where I’m at, but I’m still going to have to go out and shoot a good score,” Johnson said. “You can go low out here and guys are going low every day, especially with the conditions we have – perfect greens, golf course is in great shape and not a lot of wind.”
Johnson knows better than to think it’s over. Just an hour before he signed for his 64, he was tied for the lead until English made bogeys on the 16th and 17th and missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 66.
He could also think back to the HSBC Champions in Shanghai three years ago, when he had a six-shot lead in the final round but lost to Justin Rose.
As well as he’s playing, he’s only thinking of going as low as he can.
“Doesn’t matter what the other guys are doing,” Johnson said. “I’m just going to play my game and I’ll be aggressive when I can be and be a little more conservative when I have to be.”
Scheffler, coming off the 12th round of 59 or better on the PGA Tour, had a 67. He played in the final group with Johnson, just like he did two weeks ago on the final day of the PGA Championship. On this day, it was a final pair of two players who had the lowest rounds in TPC Boston history. Only one of them shot golf’s magic number, and that wasn’t a topic of conversation for either of them.
“Yesterday was awesome and the only difference going into today was everybody was telling me good round still, and that’s pretty rare,” Scheffler said. “Once I got on the course, I didn’t think once about it.”
Tiger Woods predicted Friday there would be low scoring in the third round, and he was right – just not from him or Rory McIlroy, a star pairing for the breakfast hour. Woods birdied the last hole for a 73. McIlroy made two triple bogeys in his round of 74. They get to play again Sunday morning.
Johnson will be going for his fifth FedEx Cup playoff victory, and third in this event on a third course. What matters more is how he finishes the season. The list of FedEx Cup champions already features some of the best players in golf – Woods, McIlroy, Vijay Singh, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth among them – and Johnson wants to be on that list.
Johnson set the target with four birdies in eight holes before heavy rain moved in and halted the third round for 45 minutes. It also softened a course that was getting slightly firmer.
Johnson came back and hit to tap-in range for birdie on the 12th, and then had the great finish.
Johnson needed a birdie on the 18th on Friday for his first 59, and said he regrets hitting driver off the tee with a shot that tumbled down a small slope into the rough. Lesson learned? Not really. With the rain, he opted for driver again, teed it low and hit this one perfect, setting up a 5-iron to the green and his long eagle putt.
LPGA: Her ranking close to No. 400, Sophia Popov was pushing a trolley for her best friend at an LPGA Tour event in the United States three weeks ago.
On Sunday, she’ll take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Women’s British Open.
Popov set up what could be a life-changing day on the links of Royal Troon in southwest Scotland by shooting a bogey-free, 4-under 67 that tied the low score of the third round on Saturday.
The 27-year-old German was 4 under overall and one of just three players under par after 54 holes. Minjee Lee of Australia and Jasmine Suwannapura of Thailand were the other two, after both shot 69 to move into a tie for second place at 1 under.
Popov only qualified for the British Open because of a top-10 finish two weeks ago at the Marathon Classic, which she was playing only because higher-ranked players couldn’t attend due to COVID-19 restrictions. Last week, she was playing on the second-tier Symetra Tour in Phoenix last week, tying for second, as she looks to regain her playing status on the LPGA Tour that she lost – by one stroke – at Q-School last season.
She has been the epitome of consistency at Troon and steered largely clear of trouble on Saturday to score the first bogey-free round of the tournament on a day when the wind relented somewhat, leading to the lowest scores of the week.
Popov made eagle at the par-5 fourth hole after hitting driver from the fairway to within 8 feet, and added birdies at Nos. 12 and 17. Also key was a long par putt at No. 11 that maintained her momentum.
If she holds her nerve on Sunday, she could become the first female major winner from Germany.
“Now it’s just me vs. pressure and shot-making in the right moments,” said Popov, who is currently ranked No. 304 and is playing her first British Open since 2011.
“There are going to be a lot of nerves tomorrow,” she added. “It’s a position I have never been in, so we will have to see how it goes and play one shot at a time.”
At No. 138 in the world, Suwannapura would be another unlikely winner, though her chances were hurt by a bogey on No. 18. She will also rue missing a short par putt at No. 15 for the only other bogey in her round.
The eighth-ranked Lee is the most high profile of the three main contenders, but is also looking for her first major title.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Connor Syme of Scotland and Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden were tied for the lead – three shots clear of the field – after the third round of the Wales Open.
Syme, seeking his first professional title, birdied the last hole for the third time this week to shoot a 1-under 70 and join Soderberg at 7 under overall.
Soderberg shot a bogey-free 68 as he searches for his second victory on the tour, after the European Masters last year.
Sami Valimaki of Finland is third after a 67, the best round of the day.
Edoardo Molinari (68) and Thomas Pieters (69) were a shot further back at Celtic Manor, which was also the host of last week’s Celtic Classic.
Sam Horsfield slipped away in his bid for a third win in four starts. The English golfer struggled to a 77 and was in 75th place at 8 over.
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