Johnson wavers but shares lead
Thoughts of a Dustin Johnson runaway at the Tour Championship were dispelled when he faltered late to fall back into a tie for the third-round lead with fellow American Kevin Chappell in Atlanta on Saturday. 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 parfour 17th, compounding a poor drive by clipping a pine tree with his second shot. He was on the wrong end of a threeshot swing as Chappell birdied the same hole from 10 feet. 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.” Chappell fired 68 to join Johnson at eight-under 202.
Johnson’s stumble let a bunch of players back into the hunt, with Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (66) and American Ryan Moore (66) two shots behind at 204, and Japanese Hideki Matsuyama (68) three back at 205 despite a triple-bogey at the 14th.