Johnson, Chappell share USPGA Tour Championship lead after third round
Double bogey at the 17th pulls second-ranked American down after 4-shot lead on sixth hole
Dustin Johnson’s path to the biggest payday in golf got more complicated on Saturday as a third-round 69 left him tied for the lead with Kevin Chappell at the USPGA Tour Championship.
The second-ranked American had led by four shots after his third straight birdie at the sixth hole at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia.
But he fell a stroke behind Chappell with a double-bogey at the 17th before regaining a share of the lead with a birdie at the par-five finishing hole.
Chappell, meanwhile, was a model of consistency, and patience, with two birdies in his two-under 68 that left him level with Johnson eight-under par 202.
They were two strokes in front of Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy and American Ryan Moore, who both carded fourunder par 66 for 204. 202 — Dustin Johnson 66-67-69, Kevin Chappell 66-68-68 204 — Rory McIlroy (NIR) 68-70-66, Ryan Moore 70-68-66 205 — Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 66-71-68 206 — Jason Dufner 73-67-66 207 — Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 74-67-66, Paul Casey (ENG) 68-70-69 208 — Justin Thomas 68-71-69 209 — Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 73-70-66 210 — Roberto Castro 73-70-67, Matt Kuchar 69-73-68, Russell Knox (SCO)
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was alone on 205 after a 68. Jason Dufner was a further stroke back, while South African Charl Schwartzel, who had back-toback eagles in his 66 was tied with England’s Paul Casey on 207.
Lead stretched
Johnson, who started the day with a one-stroke edge over Chappell, wasted no time in stretching his lead.
He slowed with a bogey at the seventh, and a birdie at 12 was followed by back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14.
Johnson rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-three 15th, 73-66-71 211 — Bubba Watson 72-73-66, Daniel Berger 74-69-68, Gary Woodland 72-70-69, Adam Scott (AUS) 69-71-71 212 — William McGirt 77-69-66, Jordan Spieth 68-72-72 213 — Patrick Reed 73-70-70, Brandt Snedeker 72-69-72, Kim Si-Woo (KOR) 67-72-74, Kevin Kisner 67-70-76 214 — Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 70-73-71, J.B. Holmes 73-71-70 215 — Phil Mickelson 74-72-69, Sean O’Hair 74-68-73 219 — Jimmy Walker 74-74-71 but his double bogey at 17, where he was twice in the rough and in a bunker, saw Chappell take the lead with a 10-foot birdie putt at the same hole.
Chappell had just two birdies all day. He’d ground out 11 straight pars before chipping in for birdie at the 12th.
Johnson leads the FedExCup playoff standings, with a $10 million (Dh36.7 million) bonus on offer to the playoff points winner.
The prize is Johnson’s if he wins or finishes alone in second, but he’s not the only one in contention. McIlroy still has a shot