US Open champ posts seventh straight round of 68 or better
ATLANTA — Dustin Johnson is playing better than anyone in the world, and Kevin Chappell can’t wait to watch him at the Tour Championship.
Even if that means having to beat him. GOLF
Johnson powered his way down the fairways and occasionally out of the brutal rough at East Lake on Friday for a 3-under-par 67 and a 7-under 203 total, giving him a one-shot lead over Chappell and moving him one round closer to the $10 million FedEx Cup prize.
The U.S. Open champion is on a different level at the moment.
Even on a demanding test like East Lake this year — only 10 players remain under par — Johnson is hitting his driver long and straight. His wedge game has gone from a weakness to a strength.
A new putter he put in play two weeks ago when he won the BMW Championship is giving him a better feel for alignment.
Small wonder that this was his seventh straight round at 68 or better during the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“The game is never easy,” Johnson said. “Obviously, I’m playing good right now. I’ve got a lot of confidence in my game. … I put in a lot of work to get to where I am.”
Chappell, one of two players at the Tour Championship who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, was just as solid, even if it doesn’t look as spectacular.
He has made only one bogey in 36 holes, quite a feat on a course where the Bermuda rough is so punishing that balls sink to the ground and sometimes can’t be seen from a foot away.
He shot a 68 and will be in the final group of a playoff event for the second time this year.
Kevin Kisner (70) and Hideki Matsuyama (71) were four shots behind, while Rory McIlroy overcame another rough start on the front nine to post a 70. McIlroy was in the group five shots behind.
Johnson all but eliminated nearly everyone not among the top five seeds vying for the FedEx Cup. McIlroy is No. 6 and still has a chance, though he would have to win the Tour Championship and Johnson would have to finish third.
Jason Day is out of the picture. The world’s No. 1 player withdrew in the middle of a round at the second straight tournament, citing the same nagging back issues that he hopes will be cured by rest.
CHAMPIONS — At Victoria, British Columbia, Scott McCarron birdied five of the first six holes and finished with an 8-under 62 to take the first-round lead in the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship.
McCarron, 51, birdied all four par5 holes in chilly conditions at Bear Mountain Resort.
McCarron won the Principal Charity Classic in June in Iowa for his first victory on the 50-and-over tour after winning three times on the PGA Tour.
Doug Garwood and Jerry Smith were tied for second at 64. Garwood played the back nine in 6-under 30, and Smith had eight birdies.
Woody Austin and Jeff Sluman shot 65, and Olin Browne and Wes Short Jr. followed at 66.