Rahm and Johnson battle in playoff at BMW Championship
What’s better than a redemption story? Two redemption stories.
What’s better than witnessing world No. 1 Dustin Johnson drain a 43-foot putt on the 72nd green to force a playoff in the BMW Championship? Seeing world No. 2 Jon Rahm sink a 66-footer for the win. Sixty-six feet!
“I still can’t believe what happened,” Rahm said 40 minutes later.
It marked the longest winning putt in the 121-year history of the Western Open/BMW Championship. But you probably already knew that.
“As good as it gets,” observed John Kaczkowski, president and CEO of the Western Golf Association, which championed Olympia Fields’ cause after the USGA relegated it to second-class status following the 2003 U.S. Open.
Olympia Fields flipped its national narrative over four glorious days, proving its championship mettle. Only five players bettered par for 72 holes, starting with Rahm and Johnson at 4-under 276.
And to think that after Jim Furyk set the U.S. Open’s 54-hole scoring record and Vijay Singh shot a 63 in 2003, Olympia Fields was deemed too easy.
“This golf course,” Tiger Woods said, “was basically a U.S. Open.”
What Rahm accomplished over the final two days was equally stunning.
After opening 75-71, he was 6 over par and a 70-1 shot on the online sportsbooks.
The 25-year-old Spaniard played better Saturday but took a one-shot penalty when he absentmindedly picked up his ball on the fifth green without marking it.
“I just hope I don’t lose by one,” Rahm said at the time. “If I do, well, my fault. Simple as that.”
Rahm looked golden Sunday after catching a huge break on the par-5 15th hole. His
drive kicked out of the trees, and he took advantage with a birdie. He made a 30-footer for another birdie on No. 16 and parred 17 and 18 for a 64, the low round of the week.
Johnson needed a birdie on 18 to force a playoff, and that seemed far-fetched after he drove into the right rough and hit his approach to 43 feet.
The sun almost set in the time it took Johnson and his caddie/brother, Austin, to analyze the break. But it paid off as Johnson’s putt trickled ... and trickled ... and trickled before diving into the cup, a journey of nine seconds. The coolest and chillest guy on the PGA Tour actually celebrated with a Joe Namath No. 1 declaration and arm pump.
Rahm, striping irons on the practice range, momentarily froze.
“A roller coaster,” Rahm said of his emotions.
It was also an apt description of his 66-foot playoff putt, which had a gargantuan left-to-right break.
His goal was to leave himself an uphill comebacker of 3 to 6 feet. Instead he made his longest putt on the PGA Tour this season.
“We all want the flashy finish but maybe not the stress that comes with it,” Rahm said. “But I set out today to enjoy even the uncomfortable moments, and, man, it was fun.”
Rahm charges into next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta second on the FedEx Cup points list. Johnson is first. Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes secured one of the 30 spots by sinking a curling 5-footer for par on the 72nd green.