Careless Casey surrenders lead to Johnson in BMW
Dustin Johnson pipped Paul Casey to the BMW Championship yesterday by a stroke, shooting two-under on his final round to finish nine-under-par for the tournament, after the Englishman had appeared to be cruising at Cog Hill.
The victory makes for Johnson's second this year, after the 26-year-old triumphed at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February.
Since then however, Johnson has had some devastating near misses, leading going in to the final day of the US Open only to shoot an 82, and then picking up a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker at the PGA Championship - a costly decision that meant the former Walker Cup winner missed out on a play-off place against Bubba Watson and eventual winner Martin Kaymer.
Yesterday's final round at the third FedEx Cup play-off might have proved another near-miss for the American, with Casey three in front of Johnson after the 12th. But the 33-year-old bogeyed the next three holes in succession to gift his rival a way back into the game. That meant Johnson's birdie on the 17th, followed by a par on the final hole, was enough to see him edge out Casey, who could only find pars on the final three holes.
Several US Ryder cup team members finished in the top 10, with Matt Kuchar finishing in a tie for third place on six-under after shooting, albeit having shot one-over on the day. Steve Stricker shot one-under to finish four-under for the tournament, while Phil Mickelson finished on the same score, having shot four-under yesterday.
But while there was much to encourage US captain Corey Pavin, his European counterpart may feel less confident after seeing several of his Ryder Cup players fail to impress. There was no place for Casey on Colin Montgomerie's team, but Ian Poulter had started the day in a promising position before the 34-year-old stumbled to a treble bogey on the 11th, that debacle contributing, along with three other bogeys, to a disappointing four-over on the day, two-under for the tournament.
Rory McIlroy at least shot two-under on his final round, though there were four bogeys amid the six birdies in it. That score was only enough to see the Ulsterman finish three over for the tournament in a tie for 37th place, having carded disastrous rounds of 76 and 74 in the first two days.
While McIlroy had started badly and gradually improved, though, Luke Donald took the opposite route, beginning with a decent 68 on the opening day but ending on Sunday six-over-par 77 with a round that saw the Englishman card seven bogeys, three birdies, and a double bogey on the 18th. Like McIlroy, Donald finished three-over for the tournament.
At least Monty's men weren't the only Ryder Cup players demonstrating a worrying lapse in form. Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Jeff Overton; all four had final rounds to forget, Mahan finishing three over while Fowler was five over for the tournament, having failed to break 70 in all four rounds.
Watson shot a mind-boggling three bogeys, four double bogeys, three birdies and an eagle on the 15th yesterday for a final round of six-over, leaving him eight over for the tournament. Overton couldn't put together quite such an outrageous finale, though his three-over finish - three birdies, four bogeys, and a double at the 5th - meant he finished 10-over for the tournament after four successive rounds in the 70s.
And what of Tiger Woods? Consistency for the 34-year-old remains a distant dream right now, the world No. 1 finishing one-under, both on the day and for the tournament, after a round comprising three bogeys and four birdies.
Woods was paired with Mickelson yesterday and his Ryder Cup teammate finished comfortably the stronger player, Mickelson telling reporters afterwards: "He certainly brings out the best in me, and I enjoy being paired with him."
The pair have not always enjoyed the most amicable of relationships, but both looked fairly relaxed in one another's company yesterday, Mickelson opining: "His game is like inches from turning because his speed is back and his putter looks great. I mean, his game is not far off at all. It looks very close to being right there."
Mickelson and Woods cosying up, with that fateful clash at Celtic Manor just weeks away? Maybe Pavin's crew really are capable of causing a shock in Wales next month.
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