Dustin Johnson hit it farther and closer than anyone else Saturday at the BMW Championship and that lifted him to a three-shot lead after 54 holes at wet Crooked Stick.
The birdie faucet was shut off for the most part as the really low scores disappeared, the wind came up and the sun finally showed itself on a day that started with rainy skies. A hard overnight rain left the field playing lift-clean-and-place yet it was still tough for most to put up a good score.
Johnson was biding his time. He was only one-under at the turn then he fell back to even par with a bogey at the 13th but that woke him up and he went on to birdie four of his last five holes, hitting monster drives that left him with wedges into most of those holes. He capped his day off with an 18-foot birdie putt at the final hole that got him to 18-under and a four-under 68 for his day’s work.
“I thought I played pretty solid,” said the world’s No. 2. “The wind made it tough with all the rain last night, I struggled with the speed (of the greens) early.” Johnson adjusted and the new putter he switched to this week did its job. “The putter is workin’,” he admitted.
Johnson will go into Sunday with a three shot lead over Paul Casey, who once again finds himself in the final group. It was Casey who held the 54-hole lead at the Deutsche Bank last week only to see Rory McIlroy chase him down and win. Casey equaled Johnson’s 68.
Johnson’s game plan won’t change for the final 18. “I’m not gonna change anything,” said the U.S. Open champion. “Just keep playin’ the way I’ve been playin’.”
Roberto Castro started the day tied with Johnson but his birdie parade came to a screeching halt. He had no birdies and two bogeys, finishing with a 74 that left him at 13-under par, a shot back of J.B. Holmes, whose 68 got him within striking distance of Johnson. Holmes is 14-under and has sent a message that it will be tough not to pick him for the Ryder Cup team.
