Dustin Johnson won the BMW Championship last weekend after shooting a course record 63 in the second round. Johnson finished with a tournament record performance, shooting 23 under par to earn his 12th career win.
Dustin Johnson tees off from the 15th tee box during the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016. Johnson won the tournament. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)
It was Johnson’s third win this season, with the highlight coming at the U.S. Open at Oakmont. It was the first major championship of his career. He shot a final round 69 to beat the field by three strokes. Following the win Johnson told reporters, “I’ve been so close so many times. It’s just an unbelievable feeling”.
Sunday’s win at the BMW Championship vaulted Dustin Johnson into the top spot in the FedEx Cup Standings heading into the Tour Championship at East Lake Atlanta, Georgia. If Dustin Johnson wins at East Lake, he will win the FedEx Cup and the $10 million prize that comes with it. Winning the Tour Championship would be a fitting end to the season for a player who has had his fair share of ups and downs during his nine-year career.
Johnson has been one of the most talented golfers in the world since his career began in 2008, but he has struggled in the past with various distractions off of the golf course and inconsistency on the links. The 31-year-old Coastal Carolina graduate hit rock bottom during the summer of 2014 as he was suspended for six months for his third failed drug test in five years. Johnson used the six-month break to receive professional help for his issues.
During the early stages of his career, Johnson had countless opportunities to earn his first major win, but he couldn’t close them out and lost in some dramatic finishes. One chance to get his first major came at the 2010 U.S. Open. Johnson shot a 66 in the third round to take a three shot lead into the final round. Johnson’s final round went down as one of the biggest meltdowns in major tournament history. He shot an 82 to finish the tournament in tie for eighth place.
Johnson’s second opportunity for a major came near the end of the 2010 season in the PGA Championship. The tournament took place at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. Johnson stood on the tee at the 72 and final hole with a one-shot lead over Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer. All he needed was a par to leave with his first major championship.
Johnson’s tee shot sailed left and landed in what he thought was just dirt where the patrons had been walking all week; however, it turned out it was one of the 1,200 bunkers located on the Whistling Straits course. With no idea, Johnson grounded his club in the bunker and finished out the hole with a bogey, which in his mind put him in a playoff with Watson and Kaymer.
Instead, after meeting with the PGA of America rules officials, Johnson was issued a two-shot penalty for grounding his club in a bunker, turning his bogey into a triple bogey and ending his chance at winning his first major championship. He dropped into a tie for fifth. Johnson told reporters following the shocking loss, “I don’t know if I can describe it. You know, walking up there, seeing the shot, it never once crossed my mind that I was in a sand trap. I guess it’s very unfortunate. I guess the only worse thing that could have happened is if I made that par putt on the last hole. I never once thought that I was in a sand trap.”
All of his past failures and miscues were put to bed when he finally got his first major this year at the U.S. Open. He has a chance to put the “icing on the cake” this weekend at the Tour Championship with an opportunity to continue adding achievements to his career year.
With the win at the BMW Championship last weekend, Johnson all but locked up the 2016 Player of the Year award.
He can cement his name into the Golf Hall of Fame with several more years like his 2016 campaign. If he does end up in the World Golf Hall of Fame, it will arguably be one of the biggest career turnarounds in the history of the PGA tour.
