LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Zach Johnson is having a September to remember, and there’s still one very big week to go.
In one tournament, he made a 25-foot birdie putt on his final hole to earn the last spot on the Presidents Cup team. In the next one, Johnson made several big putts in the final round of the rain-delayed BMW Championship for a 6-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Nick Watney.
Next up?
His win Monday at Conway Farms gave Johnson the No. 4 seed going into Tour Championship, giving him a clear shot at the FedEx Cup and its $10 million prize.
“It’s hard to grasp the last two weeks of golf,” Johnson said. “It’s not like you have to win every week to win that FedEx Cup. You’ve just got to win at the right times, or play well at the right times. And I like the momentum I have for next week.”
Johnson’s 10th career win came at the expense of Jim Furyk, who endured another dose of final-round disappointment. Furyk, who had a one-shot lead, has failed to win the last six times he had at least a share of the lead going into the last round. He holed a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 10 to build a two-shot lead, but played the last eight holes in 2-over and wound up with a 71 to finish alone in third.
Furyk had to settle for slice of history Friday as the sixth player in PGA Tour history with a 59.
“I don’t know if I used them all up on Friday and knocked them all in or what, but I just wasn’t able to get the putts to go,” Furyk said.
Johnson put his postseason in jeopardy by skipping the opening FedEx Cup playoff event to attend his brother’s wedding. He was at No. 27 before he arrived for the BMW Championship and started the week just wanting to make sure he was in Atlanta.
He did that and more, giving him 10 wins in his 10 years on the PGA Tour.
“I’m going to have to forget about this week, take Atlanta for Atlanta and just play,” Johnson said. “East Lake is not Conway Farms. It’s a beast. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and just be thankful.”
Johnson finished at 16-under 268 and earned $1.44 million, pushing his career earnings just past $30 million.