World number one, Dustin Johnson finished three shots ahead of everybody else on Monday, at 21 under, to win the FedEx Cup after ending the round with 2 under 68.
This was a good way to end the FedEx Playoffs which began on August 20. Johnson won the Northern Trust, which was the first competition in the playoffs but lost to Jon Rahm last week at the BMW Championship after forcing the round to a playoff. The FedEx Championship marks the end of the PGA Tour Season. Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas both shared second place after finishing at 18 under, while Spaniard Jon Rahm ended Monday with 17 under par to finish third.
Johnson began the Monday round with a five-shot lead and made good use of it at the beginning but fumbled after the sixth hole, making bogeys at the seventh and eighth hole. This made Schauffele and Thomas close in on him, till he made three straight pars after the ninth hole. A bold move at the 13th hole that saw him play a 21-foot par gave him his three-shot lead which he maintained till the end of the round to claim victory.
The win marked his 23rd PGA Tour title as he claimed the $15million prize money. This is his first FedEx cup win after having failed to claim the title four years ago despite making it to the final round.
Speaking after the match, he said, “this is a difficult golf course so no lead is really safe. I knew I was going to have to come out and play really well. I got off to a really good start, missed a couple of putts on the back side but hit the fairways when I needed to coming down the stretch. The guys gave me a good fight today. I wanted to be a FedEx Cup champion, it’s something in my career I would like to be and I’m very proud of the way I’ve played, especially over the last four tournaments.” Johnson is currently the favorite to win the US Open which starts in two weeks.
In other news, Justin Thomas emerged as the PGA Player of The Year after gaining the most points (66), ahead of Jon Rahm (56), Collin Morikawa (54), Webb Simpson (52), and Dustin Johnson (42). This is the second time he’s winning the award having first won it in 2017. However, Johnson still remains the favourite to win the PGA Tour’s Player Of The Year Award, which is voted for by members of the Tour.
