Johnson holds off Casey to win BMW Champs

Dustin Johnson produced a supremely solid display to win the BMW Championship by three shots over England’s Paul Casey and move to the top of the FedEx Cup standings.

Dustin Johnson fired a final round of 67 at Crooked Stick to secure his 12th PGA Tour title, holding off Paul Casey who was runner-up for a second straight week.

Casey closed the gap on Johnson with a pair of early birdies but DJ responded with two birdies of his own to re-establish his advantage.

The Englishman played two fine shots to reach the par-5 15th green in two and then rolled home the resulting 25-foot eagle putt. That brought Casey to within a shot of Johnson, but the reduced deficit was short-lived. After two great shots of his own, the American followed Casey in for another eagle.

Johnson remained steady from that point to close out the tournament and move to the top of the FedEx Cup standings. The 32-year-old finished on a four-round total of 23-under-par.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in every part of my game right now,” he said.

Roberto Castro finished the week alone in third place to secure his place in the top-30 on the FedEx Cup standings and a start in the Tour Championship at East Lake.

Charl Schwartzel also played his way into the top-30 with a tied fourth place finish at Crooked Stick.

3 talking points at the BMW Championship

1 – DJ’s win at Crooked stick was his third PGA Tour triumph of the 2015-16 season. He has moved to Number 1 on the FedEx Cup standings and has closed the gap to Jason Day at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking. A change of putter this week had the desired result for DJ as he notched up 24 birdies and three eagles during the week. He claimed his first Major earlier this season at the U.S. Open and also secured victory in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He’s in the box-seat to win the FedEx Cup and can seal that if he wins the Tour Championship. If he manages it, he’ll likely be named the PGA Tour player of the year.

“I enjoy being in the hunt and having to hit really good shots when you need to,” Johnson said. “I felt like the last few times I’ve been there I’ve hit some great golf shots to finish it off.”

2 – Paul Casey finished runner-up for a second straight week. He has moved to 5th place on the FedEx Cup standings and can now win the FedEx Cup itself if he wins the Tour Championship. The Englishman began the playoffs in 68th spot but has moved up with second places in the Deutsche Bank and then this week at Crooked Stick.

This performance will heighten the controversy about Paul Casey’s decision not to make himself available for the Ryder Cup. He is one of the on-form European players at the moment and has now climbed to 16th on the Official World Golf Ranking. Only five Europeans are ranked above him.

Paul Casey on best and worst shots:

3 – Rickie Fowler failed to qualify for the Tour Championship, giving U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III something of a headache. He looked certain to be one of Love’s picks for Hazeltine, but by failing to make the PGA Tour’s season-ending event he’ll be relying on a little charity from the U.S captain. After missing out on a spot at East Lake by less than a single point, Fowler pleaded his case for Ryder Cup selection.

"I've done basically everything I can do as far as schedule and playing," said Fowler. "It would have been nice to play better to make the pick a lot easier on him. But whether he has his mind made up or is still thinking, that's up to him."

BMW Championship Crooked Stick GC, Carmel, Indiana Sep 8-11 Purse $8,500,000, par 72

1    Dustin Johnson (USA)    67    63    68    67    265    $1,530,000 2    Paul Casey (Eng)        67    66    68    67    268    $918,000 3    Roberto Castro (USA)    65    65    74    67    271    $578,000 T4    J.B. Holmes (USA)    69    65    68    74    276    $323,850 T4    Matt Kuchar (USA)    68    69    68    71    276    $323,850 T4    Ryan Palmer (USA)    73    64    69    70    276    $323,850 T4    Charl Schwartzel (RSA)    70    70    72    64    276    $323,850 T4    Adam Scott (Aus)        69    69    67    71    276    $323,850 9    Jordan Spieth (USA)    68    72    68    69    277    $246,500 T10    Daniel Berger (USA)    70    68    71    69    278    $212,500 T10    Billy Horschel (USA)    73    68    67    70    278    $212,500 T10    Chris Kirk (USA)        68    66    73    71    278    $212,500    

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage