Sunday was the final round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields. Jon Rahm came out with the win after a playoff with Dustin Johnson.
Johnson had the lead for most of the tournament, but Rahm rose to the top of the leaderboard after a tremendous final round. He shot 6-under on Sunday, which put him in the clubhouse with the lead at 4-under for the tournament.
“Once I teed off today, in the good weather and how I started striping it the first few holes, I knew I had a chance,” said Rahm.
Johnson was teeing off on the 72nd hole at 3-under, while Rahm was already in the clubhouse. He had a 43-foot putt he had to sink to make a birdie and force a playoff. It was a touchy, downhill putt that he nailed to get in at -4.
In the sudden-death playoff, these two had to play the 18th hole again. Both made it on the green in regulation, but they were tough putts. Rahm happens to sink a ridiculous 66-footer to make a birdie, and Johnson missed his putt.
Rahm’s reaction was priceless. It would have been great for a gallery to had been present for a moment like that.
“Never did I think I’d be making another 50-, 60-footer — couple of breaks in there, too — to end up winning it,” said Rahm.
Johnson will remain in the lead of the FedExCup rankings. He will tee off next week with a -10 advantage. But Rahm moved right behind Johnson with this win and will start at -8.
Mackenzie Hughes Makes the Top-30
Even though Johnson and Rahm had great moments, the most crucial putt of the day might have been the one made by Mackenzie Hughes.
Making the top 30 is a big deal in the PGA. All of those golfers automatically get into every major the next season, which results in contract extensions and plenty of other financial benefits.
“Obviously in between shots your mind wanders sometimes, but this is kind of where you want to be,” Hughes said on Saturday when talking about scratching into the top 30. “Obviously I would have loved to have locked it up by now, but I’m happy to have this opportunity and I’ll go embrace it tomorrow.”
Hughes had to stand over a testy, five-foot putt on the 18th hole. If he made it, he would advance. If he didn’t, it would put him outside of the top-30.
Hughes was able to keep his composure and sink the putt. The relief on his face showed he was well aware of his position, but he seized the moment.
Tiger Woods Ends His Season
Tiger Woods was outside of the top 30 heading into the BMW Championship and needed a great week to advance to the Tour Championship.
Woods didn’t play well enough to do that. He ended up shooting 11-over par for the tournament.