Going for his second Northern Trust title in the past four years, Dustin Johnson held a commanding lead over Harris English. No matter the outcome, it had already been an historic week for DJ.
Thursday morning was kind to Johnson. Starting on the back-nine, Johnson made three birdies before stepping to the 18th tee. A tee shot measuring 312 yards and a mid-iron to the middle of the green left him a 33-foot eagle putt. Dustin made the putt and turned in five-under 30. A slow back nine left DJ at four-under for the tournament.
Friday at TPC Boston saw very low scores including Scottie Scheffler’s 59 in the morning. Dustin got off to a good start with a birdie on one. He made a 41-foot eagle putt on the second to go three-under through two. He added another birdie on three, and drove the par-four 4th green. Dustin converted the four-foot eagle putt to move to six-under through four. Dustin made three more birdies on the front-nine to turn in 27, a new PGA Tour record. Two more birdies on 10 and 11 added up to a second round 60. After two rounds, Dustin led the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Strokes Gained: Approach.
Picking up right where he left off, Dustin made four birdies on the front-nine Saturday afternoon. He got to the par-five 18th tee after making three more birdies on the back-nine. A perfect tee shot left him just 218 yards into the par-five. Looking at 40 feet, Dustin made the eagle putt. His third round 64 had him chasing another PGA Tour scoring record, the lowest 72-hole scoring record (in relation to par).
Sunday was a walk in the park for Dustin. Four birdies and an eagle on the front-nine had DJ on 59 watch for the second time this week. Making birdie on the last, Dustin finished with a final round 63, 30-under for the tournament. That left him one short of the PGA Tour 72- hole scoring record set by Ernie Els (31-under.) When asked about coming up short of the record, Dustin laughed “Maybe next time.”
“My ball striking was so good all week” Dustin remarked when asked what made this week so successful. A historic weekend in Boston saw Dustin move back to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, while also jumping to number one in the Fedex Cup standings. Next up for Dustin is the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields.
