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Golf: No. 1 Johnson seizes command at PGA Tour Championship

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/sports/09/07/dustin.jpg"/></figure></div>WASHINGTON -- World number one Dustin Johnson rediscovered his driving form to fire a six-under par 64 and seize a five-stroke lead after Sunday&#x27;s third round of the US PGA Tour Championship.The 36-year-old American is chasing his first PGA playoff crown and third victory since the tour returned from a three-month coronavirus shutdown in June, standing on 19-under after 54 holes at East Lake in Atlanta.&quot;I&#x27;m playing well. The game is in good form,&quot; Johnson said. &quot;Tomorrow I control my own destiny. If I go out and shoot a good score, I&#x27;ll be hard to beat.&quot;Johnson found 11 fairways on Sunday, blasting his tee shots beyond 300 yards to set up seven birdies, after matching a career low Saturday despite finding only two fairways to stand last in driving accuracy.&quot;I was just a little off with the swing. It was a pretty easy fix and obviously drove it a lot better,&quot; Johnson said. &quot;I just worked on the setup and my start lines a little bit better. The shape was there. I needed to execute.&quot;I was practically hitting it on a string.&quot;Johnson, a 22-time PGA winner, could become the first overall point leader since 2009 to win the season-ending showdown for a $15 million (12.6 million euro) playoff prize.He began the week on 10-under thanks to his season points edge. Spain&#x27;s second-ranked Jon Rahm was next on 8-under with third-ranked Justin Thomas on 7-under and others up to 10 shots adrift in the staggered start system.PGA Championship runner-up Johnson, who won two weeks ago in Boston and lost a playoff last week to Rahm, has his fourth consecutive 54-hole lead -- the first player with such a streak since Tiger Woods in 1999 -- with compatriots Thomas and Xander Schauffele second on 14-under.&quot;It&#x27;s hard to force it here,&quot; said Schauffele. &quot;You have to let the birdies come to you. I&#x27;m going to be as patient as possible to fight back.&quot;Rahm was another stroke back after shooting 66 following a second-round 74.&quot;I&#x27;m going to have to shoot 5- or 6- under and have him have a bad day,&quot; Rahm said. &quot;That&#x27;s a lot of shots to make up.&quot;PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa holed out a 47-foot bunker shot to open with a birdie and birdied five of the last seven holes to stand fifth on 12-under.Fellow American Daniel Berger, who birdied the last three holes to shoot 64, was sixth on 10-under alongside South Korea&#x27;s Im Sung-jae, who began the day one stroke behind Johnson but shot 72.<div>- Johnson stays on top -</div>Johnson began Sunday with a one-shot lead on Im and pulled away quickly, his 312-yard opening drive into the middle of the fairway setting a tone for the day.A birdie at the third, after dropping his approach inside five feet, put Johnson on 14-under and ahead by three shots, Im falling back with three consecutive bogeys.Thomas charged after a bogey at four and a 30-foot par putt at five with an eagle at the par-5 sixth, blasting out of the rough from 20 feet into the hole, and a birdie at seven from just inside 10 feet to reach 13-under, one off the lead.Johnson dropped his approach inches from the cup at seven and tapped in for birdie to reach 15-under.An approach to just inside seven feet set up a birdie by Johnson at the par-3 ninth after Thomas had made bogey there, sending Johnson to the back nine at 16-under with a four-stroke advantage.Johnson made it back-to-back birdies and three in four holes by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt at the 10th to reach 17-under, briefly boosting his edge to five strokes.The margin slid to three quickly as Johnson made his first bogey at the par-3 11th and Schauffele sank a birdie putt at 12 from 20 feet to reach 13-under.Johnson, however, answered with a 24-foot birdie putt at 12 and a 16-foot birdie putt at 14 to reach 18-under and restore his five-stroke advantage.At the par-3 15th, Johnson blasted from a bunker to five feet and saved par and parred twice more before closing with a nine-foot birdie putt, matching Thomas and Schauffele.<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

Dustin Johnson rediscovered his driving form to fire a six-under par 64 and seize a five-stroke lead after Sunday's third round of the US PGA Tour Championship.

Dustin Johnson rediscovered his driving form to fire a six-under par 64 and seize a five-stroke lead after Sunday's third round of the US PGA Tour Championship.