BMW Championship: “DJ” does the double.

Indianapolis. American Dustin Johnson has won the BMW
Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club (Indianapolis). The
32-year-old finished with a score of 23 under par (265 shots) to leave
the world class field, featuring the top 70 players on the PGA TOUR,
trailing in his wake. Johnson, who claimed his first major title at
the U.S. Open in June, had previously won the BMW Championship back in
2010. “DJ” joins Tiger Woods (USA, 2007 2009) as one of only two
golfers to do the double at the penultimate Playoff event. Johnson
receives a winner’s cheque for 1,530,000 US dollars for his 14th title
on the PGA TOUR.

“On behalf of BMW, congratulations to Dustin Johnson for once
again winning the BMW Championship,” said Ludwig Willisch, President
CEO, BMW of North America. “Dustin’s second round performance
was nothing short of spectacular. We wish him luck as he continues his
pursuit of the FedExCup at The TOUR Championship.”

„Ich habe in dieser Woche wirklich großartig gespielt. Die BMW
Championship ist ein bedeutendes Turnier mit starker Konkurrenz. Da
war es wichtig, vier gute Runden zu spielen“, sagte Johnson. „Ich
habe im Moment einfach großes Selbstvertrauen.“

124.800 golf fans flocked to the BMW Championship over the
course of the tournament week, and they were treated to an impressive
display from the new FedExCup leader. Johnson had proven at Tuesday’s
opening event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he can put his
foot down at the wheel of a BMW M2. “DJ” also appeared to be in a
higher gear than his rivals over the course of the four rounds: a new
course record of 63 propelled him to the top of the leaderboard on
Friday, and the big-hitting American never looked back, defending his
lead superbly on Sunday.

“Obviously, my performance this week was fantastic. The BMW
Championship is a big event, with a lot of guys around the lead. I
played some really solid golf the past four days,” said Johnson. “I’ve
got a lot of confidence in every part of my game.”

The only players who came close to matching the pace set by Johnson
were Paul Casey (-20, 2nd) and Roberto Castro (-17, 3rd). American
Castro started the tournament with two excellent rounds of 65 (seven
under par), but was unable to maintain that standard of play into the
weekend, meaning he must wait a little longer for his first title on
the PGA TOUR. It was a different story for Casey, who finished
runner-up at last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship: the Englishman
put Johnson under pressure early on Sunday, shooting birdies on two of
the first three holes to move into a tie for the lead with “DJ”.
However, the overnight leader responded superbly with four birdies in
the next five holes. History has repeated itself for Casey: when
Johnson won his first BMW Championship title in 2010, the Englishman
was again the bridesmaid, finishing one shot behind the winner.

Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Adam Scott (AUS), Matt Kuchar, Ryan Palmer
and J.B. Holmes (all USA) finished 12 under par in fourth place.
Schwartzel’s final round of 64 is particularly remarkable, as it
propelled him 13 places up the FedExCup rankings into 30th place,
securing him the final qualifying place for the TOUR Championship.

Defending champion and world number one Jason Day was forced to
withdraw with back problems in the final round. Rory McIlroy (NIR, -3,
T42), who won the 2012 BMW Championship in Indianapolis, and defending
FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth (USA, -11, 9th) were out of contention
this week. McIlroy, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship last week,
dropped into sixth place behind Casey in the FedExCup rankings going
into the finale to the Playoffs. Johnson (1), Patrick Reed (USA, 2),
Day (3), Adam Scott (AUS, 4) and Casey (5) are now best-placed in the
race for the title of FedExCup champion ahead of the TOUR Championship
in a fortnight’s time: these five players hold their fate in their own
hands in Atlanta, with victory guaranteed to earn them overall
FedExCup victory.

The BMW Championship will be held for the third time at Conway Farms
Golf Club to the north of Chicago next year. The tournament then moves
to the Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia in 2018, before the Medinah
Country Club in Chicago provides the stage for the top 70 pros on the
PGA TOUR in 2019.

 

Doubles at BMW tournaments:

Paul Azinger (USA): BMW International Open 1990 1992

Thomas Bjørn (DEN): BMW International Open 2000 2002

Tiger Woods (USA): BMW Championship 2007 2009

Luke Donald (ENG): BMW PGA Championship 2011 2012

Pablo Larrazábal (ESP): BMW International Open 2011 2015

Henrik Stenson (SWE): BMW International Open 2006 2016

Dustin Johnson (USA): BMW Championship 2010 2016