Rory McIlroy
PGA Tour — Rory McIlroy's hot putter appears to have lasted just one week after he finished second last for putting in the BMW Championship and was squeezed out of the Top 5 in the FedEx Cup standings who have control of their destiny in the Tour Championship in a fortnight.
The world No 3 appeared to have finally found the missing link in his game when he hooked up with new putting coach Phil Kenyon and promptly won the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston last week, coming from six shots behind Paul Casey to win by two.
Ironically, Casey leapfrogged McIlroy in the FedEx Cup standings, when he was second to an impressive Dustin Johnson in a thrilling duel at Crooked Stick.
McIlroy shot a level par 72 to tie for 42nd with Graeme McDowell, who is eliminated from the playoffs. But while McIlroy goes on to East Lake in a fortnight ranked sixth in the FedEx Cup standings and at the mercy of the top five of Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Jason Day or Casey who can all take the title with a win.
McIlroy was excellent again from tee to green but while he was ranked first for proximity to the hole, he was 68th of 69 for strokes gained putting, using the blade 32, 32, 30 and 32 times.
Compare that to US Open championship Johnson, who was first in the putting averages in Indiana, where matched Casey's five under 67 to win by three on 23 under for his third win of the year.
Johnson now appears to be moving inexorably towards No 1 in the world and McIlroy's old pal Brandel Chamblee is gleefully predicting that the big man from South Carolina can not just get past Jason Day but remain No 1 for "triple digit weeks."
Dustin Johnson with the BMW Championship trophy
Golf Digest discussed the love for Johnson on Golf Channel, which began before the final round when Chamblee "emphatically predicted it."
“Not only do I think Dustin Johnson has the talent to be the next number one, but I think he has the talent to hold that position for triple-digit weeks.”
That would be close to a two-year run at minimum, and no doubt many would disagree with Chamblee. They often do. But his co-analyst David Duval, who has held the No. 1 ranking himself, said nothing to dispute the prediction.
“All the tools he has I believe are unmatched,” Duval said. “The ease to which Dustin Johnson makes it look, especially when he’s starting to wedge it in the last year like he has and his putting, is a great thing.”
The highlight of Sunday's duel with Casey came at the par-five 15th where the Englishman holed a 25-footer for eagle and Johnson coolly followed him in from 18 feet for an eagle of his own to maintain the lead.
If McIlroy is to compete at this level, he not only has to bring his putting to Johnson's level, he has to improve his wedge play and develop that bulletproof attitude.
Asked about the 15th, Casey said he knew Johnson would match his eagle.
He said: "I knew he would make it. I knew he was making it. He had to. He had to. It was the only way to write the story line wasn't it either that or blow it past and 4-putt. But he wasn't going to do that."
What impressed the Englishman was the American's resilience in round three, when he made a couple of early bogeys and came straight back as though nothing had happened.
"We talked about shots gained with attitude yesterday and I think a great example of that was when he bogeyed 2 and he bogeyed 3. And then he steps up and he birdies 4 and 5. And it's like just brilliant. You would never have known that he just had a couple of dropped shots. It's not that many guys out here who play or have that ability to deal with good and bad. Brilliant."
Shane Lowry can ease up on himself over what happened at the US Open. Johnson's ability to deal with the ruling he got there was another example of a special talent who was once regarded as an underachiever, amongst many other things.
Power tied 16th as DeChambeau secures PGA Tour card
Web,com Tour — Seamus Power briefly threatened the lead only to drop three shots in a four hole stretch and finished tied 16th in the first event of the Web,com Tour Finals in Ohio.
Power was within two shots of the lead on five under when he picked up two birdies on his front nine in the DAP Championship at Canterbury Golf Club. But he double bogeyed the par-three 11th with a three putt after a bunkered approach, then bogeyed the 14th to card a 71 and finish tied 16th on two under.
Scores
Former US Amateur and NCAA champion DeChambeau (71) made a four way playoff with Andres Gonzales, Nicholas Lindheim and Julian Etulain on seven under par.
Both DeChambeau and Gonzales birdied the par-four 18th the first time as the others made only par. But on their second extra hole, DeChambeau's par was good enough for the win and a ticket to the PGA Tour for 2016-17.
from News - Irish Golf Desk http://ift.tt/2ccWant
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