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Jon Rahm Beat Dustin Johnson In A Playoff With A 66-Foot Birdie Putt

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The BMW Championship at Olympia Fields this week proved to be a U.S. Open-like test for the second event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, as scores the first three days were well above par on average, even for 70 of the best golfers in the world. However, Sunday produced a softer, more gettable course and the result was a thrilling final round.

Jon Rahm posted a 6-under 64 on Sunday to move into the clubhouse lead at 4-under for the tournament, one ahead of Dustin Johnson as he came down the closing stretch of holes. Johnson arrived at 18 needing a birdie to force a playoff, and was in serious trouble after pushing his tee shot into the trees right of the fairway. He hit a sensational cut shot from 182 yards to give himself a putt at birdie, but faced a lengthy, double breaker down the hill. Naturally, the No. 1 player in the world buried it.

Rahm was on the range staying warm in case of a playoffs when the roar from the 18th green went up for Johnson’s putt, and the two arrived back on the long 18th for the first sudden death playoff hole. This time it was Rahm who pushed his tee shot right into the rough, while Johnson got a great bounce off a tree left and kicked into the middle of the fairway. From there, DJ played a sensible shot into the center of the green, hole high, while Rahm caught a flyer and had a winding, 66-foot putt from the opposite corner of the green.

Naturally, the No. 2 player in the world buried it.

For a format that hasn’t always produced exciting results in years past, this week at the BMW Championship was some of the finest non-major golf you’ll see. On a course that had a major championship setup and required everything of players, the two best players in the world separated themselves on Sunday and met in the playoff, producing fireworks on 18. Heading into the Tour Championship, they’ll also be 1-2 in the FedEx Cup standings, meaning DJ starts a 10-under and Rahm starts at 8-under at East Lake, as they battle it out for $10 million.