Dustin Johnson gave himself a chance to reclaim his No 1 world ranking while Charl Schwartzel slumped to a 78 on Saturday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
It was a day to forget for Schwartzel, who’s been in some good form since the Zurich Classic, as he dropped 52 places after an eight-over 78. He sits at +5 through 54 holes and 20 shots behind leaders Andrew Putnam and Johnson.
Schwartzel hit just three of 14 fairways which saw him find just seven of 18 greens in regulation as he went out in 42 compounded by a double on the 9th after he found the water with his second shot.
There were two birdies on his back nine but those were erased with three bogeys as he lost steam ahead of next week’s US Open, the year’s second Major which could see Johnson replace Justin Thomas as the world’s top-ranked player. The top spot and momentum would make DJ the slight favourite as the world’s best gather at Shinnecock Hills.
Johnson admits all those things would be nice, but he’s not worried about them at the moment.
‘[Winning] kind of takes care of itself,’ Johnson said. ‘Tomorrow I’m going to go out and just stick to my game plan, make good shots and obviously win the golf tournament, and then it’s a little bit of a bonus to go back to No 1.’
Outside of Putnam, no one in the field has a better chance to win on Sunday than Johnson.
Five shots clear of the field with Putnam, at 15 under, Johnson noted the two players essentially control their own destiny tomorrow, setting up what could amount to a match-play scenario, unless one of the pursuers posts a low round.
‘If I go out tomorrow and play really good golf, [I’m] probably going to win,’ Johnson said. ‘If I don’t, I’m sure Andrew’s going to beat me, he’s playing really good right now. It’s pretty simple.’
Johnson most recently converted a 54-hole lead/co-lead at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and has a chance to record multiple Tour victories for the third consecutive season with a win in Memphis.
He wasn’t able to replicate his second-round 63 — a round that featured seven birdies and an eagle — but still posted the second-lowest round of the day with a 65 that included an opening birdie and four more on the back nine to come home in 31.
Retief Goosen moved up 11 places to T29 with a third round 68.
Additional reporting: PGA TOUR
