Long-hitting Dustin Johnson moved into the lead again this week, after leading the PGA Championship two weeks ago in San Francisco. And in doing so today, he was part of new history-making on the PGA Tour.
Rookie Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson shot 59 and 60, respectively, today on the par 71 TPC Boston golf course in Norton, Massachusetts. It was the two lowest scores that two players have ever shot on the same day in a PGA Tour tournament. At 15-under par 127 total, Johnson thereby took a two-stroke lead over Scheffler and Cameron Davis who were at 13-under par 129 at the half-way mark of the tournament.
There have now been about eight 59s in the history of the PGA Tour. That is one stroke higher than the lowest score ever shot. That was Jim Furyk’s 58 in the fourth round of the 2016 Travelers Championship. My friend and PGA Champion Al Geiberger shot the first 59. I remember it was at Memphis, since I was there, but it was many years ago.
Scheffler and Johnson got their scores today in quite different ways. Scheffler birdied a bunch of his last holes, with biridies on 14th, 15th, 16th, and 18th holes. But Johnson had quite the career round going by shooting nine-under par the first nine holes and being 11-under par after 11 holes. It looked like he might overtake Scheffler’s 59 and perhaps even break Furyk’s 58 record.
Instead, Johnson parred all the rest of the way into the clubhouse. He had a chance to birdie the reachable par-five 18th hole in order to tie Scheffler’s 59. But Johnson admitted that he made a strategic error by hitting driver on that last hole because his ball reached a grass bunker in the fairway from which he had to pitch out safely for about a 83-yard wedge shot to the green. He explained that he was trying to hit his safety shot off the tee, which he called “a chip driver,” but it went too far. Then his third shot fell short of carrying the rise in the green, leaving himself about a 26-foot putt, which he two putted for par.
The arrogant, four-time major winner Brooks Koepka–who had trashed-talked Johnson at the PGA Championship two weeks ago and then shot miserably that last round–was nowhere to be seen since he had passed up this week. When Johnson was asked again, today, by the media about Koepka’s unsavory remarks back then, Johnson blew it off again by saying, “he can say whatever he wants.” Johnson is more on the quiet side, at least with media, and seems to prefer letting his sticks do the talking. Let’s see if he can keep that going the rest of the week.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In