ATLANTA – Dustin Johnson shot a 5-under 67 to win the BMW Championship for his third victory of the season, edging Paul Casey by three shots. It is Johnson’s second career title at the BMW Championship and 12th PGA TOUR title. With the win, Johnson claims the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup standings heading to the TOUR Championship, meaning a win at East Lake will guarantee the FedExCup title.
The TOUR Championship will welcome the top 30 players on the FedExCup Points List through the BMW Championship back to East Lake Golf Club from September 21-25, 2016 where the season-long race for the FedExCup will conclude with the crowning of the FedExCup champion.
Johnson’s three wins is the most in one season for the South Carolina native, who has won at least once on the PGA TOUR in every season since 2008. The 2015-16 PGA TOUR campaign has been a special one for Johnson, having broken through for his first major title at the U.S. Open and adding a third World Golf Championships title at the Bridgestone Invitational. At No. 1 in the FedExCup standings, Johnson has an opportunity to put his stamp on a memorable season by winning his first FedExCup and the $10 million bonus that comes with it.
In four previous appearances at the TOUR Championship, Johnson has finished inside the top 10 on three occasions, including his past two trips where Johnson finished T5 and solo fifth in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
With a T13 showing at the BMW Championship, Patrick Reed fell just one spot to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, meaning he also controls his own FedExCup destiny at East Lake next week. Reed won the first FedExCup Playoffs event at The Barclays to initially move atop the standings, his first win of the 2015-16 season.
After beginning the BMW Championship at No. 5 in the FedExCup standings and on the bubble of securing one of the top five spots at the TOUR Championship, Adam Scott recorded his third consecutive fourth-place finish in the FedExCup Playoffs to jump to No. 3 in the standings. A two-time winner this season, Scott will return to East Lake for a 10th time, having captured the tournament title in 2006.
Jason Day will occupy the No. 4 position in the standings at the TOUR Championship and is among the top five at East Lake for the second consecutive season after holding the No. 1 spot in 2015. Question marks will surround the top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking when he arrives in Atlanta next week after withdrawing during the final round at the BMW Championship due to back pain. Day tweaked his lower back when he bent down to put a tee in the ground on the ninth tee.
Two timely solo-second finishes at the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship has Casey inside the top five in the FedExCup standings ahead of the TOUR Championship without a win in the regular season or the FedExCup Playoffs for the second time in his career. He was also No. 5 in the standings prior to the 2010 TOUR Championship after a solo second finish in the BMW Championship moved him from No. 21 to No. 5.
The final field of 30 is listed below:
- Dustin Johnson
- Patrick Reed
- Adam Scott
- Jason Day
- Paul Casey
- Rory McIlroy
- Jordan Spieth
- Russell Knox
- Emiliano Grillo
- Jimmy Walker
- Brand Snedeker
- Justin Thomas
- Phil Mickelson
- Ryan Moore
- Kevin Chappell
- Matt Kuchar
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Si Woo Kim
- Kevin Kisner
- Gary Woodland
- Roberto Castro
- Kevin Na
- William McGirt
- Bubba Watson
- Sean O’Hair
- Daniel Berger
- Jason Dufner
- J.B. Holmes
- Jhonattan Vegas
- Charl Schwartzel
Four players made the jump inside the top 30 after beginning the BMW Championship outside the cutline: Roberto Castro, Daniel Berger, J.B. Holmes and Charl Schwartzel. The four-player total ties for the most to make the critical move in the season’s penultimate event (2010, 2015).
South Africa’s Schwartzel, who began the week at No. 43 in the standings, edged Rickie Fowler by a percentage of a point to join the field at East Lake at No. 30, which is a testament to how critical one shot can be throughout the course of the PGA TOUR season and FedExCup Playoffs.
Seven players will make their first appearance at the TOUR Championship: Russell Knox, Emiliano Grillo, Justin Thomas, Kevin Chappell, Si Woo Kim, William McGirt and Jhonattan Vegas. Among the seven first-timers are two PGA TOUR rookies: Grillo and Kim. Grillo, the young Argentine, won the season-opening Frys.com Open in a playoff, while Kim broke through at last month’s Wyndham Championship.