BMW Championship: Jon Rahm sinks monster 66-foot putt to beat Dustin Johnson in a play-off at Olympia Fields

Leaderboard

-4 Rahm*, D Johnson *Rahm wins at 1st play-off hole

-2 Niemann, Matsuyama

-1 Finau

E Fitzpatrick, Kokrak

+1 Todd, Munoz

Day four report

Jon Rahm sunk a putt from 66 feet to take the BMW Championship after Dustin Johnson forced a play-off in Chicago.

American Johnson conjured some magic of his own on the green with a 43 foot putt on the 18th taking him level with his Spanish opponent on four under.

It could have been a different story had Rahm not incurred a penalty shot in his third round for a marking error, but he made up for it with a final round of 64 completing a miraculous turnaround after finishing Thursday tied for 51st place.

Rahm picked up two shots on the front nine and birdied the 15th and 16th for a final round some 11 shots better than his first.

Johnson, who took the world No 1 ranking from Rahm with his stunning 30-under-par victory in Boston a week earlier, dropped shots on the eighth and 10th before his nervy putt at the last.

Needing a birdie to force a play-off, Johnson found the pin on the undulating green as the pair were forced to play the 18th again.

There, Rahm played perfectly from 66 feet as he and Johnson watched as the ball curved into the hole for a birdie three and his fifth win on the tour.

Speaking to the Golf Channel about Johnson’s putt at the 18th, Rahm said: “Knowing DJ and how good he has been playing, I expected nothing else.

“I was fully confident it was going to come into a playoff and hoping to win it.

“Never did I think I would make another 50, 60-footer, a couple of breaks in there, to end up winning it.”

Only seven players made par or better for the tournament, with Joaquin Niemann and Hideki Matsuyama the best of the rest on two under, a shot ahead of Tony Finau who closed with a 65.

Jason Kokrak and England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick picked up four and three shots respectively on Sunday to finish equal par and four off the pace.

Further down the leaderboard were Rory McIlroy, whose closing 73 left him on three over and tied for 12th, a shot ahead of Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton.

Day three report

Rory McIlroy slipped three shots behind the leader at the BMW Championship as he revealed he was ready to leave the tournament if wife Erica went into labour.

After heading into the third round one shot in front, the Northern Irishman struggled on the tough Olympia Fields course on Saturday, picking up five bogeys along with two birdies to close out the day with a three-over-par 73.

That dropped the 31-year-old to two-over for the tournament, three back from joint leaders Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama, and sitting in a tie for sixth place.

McIlroy was in good spirits after his round despite giving up the lead as he revealed that his wife was expecting to give birth to a baby girl in a matter of days.

“I’m just waiting for a phone call,” McIlroy said at the conclusion of his round.

“I was waiting for a phone call last week and it didn’t come, and then (McIlroy’s caddy) Harry (Diamond) has been keeping his phone in his pocket just to make sure, but nothing as of yet.”

If he does get the call while on the course, McIlroy added he would not hesitate to withdraw from the tournament.

“I’m going to play in many more Tour Championships, and it’s only going to be the birth of your first child once,” he said.

“That trumps anything else.”

Replacing McIlroy and American Patrick Cantlay at the top of the leaderboard are Johnson and Matsuyama.

Johnson rose to a share of the lead thanks to another consistent one-under performance while Matsuyama used a first-hole eagle to springboard to the top – joining Johnson on one-under headed into the final day.

Matthew Fitzpatrick leads the way for the English contingent as he sits tied for 12th.

After carding a five-over 75 on Friday, Fitzpatrick was in fine form for the third round as he made the most of an eagle on the 15th to close out the day with a two-under 68.

Tyrell Hatton dropped two spots to equal-15th after carding a one-over 71, while Paul Casey also shot 71 to finish Saturday’s round tied for 26th.

Day two report

Rory McIlroy is one of just two players to finish under par at the BMW Championship on Friday as the world’s best golfers found themselves at the mercy of the gruelling Olympia Fields course.

The Northern Irishman carded a one-under 69 to take a share of the lead alongside American Patrick Cantlay, who also sits at one-under through two rounds thanks to Friday’s score of two-under 68.

McIlroy, who has managed just one top 12 finish since the PGA Tour resumed in June, handled the fast and firm course better than many of his peers as he refused to let a few wayward shots get the better of him.

After picking up a few quick birdies to start the round, the 31-year-old found himself in trouble on the par-four 14th when he overshot the green.

However a sensational chip shot minimised the damage, McIlroy settling for a bogey before bouncing back with another birdie on the 16th.

Despite some mixed results on the front nine, in which he picked up three more bogeys alongside two birdies, McIlroy was able to stay composed enough to secure pole position headed into what is sure to be a tough weekend.

Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama finished the day at even to lead a clogged chasing pack, with 29 players sitting within five shots of the leaders.

Briton Tyrrell Hatton, tied for 13th, features among those within touching distance of the top spot.

Hatton posted an even 70 on Friday to close out the second round three-over par.

Fellow Englishmen Matthew Fitzpatrick and Paul Casey also did just enough to remain in the fight, closing out the second round tied for a share of 30th.

Casey followed up a 73 on Thursday with an improved 72, while Fitzpatrick was unable to replicate his opening round 70 – carding three bogeys and a double bogey to finish five over.

Day One report

Rory McIlroy carded an even-par 70 to sit three shots off the pace after the first round of the BMW Championship at the testing Olympia Fields course on Thursday.

The former world No 1 battled hard throughout to end in a tie for fourth behind pacemaker Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who shot a 67 to end a stroke ahead of American Tyler Duncan.

Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes was a further shot back in third after a 69, as the only other player to break par on day one.

McIlroy’s day was a struggle for momentum, and one similar to many others in a tough first round played amid brutal rough and devilish greens at the Olympia Fields course outside Chicago, where just three players finished under par in the 2003 US Open.

The Northern Irishman had bogeys at the first and fifth cancelled out by birdies at the second and sixth, before a birdie two at the eighth gave way to a bogey on nine for an even par front half.

One single back nine birdie, when a 13-foot putt dropped at the 12th, was also immediately offset by a bogey four at the third, when McIlroy sent a two-foot putt three feet past the hole.

Also with McIlroy in a 10-man share of fourth was England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick.

The 25-year old was well poised at one-under par after seven holes, but a double-bogey five at the third – when he three-putted from six feet – and a bogey five at the ninth left him two-over at the turn.

Fitzpatrick recovered with birdies at the 12th – putting out from 30 feet – and the 15th in a blemish-free back nine.

Tiger Woods suffered a hat-trick of bogeys on his last three holes and had to be content with an opening round of three-over 73.

This left him in a group tied for 35th place along with Englishmen Paul Casey – who battled through the day with just one birdie against four bogeys – and Tyrrell Hatton, who bogeyed three of his last four holes.

American Dustin Johnson, who sizzled at 30-under par to win last week in Boston, could manage only a one-over 71 for a share of 14th place.

The tournament began on schedule despite postponements in other US sports to protest against racial injustices in the wake of the police shooting in Wisconsin of African-American Jacob Blake.

American golfer Cameron Champ – who has a black father and white mother – wore one black and one white shoe. On the white shoe he had written “Jacob Blake BLM”.