Second-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain simply one-upped No. 1 Dustin Johnson.
Rahm sank an incredible 66-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole in the BMW Championship to turn back DJ, who made a 43-footer for birdie on the final hole of regulation to force extra holes on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago.
Johnson will head to the Tour Championship, which starts Friday and finishes Monday on Labor Bay at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, leading the point standings while trying to win the FedEx Cup for the first time, while Rahm is second.
The top 30 players in the standings made it to East Lake.
“I was just hoping to get it close enough the make par and keep the playoff going,” said Rahm, who claimed fifth PGA Tour victory and second in his last five starts after opening with a 75 but coming from seven shots down by playing the weekend in 66-64. “I hit the putt right on the line I picked and it was tracking toward the hole with about 10 feet to go. Luckily, it hit the pin and went in.
“The same thing happened when I won the (2018) CareerBuilder Challenge, because Andrew Landry made a putt on the last hole to tie me and I beat him with a birdie (on the fourth hole) in a playoff.
“Today, I got off to a good start and after the first few holes I just went for it and focused on the task at hand. … I’m mentally strong and I knew I had a chance to win. and I did.”
Rahm, who overcame a one-stroke penalty when he accidentally picked up his ball on the fifth green without marking it in the third round, made birdies on two of the first four holes and added four more on the back nine in a bogey-free 64 that was the low round of the week as the North Course played like a U.S. Open layout.
Johnson, who was tied for the lead entering the final round, made birdies on two of the last four holes to close with a 67 and catch Rahm at 4-under 276. On the playoff hole, DJ left another 40-foot birdie putt barely short.
“It is what it is,” said Johnson, who claimed his 22nd PGA Tour victory last week in The Northern Trust, the playoff opener. “I made a really good putt to get into the playoff, Jon made a great one to beat me, and I hit another really good one in the playoff. I thought it was going in until the last few feet.
“I’m really happy with the way I played this week and my game is in great shape. I’m looking forward to getting some redemption in the Tour Championship at East Lake.”
Joaquin Niemann, the 21-year-old from Chile, held the lead on the back nine before finishing with a 67 to wind up two shots back in a tie for third with third-round co-leader Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who had a 69, while Tony Finau was one more down in solo fifth after making five birdies on the back nine in a 65.
Jason Kokrak shot 66 and wound up four behind in a tie for sixth with Matthew Fitzpatrick of England, who had a 67, while Brendan Todd and Sebastian Munoz of Colombia were one more back in a tie for eighth after both shot 70, and Lanto Griffin totaled 69 and was six down in a tie for 10th with Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, who came in at 71.
Hughes made a five-foot par putt on the last hole to make it to East Lake at No. 28.
Defending FedEx Cup champion and fourth-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tied for 12th with a 71, while fifth-ranked Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge and Cal, the PGA champion, closed with a second straight 68 to tie for 20th.
Defending champion and third-ranked Justin Thomas, the 2017 FedEx champion, shot 68 and wound up in a tie for 25th that included 10th-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, who had a 69, while ninth-ranked Patrick Reed tied for 40th with a 72 and eighth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis came in at 72 to finish 50th.
Two-time FedEx Cup champion Tiger Woods posted his best score of the week at 71 to tie for 51st and will miss the Tour Championship, which he won in 1999, 2007 and 2018, by finishing 63rd in the point standings.
For complete results and to see who finished in the top 30 to qualify for the Tour Championship, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
