After round three we find a very familiar and Dominant name once more at the top of the leaderboard. Dustin Johnson had a steady and consistent start of the Tournament with an opening round of 69 and a following 68. Johnson went low on Saturday with a blistering 66. Johnson started his day with a bogey free front nine, complete with three birdies. JD continued with his momentum has he moved onto the back nine. His approach shot found the bottom of the cup for an eagle two on the twelfth hole. Following up with three more birdies Johnson completed his round at 7 under to get him to sixteen under par for the Tournament.
Dustin Johnson of the United States lines up a putt on the 18th green…
Dustin Johnson of the United States lines up a putt on the 18th green during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club on January 6, 2018 in… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
Giving chase to Johnson are Brian Harmon, Jon Rahm, and Rickie Fowler. Brian Harmon has been playing very consistent and competitive golf all week. With a pair of 68’s in the first two rounds Harmon follows them with a 4 under 69 on Saturday to place him just two behind Johnson at 14 under par. With already two victories in his young career on the PGA Tour we have seen the ability and skill of Jon Rahm. He went low on Saturday with a bogey free 7 under 66. Rahm caught fire on the back nine with three birdies and an impressive approach at 15 that led to his eagle.
Rickie Fowler has been hanging around all week without getting too close to the leaders. Fowler had his best round of the week with a 5 under bogey free 68. We have seen Fowler play good golf but not being able to catch up to the leaders down the stretch. With a five stroke deficit we will see if Fowler will be able to change the script and chase down the dominant Johnson.
Leading after the first round and being in contention in the second Marc Leishman has fallen to T12 after three over 76. Similarly, Jordan Spieth has fallen out of striking distance when he was only able to manage a three under round of 70. Spieth was able to turn around from a 2 over 75 to shoot a 66 on Friday. We all thought we were going to see the classic dominant Spieth on the weekend. This may now be out of sight, as Spieth finds himself looking up at Johnson with a eight shot lead.
Ever since Dustin Johnson had to withdraw from the Masters last year after he injured himself in the home that he was staying at with his family for the Tournament we have all been dying to watch the dominant Golf that Johnson is capable of. We saw a glimpse of that on Saturday. Will this dominant run continue or will another player be able to catch and overcome Johnson in the final round in paradise?
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