Matsuyama, Johnson navigate tough BMW course

WASHINGTON • Japan's Hideki Matsuyama opened with an eagle and matched Dustin Johnson in shooting a one-under 69 to share the lead after Saturday's third round of the BMW Championship.

Johnson, coming off a 30-under par score and an 11-shot victory a week ago at the Northern Trust, shared a two-stroke edge with Matsuyama at one-under 209 through 54 holes at Olympia Fields in suburban Chicago.

"This is pretty much a Major championship venue, and the conditions, the way it's set up, it's playing just like a major," said Johnson.

It was the highest score to lead in the event since 1974. Not since the 1995 Tour Championship has par or higher won a title outside the Majors, but it could be in the cards on this former US Open layout.

"It really doesn't matter how far away you are, you've just got to be in the fairway," Johnson added.

"That's the only way to control the ball and even then it's still difficult to get it close to the hole."

The tournament is the second of three Tour play-off events, with the top 30 on season points after yesterday's final round advancing to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

Matsuyama has not won since the 2017 WGC Bridgestone Invitational, but boosted his chances by blasting out of a greenside bunker into the cup from 37 feet at the par-five first hole.

A four-foot birdie putt at the fourth pushed him to three under, but bogeys at the par-three sixth and eighth and par-four 10th dropped him back.

Matsuyama and Johnson each birdied the par-five 15th to remain atop the leaderboard.

"Great start and then just had to hang on," Matsuyama said. "Just tried to do what I could to stay in, and I was happy with how it went."

Australia's Adam Scott (70), Canadian Mackenzie Hughes (69) and Chile's Joaquin Niemann (68) shared third on 211.

Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy (73), who is expecting his first child with his wife Erica any time soon, and Spain's Jon Rahm (66) were on 212, along with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (70), Americans Brendon Todd (71) and Kevin Kisner (70) and Colombia's Sebastian Munoz (67).

Tiger Woods fired a 72 to share 55th on 220, well back of the third-place effort he needs to reach next week's season finale.

The 15-time Major champion found water off the 17th tee on his way to a triple-bogey seven and a third over-par round to start for the first time since 2010.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE