Dustin Johnson won't win The Tour Championship, but he knew what he needed to shoot to do so. Johnson said Thursday after his first round that he'd take 10 under in the clubhouse come Sunday afternoon. With Jim Furyk leading at 8 under and both Retief Goosen and Luke Donald tied for second at 7 under, the 10 under prediction looks pretty solid.
Unless, of course, somebody goes nuts the way Nick Watney did on Saturday. How do you shoot a 63 when you're 2-over par through seven holes? You birdie nine of your last 11. Watney birdied holes 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18 to shoot a 7-under 63 that included a 7-under 28 on the back nine. He began the day a shot behind Johnson, and enters the final round eighth at 2-under 208. He said he discovered something in his setup in the eighth fairway, and also started letting his caddie read the greens.
"I didn't think I'd shoot 63, I'll tell you that, after five holes, so who knows," Watney said. ". . . Everything kind of slows down, the hole is a little bigger, and it's a great feeling. You're just trying to keep it going and keep the same rhythm in your walk and the same pre-shot routine down to the tee. It's a great feeling. I mean, it doesn't come along all that often and you just want to try to ride it as long as possible."
Because inclement weather is forecasted, Sunday tee times have been moved up about 2 1/2 hours. That means Johnson is going out in the second group at 9:10 a.m., and the final twosome of Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen tees off at 11:20 a.m.
Television coverage times aren't changing however, so the action will be tape-delayed. Golf Channel is broadcasting from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and NBC coverage is from 1:30-6 p.m.
