Coastal Carolina alumnus and former Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson may be a few days away from a payday of more than $10 million.
Despite tying for 65th at 14-over-par 298 on Sunday in the 70-player BMW Championship, Johnson enters this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta second in FedEx Cup points. The FedEx Cup champion earns a $10 million bonus.
Johnson’s position is based on his win in the opening playoff event, The Barclays in the Boston area, combined with the strength of his 2011 season. He finished 42nd in the second playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Johnson won the BMW Championship last year to also enter the Tour Championship second in points, and ended up earning a $1 million bonus for a fifth-place FedEx Cup finish with a tie for 22nd at East Lake.
The tour reset FedEx Cup points after last week’s BMW Championship, and Johnson is 250 points behind Webb Simpson at 2,250. Justin Rose is 250 behind Johnson in third, and only the top eight players in the 30-player event have 1,000 or more points, so Johnson has a strong chance to win the FedEx Cup title with a high finish.
Only the top five players, including No. 4 Luke Donald and No. 5 Matt Kuchar, are guaranteed the $10 million bonus with a win this week. The winner this week also earns $1.44 million of the tournament’s $8 million purse.
