PGA Championship 2019: 5 players who could still contend for the title

Dustin Johnson (-4, T-4)

While Brooks Koepka is getting all the shine this week, and rightfully so, let’s not lose sight of what Dustin Johnson – the current No. 1 player in the world – has done. He’s gone 69-67 through 36, tied for fourth place and just one behind the pair in second place. But more on them to come.

DJ, not Brooks Koepka, leads the field in driving distance. He’s fourth in strokes gained off the tee despite hitting just 17 of 28 fairways (not bad for a bomber, to be fair). And given such short approach shots, it’s no surprise that DJ is tied for the lead in greens in regulation, hitting 30 of 36.

As with so many of the guys who are looking up at Brooks and wondering “what do I have to do to catch this guy?”, the answer is in the shortest part of the game: putting. Johnson took 30 putts to get in on Friday, in addition to 32 on Thursday.

The mark everyone has had to shoot for is 29 or less, and while it’s been within reach, Johnson just hasn’t gotten a true feel for Bethpage’s putting surfaces yet. That alone could be a four stroke swing for DJ, if not more.

Here’s the biggest thing that DJ has going for him: despite four bogeys, he has yet to make double or worse this week. He’ll need to keep the scorecard as clean as possible for two more days, but it’s far from an insurmountable task. He’ll also have a good look at conditions on Saturday before he even tees off, playing in the third-to-last group with Kelly Kraft.

(Side note: Kelly Kraft, 192nd in the world ranking and cominf off four missed cuts in five starts, got into this PGA Championship when Justin Thomas withdrew due to a wrist injury. Don’t sleep on this story. We’ll keep you up to date as the weekend rolls on.)