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PGA Tour: Dustin Johnson in contention, trying to earn 21st career win

By Tim Letcher

CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT - JUNE 27: Dustin Johnson of the United States plays his shot from the 18th tee during the third round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 27, 2020 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT - JUNE 27: Dustin Johnson of the United States plays his shot from the 18th tee during the third round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 27, 2020 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Dustin Johnson is in contention at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. Can he earn his 21st career PGA Tour victory on Sunday?

Dustin Johnson has not had the best of things as the PGA Tour restarted a couple of weeks ago. However, with a huge round on Saturday, he now finds himself in contention for the title at the Travelers Championship.

When the coronavirus pandemic halted the PGA Tour, and nearly everything else, Johnson was playing good, but not great. Saturday’s round, however, was truly impressive.

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On Saturday, Johnson opened with a par before notching his first birdie of the day, on the second hole. Another par followed before his second birdie, this one on the fourth hole.

Johnson recorded pars on both the fifth and sixth holes before knocking in his third birdie of the day, this one at the seventh hole. He parred the eighth hole, then birdied the ninth to shoot a 4-under par 31 on the front nine.

The back nine for Johnson started with a birdie on number 10, followed by a par on 11. He then birdied the 12th and 13th holes to move to 7-under on the day.

After a par on number 14, Johnson birdied 15, moving to 8-under on his round. He then parred the 16th hole before making his final birdie of the day at number 17. A par on 18 gave him a 9-under par 61, tying him with Brendon Todd for the best round of the day.

Johnson, currently ranked sixth in the Official World Golf Rankings

He has only played in six official events this season prior to this week. He has made the cut in five of those six starts, but has only two top 10s so far. He tied for seventh at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and tied for 10th at the Genesis Invitational in February.

Since the PGA Tour restart, Johnson missed the cut at the Charles Schwab before playing much better in his second outing. At last week’s RBC Heritage, Johnson shot four rounds in the 60s on his way to a tie for 17th place.

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Now, he appears ready to take one more big step forward this week. The winner of 20 PGA Tour events in his career, Johnson, who trails Todd by two shots heading into Sunday’s final round, will be going for win number 21, which would tie him with Davis Love III, Lanny Wadkins and Craig Wood, among others.

Johnson looked like the DJ of old in Sunday’s round. If he can play that well again on Sunday, he can bask in the joy of victory for the first time since the 2019 World Golf Champoinships-Mexico Championship that he won nearly 16 months ago.

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