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ATLANTA -- One day after Tiger Woods flirted with a 59, Zach Johnson fell one stroke shy of golf's hallowed mark. Already 10-under for the day in the third round of the Tour Championship through 17 holes, Johnson pushed his tee shot into a right greenside bunker on the par-3 18th hole. His 50-foot chip rolled to within 2 feet of the cup, but wouldn't drop. The reigning Masters champion settled for par and a round of 60, breaking the previous East Lake Golf Club course record by two strokes. "That's not an opportunity you get very often," said Johnson, who carded an eagle and eight birdies in his bogey-free round. "You usually hit 59, but it's by about hole 15 or 16. It was a lot of fun. We just had everything going our way." That score put him at 13-under for the tournament and into contention heading into the final round. Starting his round at 3-under, Johnson carded four birdies on the front side to make the turn in 31 strokes. He caught fire on the back, making birdie on Nos. 11, 13 and 14 before sinking a 16-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th. "I made that eagle putt on 15, and I'm thinking ... 'I'm 9-under, like I've got three holes left. OK, what's par? 70. OK, yeah, we can do it,' " Johnson said. "But I put it aside pretty quick and got back into my rhythm and got back into my game plan." He made par on 16, then hit an approach from a fairway bunker more than 200 yards to within 5 feet on 17 and converted for birdie, leaving all the drama for the final hole. Only three men have shot 59 in an official PGA Tour round. Al Geiberger was the first, at the 1977 Memphis Classic, followed by Chip Beck at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational and David Duval at the 1999 Bob Hope Classic. "It's a magical number," said Johnson, whose previous best competitive round was a 61 on the Hooters Tour. "It's something that as a golfer you just think when and what if and how. You know, you really can't focus on it. That's probably what it boils down to. You've got to get a lot of breaks go your way." The previous course record was 62, shot by Bart Bryant in 2005 and equaled by Tim Clark in the opening round this week. In the second round, Woods shot a front-side 28, but finished with a 63. Johnson is trying to become the first player to sweep all three PGA Tour events in the state of Georgia in one year. He won the Masters in April and the AT&T Classic one month later. |