Johnson nets rainy victory at Barclays

EDISON, New Jersey (AP) ― The way Dustin Johnson began the final round of The Barclays, he figured the only thing that could keep him from winning was the rain.

Needing a good start, he opened with back-to-back birdies. In a bunker for the first time all week, he holed the 85-foot shot for eagle on No. 4 to take the lead. Even a wild tee shot on the par-5 fifth landed in trampled grass with a clear shot at the green.

And then it started raining. Hard.

The Barclays, already reduced to 54 holes because of Hurricane Irene, would have reverted to a 36-hole tournament if the rain arrived early and kept the third round Saturday from finishing, making Matt Kuchar the winner.

“The way I got started, I was hoping that we were going to keep on playing,” Johnson said.

The rain stopped. Johnson kept right on going.

He shot 29 on the front nine for the second straight day ― he played the front in 17-under par for the week ― to close with a 6-under 65 and win the opening FedEx Cup playoff event by two shots over Kuchar.

Johnson didn’t take the lead for good until Kuchar, who won The Barclays a year ago on a different course, three-putted from long range just off the green on consecutive holes on the back nine to make bogeys. He closed with a 68.

“I had the two basic three-putts and for me, that seems just very uncharacteristic,” Kuchar said. “I felt like I was just giving shots away.”

Johnson, who moved to No. 4 in the world, finished at 19-under 194 for his first win of the year and fifth of his career.