KAPALUA, Hawaii – Dustin Johnson has now played 18 competitive rounds at Kapalua’s Plantation Course – and has 18 rounds of even par or better.
With a third-round 4-under 69, Johnson lowered his career scoring average here to a piddly 69.28 strokes per round, but that’s hardly the most important takeaway from the day.
No, that would be on the leaderboard, where Johnson finds himself in a three-way tie for the lead alongside Jordan Spieth and Webb Simpson as he attempts to successfully defend his title.
“I need to go out and just take advantage of the par 5s,” he said. “Got to play those well. And then, yeah, I think it’s going to take 6 or 7 under. That would be my guess. You can shoot that in any weather out here pretty much if you get it going.”
Johnson is trying to become the first multiple winner of the 2013-14 season; he won the WGC-HSBC Champions late last year.
It would be his ninth career PGA Tour win since his rookie season of 2008.