AP

Dustin Johnson shot out of the gate in the third and final round of the Barclays, grabbing a piece of the lead following back-to-back birdies to start off his round. Three more birdies and one eagle against one dropped shot left Johnson ahead of the pack and playing partner Matt Kuchar with nine holes to play.

Kuchar was able to birdie the par-3 11th hole to tie DJ, but Kuchar dropped shots on the 12th and 13th holes to leave him two shots back of the 29-year-old Carolinian. The steady Johnson’s quest for his first win of the year could only have been derailed by the onslaught of Hurricane Irene, which if play could not be finished, scores would have reverted back to the second round standings, giving Kuchar the trophy regardless of any move Johnson made on Saturday.

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

Irene balked a bit as rain started to come down on Johnson’s fourth hole of the day, but after a short watering, the final round went off without a hitch.

“We didn’t really know [what to expect],” Johnson said of the weather. “Coming into the day, we thought that it’s not going to be great but the weather guys, they weren’t really sure. We could have played nine and got stopped or played them all. We got lucky. The weather held up for us long enough.

Johnson shot his age on the front nine for the second consecutive day and cruised in with an even par 36 on the back for a 6-under 65 to finish it off.

With the win, Johnson moved up to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings, putting himself right in the thick of things for the $10 million prize in a few weeks. He moved up to No. 4 in the world golf rankings, while also taking home just over $1.4 million for three days of work. Not bad.

Brandt Snedeker torched Plainfield Country Club for a 10-under par 61 on Saturday that moved him up to a tie for third with Vijay Singh.

Other players of note were Camilo Villegas who has gone on a tear over the past few weeks. Needing a good showing at the Wyndham to get into the Barclays, the Columbian finished T9 to get inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings. Without a guaranteed spot in the Deutsche Bank, Spiderman recorded another top-10 finish, this time a T6 to get him to 51st in the rankings.

Ben Crane is one lucky dog. After a missed cut, his future was out of his hands, but coming into the week ranked 86th, Crane made it through to Boston on the number, checking in at 100 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Some saw their season’s come to an end on Saturday including Stuart Appleby, Paul Goydos and Chris DiMarco. Heartbreak goes out to Bryce Moulder who was the last player not to make it, coming in a No. 101 after a T64 finish this week.

Among others who have made it to the Deutsche Bank, but have not yet guaranteed themselves a shot at the BMW are Ian Poulter (78), Padraig Harrington (80), Graeme McDowell (84), Davis Love III (93), Stewart Cink (94) and Ernie Els (99).

So there are quite a few big names to watch out for this weekend and into Monday.

Remember, the Deutsche Bank runs Friday-Monday, so don’t forget to check out the coverage after your rounds at your local clubs this week when grabbing a beer. Also, it is Patriot Golf Day around the country, so splurge and throw in an extra buck for the troops who are keeping us safe and allowing us to play a game.