Johnson eyes US after win
DUSTIN Johnson is the hot favourite for the US Open after he emphatically reclaimed the world No.1 ranking.
He holed out for eagle from 170 yards on the final hole to seal an emphatic six-stroke victory at the St Jude Classic.
“What a cool way to end the day,” Johnson said.
Johnson shot a four-under 66 on Sunday to finish 19under for his second PGA Tour victory this year and 18th of his career.
He swaps places with fellow American Justin Thomas at the top of the rankings, a spot he had held for 64 straight weeks before falling to No.2 a month ago.
“It means a lot,” Johnson said of reclaiming the No.1 ranking. “It was a long way to get there, and I held it for a long time and obviously JT took it from me for a little while.
“It was nice to finish like that and get it back.”
Andrew Putnam started the final round with a share of the lead for the first time in his career, but he opened with a double bogey on his way to a 72 and finished at 13-under.
“I feel like I steadied the ship a little bit after a rough start,” he said.
J.B. Holmes (67) was third, 10 shots adrift of the winner at nine-under. Phil Mickelson had a 65 on Sunday and was at six-under in a tie for 12th in a group which included Australian Stuart Appleby, who closed with a 69. Appleby’s countryman Cameron Percy had a 68 to be tied for 26th at four-under while Aaron Baddeley (71) and Matt Jones (73) finished tied for 37th and 51st respectively.
Preparing for the US Open, which he won in 2016, Johnson cruised to victory in Tennessee and heads to Shinnecock Hills after stringing together rounds of 67, 63 and 65 before wrapping up a final 18 holes that felt almost like a practice round, with the only question remaining how low Johnson would go. At least until his final dramatic shot.
No golfer has ever won on the PGA Tour and followed by winning the US Open but Johnson sees no reason why he couldn’t be the first.
“I know what it takes,” he said.
“I’m going to have to play a lot like I did this week if I want to win next week.”