Johnson figures it out in Mexico
American star will return to No. 1 in rankings after overcoming sloppy start
MEXICO CITY— Dustin Johnson arrived in Mexico trying to figure out what was wrong with his swing. He left Sunday night with his 20th career PGA Tour victory, his sixth World Golf Championship and now wonders how far that will take him.
Over 72 holes, only two were worse than par. No one got closer than two shots to him all weekend.
Johnson overcame a sloppy start, caught a good break from behind a tree and made the rest look easy, just like when he was on top of his game two years ago. He closed with a 5-under 66 for a five-shot victory over Rory McIlroy in the Mexico Championship.
“This is a big one for me, and it gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year,” Johnson said. “I feel like the game is in good form right now.”
Johnson becomes the 38th player in PGA Tour history with 20 victories, which makes him a lifetime member when he puts in 15 years.
He won on both sides of a fourweek journey, which started with his victory in the Saudi International, and he will return to No. 1 in the world next week.
McIlroy did all he could, making six birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the back nine, and closed with a 67.
“I was making birdies and going nowhere,” McIlroy said. “He just played great this week. Hats off to him. He’s arguably the best player in the world. And he’s got two wins already this year, and he has been one of the best players for a long time.” Johnson won the Mexico Championship for the second time in three years. It was in 2017 when he was playing the best golf of his life, with three straight victories against the strongest fields, only to suffer a back injury when he slipped down the stairs in his rental house on the eve of the Masters.
“It’s the closest I’ve felt to that since I got hurt two years ago,” Johnson said. “I finally feel like everything is getting very close to where I was then … If I know I’m hitting it well and driving it good, it’s going to give me a lot of confidence.”
Johnson finished at 21-under 263, the lowest score by five shots in the three years at Chapultepec. McIlroy continue his solid run. This was his fourth consecutive finish in the top five, the longest such streak of his career.
Tiger Woods got his first top10 of the year, but it wasn’t all that inspiring. He again struggled on the poa greens of Chapultepec. Over the last two rounds, Woods hit 31 out of 36 greens in regulation and only had scores of 70 and 69 to show for it.