Johnson reclaims No. 1 spot with Memphis win
MEMPHIS, TENN. » Dustin Johnson emphatically reclaimed the No. 1 ranking Sunday, holing out for eagle from 170 yards on the final hole for a six-stroke victory in the St. Jude Classic.
Johnson shot a 4-under 66 for his second PGA Tour victory this year and 18th of his career to take back the No. 1 ranking he held for 64 straight weeks before dropping down a month ago. He won the event for the second time, finishing with the eagle, three birdies and a bogey for a 19-under 261 total.
Andrew Putnam started the final round with a share of the lead for the first time in his career. He shot 72 and finished at 13 under.
Preparing for the U.S. Open, Johnson took the lead to himself with a par on No. 1, while Putnam double-bogeyed, and cruised to the $1.18 million winner’s check. Johnson turned in the lowest score under par by a winner here since David Toms won at 20 under in 2003, and that was before the course was redesigned with par dropped from 71 to 70 after the 2004 tournament.
Johnson, who won the U.S. Open in 2016, heads to Shinnecock Hills after stringing together four straight rounds in the 60s. He went 67, 63 and 65 before wrapping up a final round that felt almost like a practice round with the only question remaining how low Johnson would go.
At least until his dramatic walk-off eagle. Johnson was in the intermediate rough to the right of the fairway, and the ball bounded twice before rolling into the cup.
CURTIS CUP » Kristen Gillman led a U.S. singles sweep Sunday in the biggest blowout in Curtis Cup history.
Gillman, the 20-year-old University of Alabama star from Austin, Texas, beat 16-year-old Annabell Fuller 5 and 4 to cap a perfect weekend at Quaker Ridge in the amateur competition.
The Americans won 173, breaking the record for margin of victory of 11 set in a 14 1/2-3 1/2 victory at Denver Country Club in 1982. They improved to 29-8-3 in the series, rebounding from a loss in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire in Ireland.
Gillman, the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, joined American Stacy Lewis (2008) and England’s Bronte Law (2016) as the only players to go 5-0-0 since the format was changed to three days in 2008.
Sophia Schubert, the Texas senior and 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, started the singles rout with a 2-and-1 victory over Olivia Mehaffey. In the other matches, top-ranked Lilia Vu defeated Sophie Lamb 2 up; Jennifer Kupcho, the NCAA individual winner this year for Wake Forest, beat Lily May Humphreys 2 and 1; Andrea Lee edged Alice Hewson 2 and 1; Lauren Stephenson beat Shannon McWilliam 2 and 1; 15-year-old Lucy Li defeated India Clyburn 5 and 4; and Mariel Galdiano held off Paula Grant 1 up.
The U.S. won all five sessions for the first time, and every American earned at least two points.
LPGA TOUR » Annie Park won the ShopRite LPGA Classic for her first LPGA Tour victory, closing with an 8-under 63 for a onestroke victory over Sakura Yokomine.
The 23-year-old Park, from Levittown, New York, had an eagle and six birdies on a cloudy day over the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview to complete 54 holes at 16-under 197, a stroke off the tournament record.
Yokomine, the winner of 23 events on the Japan LPGA Tour, flirted with a 59 but parred the par-5 18th for a 61 to tie the course record.
New Jersey native Marina Alex was third at 14 under after a 64. She made a hole-in-one at the par-3 17th. Sei Young Kim, who broke the course record Sunday morning when she finished her second round with back-to-back birdies for a 61, had a 70 to finish fourth at 13 under.