Johnson dominates St. Jude Classic
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 in Memphis.
“What a cool way to end the day,” Johnson said.
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 bounced twice before rolling into the cup to bring fans to their feet.
J.B. Holmes (67) was at 9 under. Stewart Cink (72) and Richy Werenski (71) tied at 8 under. Brandt Snedeker (70) and Retief Goosen (66) tied four others at 7 under.
Phil Mickelson had a 65 and was at 6 under. Madison’s Steve Stricker shot 1 over in the final round and tied for 18th.
PGA Champions: Second-round leader Tom Lehman was declared the winner of the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, after weather washed out Sunday’s final round.
Officials had delayed the start of the third round by nearly five hours because of bands of light but persistent rain in central Iowa before calling the event.
Lehman shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead over Bernhard Langer, Glen Day, Woody Austin and Scott Parel.
Madison’s Jerry Kelly finished sixth at 10 under.
LPGA: Annie Park won the ShopRite LPGA Classic for her first Tour victory, closing with an 8-under 63 for a one-stroke victory over Sakura Yokomine.
The 23-year-old Park had an eagle and six birdies on a cloudy day over the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview in Galloway, N.J., 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.