No. 1 Johnson rules at Genesis
Dustin Johnson went to No. 1 in the world with a world-class performance at Riviera.
Johnson turned a marathon finish into a Sunday stroll at the Genesis Open in Los Angeles. He finished the third round with a 7-under 64 to build a five-shot lead, stretched it to nine shots at one point in the final round and coasted home to a 71 and a five-shot victory.
“It sounds good,” Johnson said when asked about being the top player in the world. “I played really great all day. I couldn’t have driven it any better. That was a big key.”
Johnson became the 20th player to reach No. 1 since the world ranking began in 1986, ending Jason Day’s 47-week stay at the top.
“He deserves it because he’s been playing great golf,” Day said.
Johnson won for the fourth time against some of golf’s strongest fields dating to his U.S. Open victory last summer at Oakmont. All he cared about Sunday was winning at Riviera, one of his favorite courses where he has had chances in four of the past five years.
Johnson had a one-shot lead when he arrived at the course Sunday, which lost 10 hours the previous three days to fog and torrential rain. Johnson had such command of his game that his longest par putt in the third round was from 4 feet, and he closed with three birdies to make the final round in the afternoon a coronation.
Johnson went 49 consecutive holes without a bogey, a streak that ended on No. 9 in the final round, and he was sloppy down the stretch when it no longer mattered. Johnson finished at 17-under 267.
It capped off a strong stretch that elevated Johnson to the top. Not only was it his fourth victory since June, he has finished among the top three in eight of his last 16 tournaments.
“No surprise to us players, and I don’t think too much surprise to many others,” Jordan Spieth said. Spieth ended his streak of 19 consecutive rounds under par on the PGA Tour — and 27 rounds worldwide — with a 72 in the third round.
About the only disappointment was losing a chance to break the oldest 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour schedule.
Other Tournaments
Chubb Classic: Fred Couples won on Sunday in Naples, Fla. for his 12th PGA Tour Champions title and first since 2014, rallying to beat Miguel Angel Jimenez at TwinEagles. The 57-year-old Couples shot a bogey-free 5under 67 to finish at 16-under 200 on the Talon Course, three strokes ahead of second-round leader Jimenez. “This is a good course. You have to hit a lot of good shots,” Couples said.
World Super 6: Brett Rumford beat Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand 2 and 1 in the final round of match play in Perth to claim the first World Super 6 tournament title near where he grew up in West Australia. Rumford led by five strokes at 17-under 199 after 54 holes of stroke play in the experimental tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Western Australia.
Women’s Australian Open: Ha Na Jang had an eagle and three birdies over her final six holes in a strong finish that set up victory in Adelaide, Australia. The No. 6ranked Jang closed with a 4under 69 to finish at 10 under at Royal Adelaide to finish three shots ahead of Nanna Madsen of Denmark.