Johnson rallies to beat Spieth
Dustin Johnson faced long odds all day against Jordan Spieth until the longest drive led to an unlike playoff victory Sunday in The Northern Trust in Old Westbury, N.Y.
Johnson rallied from a fiveshot deficit on the front nine. And on the final hole in regulation, after one of the most powerful players in golf chose to lay up from the rough, his 18-foot par putt swirled around the cup and fell in the back side for a 4-under 66 to force a sudden-death playoff in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event.
Returning to the 18th hole, Johnson felt the wind switch and took on the lake with a 341-yard tee shot — the longest of the week on that hole — that left him a lob wedge that he hit to 4 feet.
Spieth, who already made his share of big putts along the back nine at Glen Oaks, hit 7-iron to the back collar and missed his 25-foot birdie putt. Johnson rolled in his short birdie putt for his fourth victory of the year.
Spieth, who closed with a 69, lost for the first time in six tries when leading by at least two shots. There wasn’t much he could do except take back that tee shot into the water on the par-3 sixth hole after building a five-shot lead. Johnson played bogeyfree in the final round, and played his final 29 holes at
Other tournaments
Canadian Pacific Women’s Open: Sung Hyun Park birdied the final hole for a 7-under 64 and a twostroke victory over fellow South Korean player Mirim Lee at Ottawa Hunt in Ottawa, Ontario. Park finished at 13under 271.
Boeing Classic: Jerry Kelly won his first PGA Tour Champions title, closing with a 6-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Jerry Smith in Snoqualmie, Wash. Kelly had a tournamentrecord 19-under 197 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
Made in Denmark: Julian Suri carded a final round of 64 at Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort in Farso, Denmark, to claim his first European Tour title.